National pageant queen’s passion is to help people with special needs

The first of the four national pageant winners from Buford City Schools is also the oldest of the winners. Meet Gabriella Peyton Canale, an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Buford Middle School. 

At the USA National Miss pageant held July 2-10 in Hollywood, Fla., Gabriella was crowned USA National Miss Preteen 2023, as well as the Overall National Role Model 2023. She faced fierce competition from young ladies all across the country. 

Photo by Ty Myrick

Gabriella got her start in pageants when she was six-years-old in the Little Miss Buford pageant. She won her very first pageant and was crowned Tiny Miss Buford in 2019. Gabriella’s mother, Ginger Canale had never participated in a pageant before and asked for help to prepare her daughter for the pageant. She wanted to give her a fighting chance so she was put in contact with Rosa Campos, a Buford native who is the owner of Beauty Babes ATL. Rosa does pageant coaching, hair and makeup and she worked her magic with Gabriella.

After her Little Miss Buford experience, Gabriella was hooked on participating in pageants. Ginger went all-in and they have juggled busy schedules since then. 

With pageantry, there is not a specific pageant season, although national competitions take place in the summer months. Preparing for the various pageants can be extremely hectic. 

“The preparation for any pageant has to be planned,” said Ginger. “Gabriella has practice just as you would for any other sport.  She has (weekly) walking practices for stage presence, interview practice for communications and the fun part is wardrobe content.”

When asked why Gabriella participates in pageants, her reply was, “Because pageants have helped me inspire others to work with children and adults with special needs.  Pageants have also taught me how to be a better speaker and communicator.”

“The No. 1 benefit (of participating in pageants) is how it has taught Gabriella how to engage in conversations with adults, teachers and new friends,” said Ginger.  “The pageant systems have interviews as a big portion of their winning scores.  The contestants go into a room full of strangers and interview for their dream job.  These are real life skills.  Wherever we go I always get compliments on how well spoken Gabriella is for her age and that is something that makes a Mom proud.”

When asked what her favorite part of a pageant is, Gabriella said, “I love Interview because I get to share about my platform Infinite Inclusions and how I partner with local foundations such as Grace Upon Grace and The FUN Club to raise money and awareness for special needs adults and children.”

Gabriella’s passion is serving others, especially adults and children with special needs. One of the things she is most proud of doing in her life thus far is her work with people with special needs whether it is working with The FUN Club or working with the creators of a whole pageant designed especially for special needs adults and children to participate in.

“Last year I hosted the very first inclusive pageant, Grace Upon Grace and I was able to raise over $17,000.00,” said Gabriella. “These funds are being used for scholarships and educational funding for special needs adults and children in our community.  We are holding the 2nd Annual Grace Upon Grace Pageant on March 1-2, 2024.”

Through her experiences with participating in pageants, Gabriella has learned a lot about herself. In particular, she said that she has learned that, “I am very determined to achieve goals that I set for myself.  I competed at USA National Miss for four years before I won the national title.  I would prepare every year and if I didn’t win I would start as soon as I got home preparing for the next year.”  

Gabriella’s dream finally came true this summer when she won USA National Miss Preteen 2023. With her crown came a prize package worth over $150,000 plus $6,700 in scholarships. Gabriella is expected to make appearances as the national queen, as well as continue her volunteer work and work on her platform initiative. She is also to be an ambassador for the USA National Miss pageant organization.

“When you are a national title holder you should inspire others to be their best self,” said Gabriella. “The USA National Miss crown has five points.  Each point symbolizes – compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Tony and Ginger Canale are extremely proud of their daughter, Gabriella. She is the youngest of two children. She has a 24-year-old brother Nicholas Canale. Gabriella earned a place on the AB honor roll throughout her entire school career at Buford, where she started attending in Kindergarten.

When she is not involved with school or pageants, Gabriella is also a gymnast and a cheerleader. She won Overall Gymnasts at the Atlanta Centennial Classic as a gold gymnast. Additionally, Gabriella won the USA National Miss Princess talent for a gymnastics/dance routine. Thanks to her gymnastics talent, a quirk that she is very proud that she can do is the ability to walk on her hands. She was even asked to show the judges her quirky talent during her interview at the national pageant which the judges loved.

To learn more about the cause near and dear to Gabriella’s heart, the inclusive Grace Upon Grace Pageant, click here. For more information about the USA National Miss Scholarship Pageant organization, visit usanationalmiss.com.

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