Oh hi there! I’m Hensley Carroll, the 2024-2025 International United Miss Junior Teen! I’m 15 years old, a book lover, and my heart truly beats for IUM.
I’ve been honored to represent South Carolina on the IUM stage twice now - two years ago as the SC Preteen and this year, I’m beyond grateful to have brought the International Junior Teen title home to Charleston! I’m a true Carolina Girl - give me sunshine, ocean air, and a glass of sweet tea, and I’m a happy girl! From a young age, I’ve spent every summer pretending to be a mermaid, so I started my own mermaid birthday party business just a few months ago. I jokingly tell everyone that Mermaid Arista is my alter ego that has way more fun than I do.

In real life, I’m a girl who always has her nose in a book, never shies away from a baking challenge, is forever singing Taylor Swift, and while I absolutely LOVE the glamour of pageantry, PJs and flat shoes will always have my heart….especially if we’re watching Outer Banks, my favorite tv show! Five years ago, after TWO YEARS of begging, my parents finally agreed to “just one pageant.” (Needless to say, they didn’t stick to that.) My family has been instrumental in teaching me the value in serving others and when my Mom and Dad saw the emphasis pageantry places on service, they agreed to let me continue competing.

Fast forward to present day, and I’m humbled by the impact I’ve been able to make. Focus Out with Hensley is my platform, where I encourage kids to develop a love for service at a young age. I visit elementary schools across South Carolina to share the Be HEROIC motto and the importance of using one’s passions to create waves of change in their community. I use my own passion project as an example, sharing with students how I’ve taken my heart for those struggling with food insecurity to build the only refrigerated blessing box in my community, aka Hensley’s Free Fridge. I also share with them the importance of dreaming big - reminding them that I’m just 15 and I’m not stopping at just Hensley’s Free Fridge - “The Free Fridge Project” will soon be a 501c3 non-profit organization!

I started Focus Out with Hensley because I wanted to be able to help others when and where I could with what I had - and through that ideal, I’ve been able to donate more than 6,000 items to my local no-kill animal shelter, volunteer countless hours at my local Ronald McDonald House, organize litter pickups on local beaches, and recruited over 200 Ambassadors to represent Focus Out with Hensley across the world through their own world-changing service efforts! Recently, I caught the attention of local media and have been featured on several tv and radio segments geared at helping today’s teens find value in service. I’m a 5-time Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award recipient and I’m less than 100 hours away from earning the Lifetime Achievement Award!

My love for service is what led me to IUM in the winter of 2021, when I boldly asked my Mom to let me take the reigns of my pageant career and researched systems on my own to compete with. Within minutes of landing on the IUM website, I knew IUM was for me. I signed up for my state pageant, competed, and won the SC Preteen title in January 2022. I went to Internationals that year with my best friend, Noella, as a fellow Preteen delegate and was overjoyed when she took home the International title and I placed Top Five! But, my biggest accomplishment that year was receiving the Be HEROIC award, chosen by directors and staff and awarded to the single participant that embodies the Be HEROIC motto. To this day, that award is one of my greatest achievements and solidified that IUM is my pageant home. I left Internationals knowing I would be back competing for the International title as soon as I could! I felt certain God would grant me the opportunity to represent the system I love so much and two years later, all my prayers were answered!

Whether you’re new to pageantry, a seasoned competitor, at a crossroads in your journey, or (like me) looking for something you haven’t found competing anywhere else, I cannot encourage you enough to try IUM. One of our mottos is #YouBelongHere and you truly won’t find a system more focused on the delegate experience than International United Miss! I guarantee you’ll never regret trying IUM - and because we have SO many returning delegates each year - you’ll make friendships that last a lifetime and go far beyond the International stage. So get ready to hit the stage at your state pageant, because your journey begins the moment you enter the doors and discover #TheSisterhoodisTEAL!