The Four Points of the Crown: Scholarship

One of the next four points of the crown for Miss America is scholarship. Scholarship is what the Miss America Organization is all based out of. We just went through a full revamp of our social media to make sure everything said “scholarship program” at the end instead of “pageant”. Think…. Miss Congeniality. “It is a scholarship program!” All jokes aside, it really is the root of this entire organization. The Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s leading achievement programs and the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations awarded more than $45 million scholarships to it’s contestants.

I could go on and on with names of contestants in the organization that have been able to graduate, debt free, with bachelors degrees, masters degrees, and doctorates. And the beautiful thing about it all, is if you graduate and still have scholarship, the organization will set it aside for you to use for classes in the future. My director my final year competing was working on her doctorate, pay with the money she was awarded from competing as Miss Idaho in 1993. How cool is that? She was the perfect example of scholarship to me. She really embraced education and she talked to me about what things I could do after I got my bachelors degree.

In addition to that, the Miss America Organization is a national partner of STEM. The STEM purpose is, “The STEM Education Coalition works aggressively to raise awareness in Congress, the Administration, and other organizations about the critical role that STEM education plays in enabling the U.S. to remain the economic and technological leader of the global marketplace of the 21st century. Members of the STEM Coalition believe that our nation must improve the way our students learn science, mathematics, technology and engineering and that the business, education, and STEM communities must work together to achieve this goal.” The Miss America Organization is here to support women in moving into the fields they desire, not into the fields that are trendy.

 

I wouldn’t be where I am without education. And my education was made possible by the Miss America Organization. Throughout my years of competing I won $5000 in scholarships. And, that is for a girl that didn’t ever place at state. Imagine the girls that win a lot of awards, place in the top 5, and actually win! Some of my friends have won two or three times as much of money as me. My final year I won about $2,700 in scholarship for placing in top ten, the Idaho’s Bert Park award – which is basically Miss Congenitally voted on by the contestants as the lady that represents the program the best, and I won the Miss America Community Service award. I think it is so incredible that an organization puts so much effort into helping women excel in education. They help women become doctors, news anchors, event planners, actors, and so on and so on.

The women in this organization have more ambition and more drive than anyone I have ever met. When you ask them what their plans are, it isn’t to graduate from college. It is to graduate from college. But to continue learning. To get more education. To educate and volunteer in their community. It is simply amazing. And I am proud to be a part of a sisterhood that is so strong and driven.