The former Cessnock girl (who now lives in Rutherford) was named 2017 Miss Teen Galaxy Australia in April, and will compete on the international stage in Orlando, Florida, next month.

Ruby will vie for the Miss Teen Galaxy International sash and hopes the experience will entice young women across the country to follow her footsteps, and encourage them to realise their potential.

She has created a campaign, called Accept Me, to help young women see themselves differently. 

It’s one of several ways the teen is giving back to the community – she’s also collecting donations for Ronald McDonald House in Newcastle and plans to cook many meals from donated ingredients for the families there in August.

It’s a cause that’s close to her heart. Her family needed the charity’s support when her younger brother Macky, who has Down Syndrome and a heart defect, needed surgery. 

“I was with my family at Ronald McDonald House when my brother was having numerous surgeries, and what was supposed to be 14 days turned into 14 weeks,” she said. 

“It was really stressful and the staff helped my family out, it was fantastic.

“I don’t think people know enough about how much people go through struggles. 

“It’s very hard if you’ve got a child with sickness and we’ve just been so lucky that we’ve been able to go through the house.”

Ruby delivered a ute full of donations to the charity last month and plans to regularly contribute. She hopes shoppers will become involved and put a few extra things on their shopping list to help families in need. 

She said every donation would help make a family’s stay easier. 

Ruby will fly to the United States on July 8. She will model formal wear and swimwear as part of the competition. 

“You’re judged on multiple things, you’re judged on how you present yourself on stage, how good you are at speaking to people, how you look,” she said. 

“It’s mostly about your community work and your charity work.”

Ruby entered her first pageant when she was 13.

She said her transformation over the years showed how pageants helped young women to find their self confidence. 

“I was really, really nervous, and really shy and it really helped me become the person I am today,” she said. 

“Now I go out every day and I’m confident and I can speak to people – it’s not a worry for me.”

Ruby hopes to use her experience to promote pageant competitions and ensure young women across the country can enter them.

“I had always been interested in modelling … pageants is one of those newer things and they have quite a bad stereotype but they’re nothing like that stereotype and all the girls are wonderful,” she said.