The lives of two young women will change forever this weekend as the Miss New Jersey USA and Miss Teen New Jersey USA competitions are held.

News 12 New Jersey’s Prashanthi Musapet spoke with both women who currently hold the titles. Miss NJ Manya Saaraswat and Miss Teen NJ Ava Tortorici say that they have some advice for this year’s contestants.

"The way to know yourself and the way to win is to be authentically you, because they've had people in the past that they wanted at that time. But you're not trying to fit some sort of image, you're just trying to present yourself and the best version of you is your authentic self and that's going to represent your state the best,” Saaraswat says.

Tortorici says that contestants should never give up.

“Don't ever give up and work really hard because you can achieve anything you put your mind to,” she says.

The 2020 winners will be crowned on Sunday night in Atlantic City.