​​I am often asked by potential candidates, “what do I need to do to compete?”  If you are new to the Miss America competition, I will do my best to answer your questions! Here are 6 steps to set you on the road to Miss America.
​
NOTE: To any young ladies who hold Ambassador titles, you are also eligible to compete for Miss Minnesota or Miss Minnesota's Outstanding Teen. Read the addendum at the end of this blog.

3. Assemble Your Paperwork (Resume, Social Impact Statement & Photo)
Your paperwork will be the first thing the judges see before they meet you in the interview. Your Resume should showcase your education, personality and accomplishments. Your Social Impact Statement is an essay about why you chose your initiative; why your initiative is relevant; and what you intend to do or what you have done to advocate your initiative. Remember, choose a social impact initiative you are passionate about. You can check out my blog about the Miss America Social Impact Initiative for more detailed information. You will also need a color photo of yourself for the program book and social media. Be sure to select a nice picture for the judges which represents who you are. ​

5. Assemble Your Wardrobe: Opening Number outfit, Interview Outfit, Eveningwear, and Talent Costume
There are many pieces of advice I could share about wardrobe and what you should wear. I’ll leave you with this: what you wear should fit you well and make you feel great when you are on stage. It should reflect your personality and make you feel awesome! And, you do not have to spend a lot. I have found great dresses on pageant & prom resale sites, eBay, Amazon, and have borrowed clothing. Remember that you are competing to win scholarship money, and you don’t want to spend more than you can win.

6. Prepare For Your Judges Interview
This sometimes is the most overlooked part of preparation for new contestants. You will have a 10-minute interview with the judges, of which the last 30 seconds you may give a prepared (not memorized) closing statement. (NOTE: Teen Contestant interviews are shorter, so check with your local pageant. There is no closing statement for Teens.) What is the best way to prepare for this? First, read, re-read, and then re-re-read your paperwork! Do service work in your community. Stay up to date on current events. Practice answering questions with family and friends. You need to know everything that you have written in your paperwork and be prepared to talk about it. For keeping up on current events, I recommend theskimm.com which is an online news service providing an overview of current political issues. Have conversations with friends and family so you are able to articulate your views. The most important thing to know about the interview is to BE YOURSELF. Don’t answer questions based on what you think the judges want to hear. They are there to get to know you, so show them your heart! You can watch my video to learn more about the 10-minute judges interview!

NEW
During the On-Stage Question portion of the competition, candidates will first present a 30-second Social Impact Pitch about their Social Impact Initiative. Following the 30-second 'pitch' one judge will ask a question to the candidate to follow up from the private interview.

NEW
During the Red Carpet Eveningwear Competition (formerly the Evening wear competition) for MISS, candidates may choose evening attire of their choosing. This is a stand-alone competition.

NEW 
This is for STATE competition only. This will not be done at local competitions.
Prepare a Social Impact Pitch (SIP). The SIP will be a 60 second "Ted Talk" and will be done only at state competitions by the final top 5 candidates. ​

​Now that you have an overview of what it takes to compete in a Miss America local, find one today and join the sisterhood! Also, be sure to check you are eligible to compete. Miss America and Miss America's Outstanding Teen provide eligibility rules on age, residency, marital status, etc. I have not posted the links here, as the links and rules are changing often!  

Good Luck!
​~Kathryn

​The mission of my Social Impact Initiative, The Invisible Crown, is to highlight the legacy of Miss America that lives on in the women who have competed. This  competition experience leaves a mark, forever. Women who compete in this system are characterized by their charisma, talent, and intelligence: qualities identified by the crowns we wear, but which do not disappear the moment we take them off. Women who have spent time in this program go on to become teachers, doctors, authors, performers, engineers, mothers and more. They never stop, and they never forget where they started.

​I am both crazy and passionate about this program! Miss America empowers women to achieve their goals through education, community service, and hard work. Miss America helps us learn how to interview; to become effective communicators; to advocate for a cause important to us; and to perfect our talents. We learn resilience. My goal is to reach as many women as possible to introduce them to the life-changing opportunity Miss America provides.   #thesisterhoodisreal  ~ Kathryn Rose

Update July 2021 - The Invisible Crown resource has now transformed into Invisible Crown Productions. We will continue to create content for those who want to stay connected to the Miss America Organization!

You've won your local competition, congratulations! You are now on the next step of your Miss America journey ~ getting ready for your state competition. It may be only a few months away, but don’t be fooled! Competition week will be here before you know it and every day until then is a day you can use to prepare. 

