How did you get involved with pageants?
My senior year of high school, around 2022, I saw Ebony Mitchell ’19 and Kamaya Tackett win the Miss Arkansas and Miss Arkansas Teen titles. What made that year special was that they were the first Black women to have a dual reign together. When I saw that on my social media, I realized that I wanted to start my pageant journey. So my senior year of high school, I entered Miss Central Arkansas.
How did it feel to be crowned Miss UCA?
It was the most rewarding experience, mainly because I had worked really hard for the title. I have been wanting this for three or four years now, and I took every loss with a grain of salt and learned from each experience. This year was different because I felt much more comfortable with who I was. I found my true talent in classical vocal and overall just felt very comfortable with who I was.
What is your social impact initiative?
My initiative is called “FOSTER the Arts,” which stands for finding opportunities, supporting talent and empowering resilience within youth for the arts. I was in foster care and grew up on the south side of Chicago, and I was in areas where the arts were inaccessible. So when I got a second chance at life and was adopted by my dad, I started doing the arts, and I realized it was something I was passionate about. With my initiative, I want to bring more diversity to the arts and create a safe space for everyone to feel seen, valued and heard.
What is one word you would use to describe the community at UCA?
Oh that’s hard, I would say “supportive.” When I came to college at 18, I found I struggled to find guidance and feel accepted, and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I was a theatre major at first, but I found that it wasn’t something that I wanted to do, and I had to sacrifice a lot of time to rehearsals. So when I went looking for mentors and support, it was there. One notable mentor of mine is Alex Todd ’17, ’22, and if she reads this, she will laugh. She was my boss as a student worker sophomore year, and she mentored me and provided a wonderful support system. When I won Miss Conway in 2024, the entire division of student affairs came together to help me with Miss Arkansas, so UCA has a lot of really good mentors and a really good support system, and through being an involved student here, I’ve seen the amount of support UCA gives its students.
What goals do you have for your year as Miss UCA?
I really enjoy mentorship and leadership because it makes students who need that extra time and extra support feel seen and heard. I also started an RSO (Registered Student Organization) called Collegians for Christ, and we meet every Wednesday for Bible study and to talk about everything we have on our plates. I am also a mentor for the Miss Old Gold and Black pageant, where I mentor girls who are entering a pageant for the first time. So my goal is definitely to be a mentor within my communities, making sure everyone feels seen and heard.
“College is really what you make it. Just try new things, like going on new adventures, try it all.”
What are your plans after UCA?
I’m a broadcast journalism major with a minor in public relations, so after school, I want to be a general assignment news reporter, preferably in the morning. I want to start in a major news outlet in Arkansas and work my way up to becoming a news anchor. I took a news class in my senior year of high school, and I would interview people around my community, and I really enjoyed it. I’ve always enjoyed the art of storytelling and making sure people’s stories are getting out there, and I genuinely enjoy it. I mean, hey, you get to dress up and have a wonderful closet, so it’s kind of like a pageant.
What is one message you hope every UCA student hears at least once?
This is so cliché, but you have to try new things in college. I meet people every day who have all the skills to do a pageant or theatre, or to be involved with SOS (Student Orientation Staff), but something is holding them back. I don’t know what it is, but college is really what you make it. Just try new things, going on new adventures, try it all.