SANCHEZ OCHOA IS HONORED FOR HER `INNER BEAUTY'.

Byline: RICK COCA Valley News Writer

All hail the queen. Jessica Sanchez Ochoa is the 2006 winner of the Miss San Fernando ``Inner Beauty'' Pageant.

And while Sanchez Ochoa's radiant smile is evidence of her outer beauty, her years of volunteering and community service highlight the kind of inner beauty that pageant organizers were looking for in a queen.

Sanchez Ochoa is a 21-year-old full-time student at California State University, Northridge, majoring in apparel merchandise. She is a lifelong resident of the city of San Fernando.

``I'm really involved in my community and I wanted to represent (it),'' Sanchez Ochoa said of her motivation to sign up for the pageant.

Also honored were Sanchez Ochoa's court, First Princess Rosario Perez; Second Princess Maria Vanessa Rubio; Third Princess Arlene Rodriguez and Fourth Princesses Annette Amezquita and Lori Calvillo.

Raised by her mother and single parent Eva Ochoa, Sanchez Ochoa said she has taken to heart the ``you can do anything'' advice her mother gave her and her siblings.

Sanchez Ochoa's first foray into volunteering came about 9 years old, when she and her sister, Nancy, then about 11, helped paint a wall at Las Palmas Park.

Since then, she has volunteered as a counselor at another local park and worked as a tutor for San Fernando Middle School students under Building Up LA, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Los Angeles Conservation Corp.

At CSUN, while a student of Chicano Studies Professor Rodolfo Acuna, Sanchez Ochoa was required to perform six hours of community service.

She decided to return to Las Palmas Park, the place where her community service began.

In December 2003, she helped with a Christmas program for seniors at the park.

``I've been there ever since,'' Sanchez Ochoa said.

During the week, Sanchez Ochoa now volunteers three hours each morning with the seniors at Las Palmas Park before heading off to classes at CSUN. She also works part-time as a chiropractic assistant.

The Miss San Fernando Pageant was established in 1931. In later years, organizers threw out the bathing suit and talent portions of the pageant, choosing to focus on other qualities.

In preliminary judging, Sanchez Ochoa and the other participants were required to write an essay on a social activist. She chose Cesar Chavez. They also had to answer questions about San Fernando's rich history as well as explain why they would make a good queen. There were also mandatory workshops on personal care, public speaking, interview techniques and poise and etiquette.

Sanchez Ochoa's win carries with it a $1,500 scholarship.

``I want to thank my mother because she's my motivating factor,'' Sanchez Ochoa said. ``She really encouraged us to pursue our education and be somebody.''

Sanchez Ochoa's sister, Nancy, 23, is a sociology major at CSUN. She also has two younger brothers, Sergio, 12, and Albert, 11.

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Miss San Fernando 2006 is Jessica Sanchez Ochoa

Marco Polo/Special to Valley News