The stage lights come up, shining on 19 young women competing to become the next Miss Utah Tech University. Each has come to win with a cause they are fighting for and hours of preparation.
The Miss Utah Tech pageant has been around since 1951 and has become a yearly Homecoming Week tradition.
“These women are advancing a message of empowerment through their efforts in communication, talent and their own unique community service initiatives as part of a Miss America organization that celebrates a new era of progressiveness, inclusiveness and service and success for women,” Sarah Boysun, Miss Dixie State 2014, said.
There are five key aspects of the pageant are called pillars. They include service, style, scholarship, success and sisterhood. These pillars factor into the events the women compete in. The first four are represented as the four points on the Miss America crown. After a woman completes her service, she joins the sisterhood of “forever queens.”
To become the next Miss Utah Tech, one needs to score well throughout the phases of competition.
- First, before the pageant, contestants enter a 10-minute interview with the judges for 30% of their overall score.
- To begin the pageant, each woman is asked a question on stage. This accounts for 10% of their score.
- The next phase is relatively new to the competition. It is the health and fitness section where the contestants talk about the ways they keep healthy and model exercise wear. This segment is worth 20% of their score.
- Then comes the talent section, which is 20%. Contestants demonstrate a talent they possess. Talents this year included singing, dancing, sign language, acting, writing and more.
- The last segment is the evening gown competition. Contestants show off a dress they would wear on the red carpet. This accounts for the last 20%.
The competition demonstrates the service, style and success pillars of the pageant. These pillars are furthered through their time as Miss Utah Tech. The scholarship awarded to the winner is included in the fourth pillar. This year the scholarship was awarded differently.
“We are changing how our scholarship is awarded. So, instead of receiving a full tuition scholarship waiver, which doesn’t necessarily stack on top of academic scholarships, they receive a $2,000 cash prize,” Morgan Olson, executive director of the pageant and 2019, 2020 Miss Dixie State, said.
This is not the only change made this year.
Olson said, “This year, we started a new tradition of presenting our outgoing queen with a crown box to be able to remember the year.”
Marie Sewell, Miss Utah Tech 2024, was given the crown box this year as the first ever Miss Utah Tech to receive one.
“This year has been one of the most transformative years of my life. I never thought I would learn so much about myself or witness the growth I experienced in the process,” Sewell said. “I only wish I could hug my 18-year-old self and tell her that her dreams are possible and that she is enough.”
Sewell passed her crown to Alyssia Johnston, a senior marketing major from Pocatello, Idaho. Johnston’s community service initiative is giving children in poverty the ability to succeed in sports. It is called “The Monthly Move Project.”
“It gives children in poverty the opportunity to succeed in athletics that they may never have been able to do in the first place,” Johnston said.
Johnston had competed in the pageants before and served as royalty. She’s seen many friends become Miss Utah Tech, and now it is her turn.
The fifth pillar is sisterhood. Many past winners or “forever queens” were present in the audience during the pageant. Several of them won in the ’60s and ’70s. One of Utah Tech’s traditions is recognizing these “forever queens.” This year they had portraits of all the past queens on display in the Eccles Building lobby. Each year they also do a social with the alumni that attend as well.
Olson said: “It’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to remember that while this organization may be small, we are mighty. It’s good to be able to connect with these older alumni and be able to acknowledge and appreciate the changes that not only Utah Tech University has gone through, but also the Miss America Opportunity.”
