Syndi Dion Bennett, first African-American to win Miss Illinois Teen USA in 34 years

Bennett, 16, is the first African-American to win Miss Illinois Teen USA in over three decades. She is in the dance programme at the Chicago Academy for the Arts. — TNS

Syndi Dion Bennett didn’t aspire to be anyone else when she was a little girl. A 10-year-and-counting ballerina, her friends would often liken her to Misty Copeland.

She didn’t want to hear that. She lives by the mantra “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”