Northwest queens crowned at pageant
Jennifer Ditlevson Haglund
Alexandra Skinner of Vincennes, Ind., reacts to hearing her name called as the winner of the Miss Maryville title Saturday night at the Houston Center for the Performing Arts. Skinner attends the University of Missouri where she is majoring in textile and apparel management.
As the snow started falling Saturday evening outside the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts, inside it was raining rhinestones as contestants in the annual Northwest Missouri Pageants event received 2016 titles.
Maryville’s Taylor Deen, 23, won the Miss Northwest Counties title. Deen had competed in beauty pageants as a teenager but stopped for several years after turning 17.
“I came back this year because I knew I would regret it if I didn’t,” Deen said.
This is Deen’s last year of eligibility to compete in the Miss Missouri Pageant, which is a qualifying pageant for the Miss America competition.
As Miss Northwest Counties, she will now be allowed to compete, along with Saturday’s other adult winners, in the Miss Missouri event in Mexico, Missouri, which will take place June 12-18.
“Participating in these pageants is what made me who I am,” Deen said. “I used to be really shy.”
Deen said she watched her older sister take part in pageants in the local and state level, and that motivated her to push herself, even when she wasn’t comfortable.
“She really gave me the confidence boost I needed,” Deen said.
Deen attends Northwest Missouri State University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in education and working as a graduate assistant. She graduated from Northwest last spring with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and she plans to work as a guidance counselor.
Deen also teaches dance at A Step Ahead Dance Company in Maryville. She has been dancing more than 20 years and was a Bearcat Stepper while working on her undergraduate degree.
Her “platform” in Saturday’s pageant focused on volunteerism, which she called “The Power of One,” saying that people need to understand they can make a difference in their communities by making seemingly small choices that put others first.
Other pageant winners Saturday included Miss Northwest Mikaela Carson, 21, Overland Park, Kansas, who during the eveningwear portion of the event was described as a big fan of playing Dungeons & Dragons.
She likes comic books, too, and when asked to choose between DC and Marvel picked Marvel because of the comic publisher’s more complex and flawed characters.
“It’s not typical pageant girl fare, but I like it,” Carson said.
Carson studies economics and philosophy at Lindenwood University and wants to pursue a career in law focusing on corporate compliance and ethics.
Her interest in classical philosophy, she said, should help boost her LSAT score, adding that she especially enjoys reading Aristotle.
“Even in modern metaphysics, it all gets back to material and form,” Carson said.
Alexandra Skinner of Vincennes, Indiana, took the Miss Maryville 2016 crown as a first-time pageant contestant. Skinner, 18, attends the University of Missouri where she is majoring in textile and apparel management.
Skinner prizes the arts, and began an after-school art program in 2011. In November 2013, The Indianapolis Children’s Museum recognized Skinner for developing the initiative.
Skinner said she values art programs for young children because she wants to give those who don’t excel or aren’t as interested in math and science courses a place to succeed and grow.
Jessica Janorschke passed on her 2015 Miss Northwest Outstanding Teen crown to Kaitlyn Rigdon, 16, of Imperial.
Rigdon, who has been competing in pageants since age 6, is the daughter of Craig and Shelly Rigdon and she attends Westminster Christian Academy.
Jennifer Ditlevson Haglund
Although Kaitlyn Rigdon has been competing in pageants since she was 6 years old, she was still surprised to win the Miss Northwest Outstanding Teen crown during Saturday’s Northwest Missouri Pageants event. Rigdon, of Imperial, is the daughter of Craig and Shelly Rigdon and attends Westminster Christian Academy.
Jennifer Ditlevson Haglund
Miss Missouri 2015 McKensie Garber crowns Taylor Deen, Maryville, as the 2016 Miss Northwest Counties. Deen is the daughter of Tim and Tina Deen and attends Northwest Missouri State University where she is pursuing a master’s degree in education.
Jennifer Ditlevson Haglund
Mikaela Carson of Overland Park, Kansas, steps forward to accept the title of Miss Northwest during Saturday’s Northwest Missouri Pageants event. Carson attends Lindenwood University where she is majoring in philosophy and economics.
