Belle Foster may have only been at Gray Collegiate for one year, but she is already leaving her mark. 

The sophomore softball player and youth advocate was named the school's first-ever Miss Gray Collegiate Teen. Next week, Foster will represent the school on the big stage at the Miss South Carolina Teen pageant.

“Gray has been absolutely incredible for me with my friends, the people that I've met, how I've done in school, it has been absolutely incredible in every way,” Foster said. “Being the first Miss Gray Collegiate Teen was just empowering for me.” 

Before arriving at Gray, Foster had never competed in a pageant before. 

While it was a new stage, Foster is used to the spotlight as a softball player and podcast host. She wears many hats, but the baseball cap was the first, picking up a bat for the first time at age three. 

Like many, she worked her way up from tee ball to co-ed baseball to little league softball. Now, she’s part of one of the best softball programs in the state at Gray Collegiate.

The wins, losses and broken down bus ride to North Augusta brought Foster closer to the team and developed her softball skills to another level.

“We were able to help each other, and that's the mindset that a lot of the girls on Gray have,” Foster said. “And the coaches have put forward, so that's helped me grow my game a lot.”   

Foster is committed to improving her game even more over the offseason to come back better in 2027. She’ll be working with a private coach and attending college prospect camps to get even more feedback from experienced eyes. 

Softball is not the only thing on Foster’s plate. 

She also commits a large portion of her time to her podcast and youth advocacy work. Foster’s goal is to encourage other young people to engage in civic discourse and stay educated on current events. 

“I was always met with the same statement, which was, ‘Oh, you're too young to talk about politics, just go have fun,’” she said. “That never sat well with me because I didn't understand why, just because I was young, I couldn't have a voice in politics.”

Foster created The American Honey Show to make current events more accessible to people her age. She took inspiration from other political content creators, including Charlie Kirk, who Foster said had the largest influence. 

“My main goal is to educate teens about civics and politics so that they get to the ballot box and they are prepared,” Foster said. “Why is it that when we hit 18, that's when we should start worrying about it? Because to me, that’s too late.”

Through her podcast, Foster has interviewed many influential people at both the local and national levels. 

She recently got to interview candidates for South Carolina governor, including Lt Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson. 

Foster believes these interviews are among the most important works she’s done and that people should focus more on local politics. 

“They need to know about our local elections, about these state elections, because they are also going to, probably even more so in ways, determine their lives because this is where they live,” she said. 

When not podcasting, playing softball or participating in pageants, Foster does a lot of things most people her age do. 

Softball isn’t her only sport. She also plays a little golf and is an avid pickleball fan. 

In her downtime, she reads, mostly non-fiction political books with a touch of C.S. Lewis mixed in. Foster also spends a lot of time with her five brothers and sister, traveling to different events and vacations with mom or dad. 

She also regularly attends church and takes part in youth group. Religion plays a big role in life and guides her through all of her different interests. 

“My faith means everything to me,” Foster said. “ I would not be where I am today without Christ. I would never have been able to step out of my box and start a podcast. I would never have been able to continue playing softball. I would have given up at the first knockdown.” 

Her faith is giving her the confidence she needs to take the stage next week as she looks to be named Miss Teen South Carolina. 

Foster hopes her whole story is enough to impress the pageant judges. Regardless, she knows that win-or-lose, this is just the beginning of her story. 

“I would love to be Miss South Carolina Teen and go to nationals and become Miss America's Teen. That would be incredible,” she said. “But my goal is to inspire, encourage, and empower.”