Picture a traditional quinceañera celebration: A newly 15-year-old girl marking a transition to adulthood — a “coming out,” if you will — dressed in a beautiful gown, surrounded by family.

By that measure, Ale Ruiz-Jimenez’s 15th birthday fit the mold. But with a decided twist: Rather than having a big party, Ruiz-Jimenez decided to participate in a pageant, and did quite well, considering it was her first time.

Ruiz-Jimenez placed in the top 20 — out of nearly 130 girls in her age group — at the regional National American Miss pageant held in Santa Clara this summer.

It was no “beauty” pageant, the Davis High School sophomore is quick to explain. There are no “toddlers and tiaras” here. No swimsuits. Attire is age-appropriate, she said, and participants under age 13 aren’t even allowed to wear any makeup.

Rather, she said, “They judge you on your communication skills, poise and confidence.” She believes she developed all three along the way.

The pageant involved three main components: one-on-one interviews with a handful of judges asking participants about themselves and their goals; making a personal statement on stage in front of a large audience; and escorted formalwear.

Even the hurdles she faced getting to the pageant were great learning experiences, she said. Most challenging of all: finding sponsors and raising funds to cover the $440 pageant fees.

“The toughest part was going out and approaching businesses,” she said.

Ruiz-Jimenez hit downtown Davis with her mom, Adriana Jimenez, and friend Elli Sperandio and ended up securing sponsorships from Fleet Feet, Cloud Forest Coffee and Allstate agent Greg Phister, among others.

Other businesses, like Gala Formal Wear in Sacramento and local etiquette expert Rebecca Black, provided discounted services.

Sperandio — along with good friends Melissa Jurado, Victoria Alejo and Jacquielina Pesola — all helped out at a carwash Ruiz-Jimenez held to raise additional funds.

Fees taken care of, next up was preparing for the pageant itself.

Ruiz-Jimenez worked with Black on everything from how to comport herself on stage to how to present herself to judges.

At lot of time was spent trying to find an inexpensive business suit for Ruiz-Jimenez to wear for the interviews. She and her mom finally found one at a thrift store for $20 that needed just minor alterations.

Her gown, worn at the end of the pageant, was a quinceañera dress, minus the super-poofy skirt.

The gown was necessary for the formal-wear portion of the pageant, when Ruiz-Jimenez would be escorted on stage by a male relative. In her case, it was her 10-year-old brother Daniel who walked proudly beside her.

After the interview and personal statement portions of the pageant, Ruiz-Jimenez was feeling pretty confident.

“I felt like I’d done really well,” she said.

But standing on stage as the top 20 girls’ names were being called — and not hearing her own — her confidence faltered a little. Finally though, around No. 19 (her dad Alejandro Ruiz was counting) she heard her name.

“It was so good to be called,” she recalled.

“It was kind of surprising to hear my name called for the top 20 girls,” she added, “because for most of them, it was their second or third year competing. It was my first pageant experience.”

And it’s one she would do all over again.

“I got to experiment with the pressures of going through a job interview,” she explained. “Being on stage by yourself speaking into a microphone and having poise while walking on stage with a big poofy dress.

“I really got comfortable talking to people, asking businesses for support and how to dress for business,” she added.

She’s grateful to the many businesses, friends and family who supported her, from her youth group at First Baptist Church to her mom, “who was always there for me.”

And she plans to do it all again in a couple of years.

— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at [email protected] or (530) 747-8051.

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