National American Miss Young Author Submission
October 2025

For many of us, pageantry starts with a simple letter in the mail. My journey with National American Miss and pageantry started no differently. At 11 years old, I first competed for the title of NAM Washington Preteen, and I had no idea how competing in this pageant would change the trajectory of my life. From that first competition, I was hooked. NAM is about more than creating young women who stand tall with poise; it's about empowering them to gain real-world skills through powerful networking & relationship-building opportunities, one-on-one interviews, and public speaking, to name a few. Additionally, NAM has adapted to help today’s women navigate the world of social media and online marketing. When telling an academic mentor I was preparing to compete in a pageant, he replied, “You must have a leg up because you are so well accomplished and you are a graduate student.” I paused, I was slightly shocked to hear this response, and replied, “Pageant girls are the reason I am so ambitious, and pageants have helped me gain the skills to get to where I am today. My pageant friends are some of the people who inspire me most and some of the most successful people I know.” Through National American Miss, young women such as myself are impacted in ways that stick with them beyond the stage and glam; it’s more than a pageant. These are just a few reasons I am proud to be a NAM girl.