Tampa Bay teen wasn’t into beauty pageants. Now she wants to ‘inspire others.’

This story has been updated to include who won the pageant.

RUSKIN — Cassidy Porras never thought of participating in a beauty and talent pageant.

But a few weeks ago, the 19-year-old changed her mind. A friend told her about a contest to support the talents and academic future of Hispanic girls in Hillsborough County.

Her eyes lit up.

She’s the firstborn daughter of Mexican immigrants and the first in her family to go to college.

“I saw it as an opportunity to inspire others, and tell them, ‘Hey girls, nothing is impossible!’” said Porras. “More than a beauty pageant it’s about a celebration of us, our traditions and opportunities.”

The pageant, called Nuestra Reina (Our Queen) Hillsborough Scholarship Pageant, will take place for the first time on Sunday in Plant City.

Twenty-three participants will compete in categories for different age groups. Porras will compete in the 14- to 19-years-old group for a chance to win a $2,500 scholarship for first place. The judges will evaluate the charisma, talent, and virtue of the girls in a celebratory atmosphere that will highlight their Hispanic roots and traditions.

Financial challenges are a leading reason why Hispanics do not finish a four-year degree, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. In 2020-21, in-state students paid an average of nearly $15,000 a year at four-year public institutions, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The average total cost of attending a two-year public institution was $9,666 per year. And the costs of higher education have been steadily rising.

“There are many ways to help our community, and this is one of them,” said Alma Juárez, one of the organizers and a branch manager with Achieva Credit Union, the pageant’s sponsor.

Juárez is the daughter of a Mexican farmworker couple. She knows that working in the field is hard and opportunities often seem elusive for these families.

“We want to help these girls and encourage them as much as possible to see new options,” said Juárez, who studied business administration at the University of South Florida and was the first in her family to achieve a professional career.

“This contest will be an occasion for these girls to answer different questions and talk about our cultures,” said Juárez.

Porras will perform a folkloric dance wearing a traditional dress from the Mexican state of Puebla. She hopes the tradition will attract the attention of children who want to learn more about Mexican folkloric ballet.

“It would be great to have the opportunity to teach them what I have learned in eight years,” she said.

Rocio Smith, one of the main organizers, said the pageant seeks to empower a new generation of leaders. Smith is the daughter of a farmworker’s couple who followed crops to Indiana, Michigan, South and North Carolina and Ohio and Florida.

“Our Nuestra Reina Hillsborough Scholarship Pageant is committed to the development of future Hispanic women leaders through community involvement, social and economic support for education, and mentor connections,” she said.

For Porras, the contest is chance to contribute to the community. She works at the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office processing warrants and calling lawyers and public defenders. At night, she studies at Hillsborough Community College. She dreams of becoming a children’s speech therapist to work with Spanish-speaking students learning English.

“I want to help my people like others did when I was a child and I didn’t speak English because my first language was Spanish,” Porras said. “That’s my biggest motivation.”

Her parents, Ausencio Porras, 43, and Saira Chávez, 42, said the competition can mark an important milestone in their daughter’s life. Two years ago the couple left Los Angeles and settled in Ruskin, south of Tampa, in search of better living conditions and education for Cassidy and her younger brother, Ethan, 13.

Ausencio didn’t finish high school and has been making a living as a construction worker for more than two decades. Saira has worked in the California fields picking grapes and almonds since she was 9 years old.

Both are delighted with their daughter’s ambitions.

“We are proud that she can represent us,” he said.