I wrote this blog to share the things I focused on when I competed for the title of Miss Minnesota for the second time. I treated my local title as Miss Coon Rapids like it was my full time job! The key for me was to do at least one thing each day, even if it was as small as texting my local director updates or running through my talent in between classes. You don’t have to do every one of my suggestions every single day, you’d go crazy! But these are some things to do so you’re optimizing your time as you get ready for the big competition! For those of you who are thinking of competing for your first local title there is still plenty here for you to think about as you begin your journey to the Miss America stage.
​

1. Communicate with your Local Director.
This one is super important, even if it’s just a few texts here or there! Your Local Director is there to help you get ready for the state competition and make the most of your year. Find out their expectations and let them know your goals as their titleholder. This makes it easier to collaborate with them and come up with new ideas! Also, always check with them before you make appearances, speak, fundraise, or do anything with the name of your title. Your directors are your best resources, especially if you are new. So work with them!

2. Arrange speaking opportunities.
Whether you realize it or not, public speaking is perhaps the most important part of this job! From giving keynote addresses to groups; emceeing events; TV, radio and podcast interviews; your year is non-stop speaking! Find every opportunity to get in front of a group of people to speak. Your local committee might be able to help you. Schools, Rotary & Lions Clubs, and other similar civic organizations are great places to speak about your Social Impact Initiative. By practicing speaking, you’ll start to develop and refine talking points for interview, onstage question, and social impact pitch. 

4. Develop your unique BRAND on social media.
You’ve most likely noticed how much social media has expanded over the past few years. Now is the time to start using platforms like Instagram, IGTV, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter to brand yourself. This is also a great way to advocate for your Social Impact Initiative and update people on what you are doing! Some easy ways to get started are to create accounts for your title and develop hashtags unique to you and your initiative. Use Facebook and Instagram stories and highlights to help people get to know you. Give your judges lots of social media to sift through so they can get to know you better before you meet them in interview!

5. Keep working on talent.
Talent is my favorite part of the competition. If you want to gain points in this area I suggest you find places to perform and improve your talent. For me, I found a great group of jazz musicians that I did gigs with which really helped me refine my talent abilities for state. I took every opportunity I could to get on a stage and sing to help me improve!

6. Fundraise for CMN
Part of your involvement with Miss America includes volunteering and fundraising for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. This does not mean simply asking family and friends for donations. You can work with your local committee to develop a creative fundraising event. I have always fundraised by selling my handmade earrings and other crafts at different church events or craft events all year. Other ideas are selling candy bars at your school during sporting events; have pancake breakfast at  your church; organize a walk; a bake sale; you can partner with a local restaurant to donate proceeds to CMN if you set a date with them and get people to their restaurant. The ideas are endless if you take time to be creative. 

7. Attend local competitions to meet and get to know your class.
Attending local competitions is so valuable! You meet women in the sisterhood, learn more about competing by watching others, and it can even be a chance for a fun road trip!  For more on this subject of the benefits of attending local competitions, read my blog here!
 
8. Start paperwork right after you win your local.
While paperwork isn’t due until closer to the state competition, you don’t want to be writing your Resume and Social Impact Statement the night before you turn them in! This isn’t like a college essay where you start at 7pm before it’s due at midnight (though we’ve all been there!) One way to get started is to keep a file on your computer desktop dedicated to all of your ideas. Focus on editing and adding a little at a time, sending different versions of your paperwork to your committee for reviewing, and then editing again. If you stay at this process and work a little at a time, paperwork will be done before you know it! The key is to start now!
 
9. Start wardrobe preparation now.
Personally, my wardrobe is one of the first things I take care of. I work to have all of my competition clothing selected, accessorized, and altered months before the competition. Part of this is due to the stories I’ve heard of people trying to find a tailor to fix a dress two days before competition. No one needs that last minute stress! Plus, once you have your state wardrobe together you can start working on the important stuff like service work, finalizing paperwork, or fundraising! Believe me, picking out your wardrobe early is a huge stress reliever!
​

10. Treat your local title like a real job.
If you earn your state title, your year of service will be much more than a full time job. There are expectations, deadlines, sponsorship responsibilities, and paperwork. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of the fun stuff, too! One way to prepare yourself for a state title is to take your local title seriously. Commit to trying some of the things above like speaking, fundraising, and working with your local director to grow your Social Impact Initiative. It's important to develop the mindset that your service, social impact, social media, preparation, talent, speaking, and fundraising should be well formed before you win. This way, you will be ready to hit the ground running with that state title!

One thing I love to say of this organization is that the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it! This experience has the potential to be a life changing year, but it’s up to you to make the experience amazing. So dive in, try new things, challenge yourself, and enjoy the journey.

Good luck!
Kathryn
​

P.S. If you have a teen or princesses, don't forget to show them some love too! They are our future leaders and you are their mentor.

The best way I have found to live your Initiative every day, is to simply do that: do one thing every day. Most titleholders hope to have made an impact by the time their 366th day rolls around, so let’s get started. Here are three steps to help you do ONE thing every day:

Becoming a state titleholder has introduced me to so many new people around the country. I thought I would take this opportunity tell you more about myself with a list of 20 things to help you get to know me better!

