FLEMING ISLAND — Cassandra Abboud won her first pageant title at Fleming Island High in 2025. Even though her year-long reign as Miss FIHS has come to a close, her pageant journey is only just beginning.

Abboud won the Miss St. Augustine’s Teen pageant in December of last year, a title that qualified her to compete in Miss Florida’s Teen at the end of June. 

Abboud placed in the top 10 at Miss Florida’s Teen, an impressive feat for her first year in the organization and was awarded second runner-up for the Quality of Life Scholarship. 

For Abboud, pageantry is more than a path to the crown; it’s a platform that allows her to speak up for those in need. The Quality of Life award gave recognition for her community service initiative, Service Without Borders, and her heart for the community.

Abboud is Lebanese-American, and she has family living in Lebanon with limited access to healthcare resources. This inspired her to begin Service Without Borders, a nonprofit centered on improving healthcare access in such areas.

Her grandmother passed away from treatable Stage 1 lung cancer in Lebanon because she did not receive the care she needed. Her 19-year-old cousin also passed away, shortly before Abboud won Miss St. Augustine’s Teen, because her heart condition went undiagnosed and untreated. Abboud’s goal is to spread awareness and bring hope to families like her own on a local and global level.

Most recently, she began hosting a podcast called “Voices Without Borders,” where she shares her platform with healthcare providers, community leaders and volunteers. Abboud believes education is the first step. Her goal is to use social media to promote healthy habits, awareness and action.

“Through my podcast, in general, I just want to show different ways that we can maintain our heart health, physical health, mental health, and not only that, but get into our community and volunteer.”

Her podcast is currently available on her official Instagram accounts, @misscassandraabboud and @missstaugustinesteenfl. Though social media is an effective way to reach her peers, Abboud isn’t stopping there. She has begun writing a children’s book so younger audiences can understand the importance of healthy lifestyles and helping others.

Abboud volunteers locally at the Gabriel House of Care and in Lebanon through Health Outreach to the Middle East. These experiences have further opened her eyes to the importance of proper healthcare and how even one person can make a difference. 

“I met a couple of kids when I volunteered that were my age that had never seen a dentist…so I just think that it’s really important to work like that, whether that’s here in Florida or even globally,” Abboud said. “I love working with Health Outreach to the Middle East and one day, hopefully, I won’t just be a little volunteer, but I’ll actually be one of the physicians.”

Abboud is headed to the University of Florida in the fall, planning to put her pageant scholarships towards medical school and a career of serving others as a doctor in rural, underprivileged areas. She also said her first time on the Miss Florida stage will not be the last. Through pageantry, she has found her passion and gained a sisterhood of support, beyond anything she could have imagined when she first signed up to compete in Miss FIHS.

“Everything that I do has a purpose, and I think tapping into that purpose is what keeps me going," she said. "It’s more than a crown; it’s the job that comes with the crown.”