LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – An accountancy student from Saint Louis University was crowned Miss La Trinidad 2023 during the coronation night at Benguet State University gymnasium here on Sunday, March 26. Reynice Tello, 21, a resident of Barangay Balili, La Trinidad, Benguet, whose main advocacy focuses on promoting better mental health awareness, bested 13 other ladies in the competition. She said she wants to make mental health resources more accessible, especially to young people who might have a hard time looking for support and treatment. She stated that it had been a struggle for her trying to balance her personal life with preparations for the pageant, but in the end, she said, the result was worth the hardship. She advised the aspiring youth to ‘keep trying, because if it’s for you, then it’s for you. You don’t join and expect to win immediately. You have to wait for your time, the right time. Because everything has a time.” Tello has been competing in pageants since she was a child. The previous year, she was first runner up in the Mr. and Ms. Bokod pageant. The pageant is part of the month-long celebration of Strawberry Festival 2023 that ends on March 31.