3. ​Far too many of my clothes come from Amazon Prime because I believe in competing affordably!

4. My favorite inspirational quote is “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities, brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

5. My favorite everyday quote is: “A positive attitude may not solve all of your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” 😎

6. I have a Culinary Arts degree... yet my favorite thing to make myself will always be a tuna melt! 

7. I took comedy improv classes to learn a new perspective on public speaking and to get used to thinking on my feet.

8. I have two older brothers, A.J. and Robert, who have always treated me with tender loving care... 😜

9. ​The “studio” I film all of my videos in is actually my brothers' old bedroom!

10.​ Taking walks is how I relax and come up with new ideas!  

11. ​The best advice I’ve ever received is that authenticity breeds confidence and comparison is the death of confidence.

12. The Invisible Crown was inspired by women I’ve met and learned from through Miss America.

13. I performed in the Mall of America Rotunda several times. Singing in front of large audiences helped me get over my stage fright and has taught me a lot about performing!

14. ​When I competed as a teen, my talent was musical theater. It wasn't until I competed as a Miss and fell in love with jazz that I started having greater success and winning talent awards. Authenticity in every phase of competition goes a long way in Miss America!

15. I love singing in coffee houses because I love the homey-vibe and getting a free cup of coffee!

16. I filmed my very first YouTube video, “Saint Paul Spotlight” in January of 2015 about the Red Bull Crashed Ice speed skating competition in St. Paul.

17. Ok I love the snow... But my favorite season is Fall. #fallinlovewithMinnesota

18. ​I’m a huge foodie and, if I could, I'd eat at a new restaurant every single day to try new foods!

19. In order to graduate Culinary School... I HAD to take wine tasting every Monday for a semester.

1. Your Social Impact Initiative (SII) should be about something you have real passion for.
This may seem obvious, however there is a fine line between simply caring about an issue and actually being passionate about it. You need to be able to speak from the heart about your SII. My brother told me, “your initiative should be about Miss America, because you never stop talking about it!” Gotta love brothers, because he did have a good point! One test for your social impact initiative is that your family and friends already know why you chose it before you even have to explain it to them. 

2. Swimsuit competition has been retired.
Women will no longer be judged while wearing a swimsuit and heels. This has been a welcome change as women are pleased not to have to model a swimsuit to be awarded scholarships. 

3. Evening Wear with Social Impact Statement.
This elegant phase of the competition has been improved in two ways:  Each candidate now wears anything she would like as if walking the red carpet - pants, cape, gown, dress, whatever it is that makes you thrilled to step onto the stage. In addition, Candidates make an 8-second Social Impact Statement in their evening wear. What do you say? Take key points of your Social Impact Statement and condense them into 2-3 sentences. This is your moment to articulate what you will do as Miss America OR share the impact you hope to make as a titleholder.
 
4. Talent Competition is now worth 50% of your scoring.*
Talent has been a cornerstone of the Miss America Competition. The only change is that now the scoring percentage has increased to 50% at the state and national levels, and 40% at the local level. Your talent presentation cannot be longer than 90-seconds and should reflect who you are. Consider challenging yourself as you prepare for this exciting phase of competition.
 
5. Private Interview 25% and On Stage Question 15%.*
Both of these phases of competition combined just got a whole lot more important, totaling 40% of your score! They are meant to focus on who you are authentically and whether you are that person confidently in front of people. The private interview is 10 minutes long with your judges. The on stage question is an extension of the judges interview, and you have 20 seconds to answer one question. It would certainly come in handy to start practicing answering questions in 20 second bites!

One of the hallmarks of the Miss America Organization are local pageants. To be eligible to compete in your state competition, you must first compete and win a 'local' title. Once you attain a local title, attending other 'locals' is a great way to kick off your year. In fact, there are several very good reasons to attend local pageants.

​3. PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES TO RECRUIT.
​Any time you wear your crown is a recruitment opportunity. There are always little girls and young women at local pageants, whether they are there to support a contestant or to learn more about the program. You are a representative of MISS AMERICA and you have the ability to encourage these people to get involved. Why not take this chance?

6. YOU WILL GET TO KNOW YOUR AWESOME STATE TITLEHOLDER.
More often than not, our Miss Minnesota makes an official appearance at every local pageant. She speaks about her platform, the Miss America Organization, and performs her talent. Attending local pageants gives you more opportunities to meet your state representative and get to know her better. After all, you would like to have her job someday. 

​7.  IT'S PART OF THE EXPERIENCE.
​The local level is the first step and the heart and soul of the Miss America experience. Just think, by attending local pageants, you could be meeting, or actually be, the next Miss America. Remember this: the journey to Miss America begins on a small stage somewhere with a local pageant.