Allie Berry crowned Miss USU

On the evening of April 8, Miss Student Alumni Association Allie Berry was crowned the 2025 Miss USU in the TSC Evan N. Stevenson Ballroom after a night of cheers and tears from both contestants and audience members.

Berry was crowned alongside first attendant Miss Involvement Kylie Back and second attendant Miss Business Megan Bagley.

“I really want to shout out all of my girls. They were so kind and so sweet, and I seriously would break off every piece of this crown and give it to them. I’m just so — I’m so proud of everyone,” Berry said.

There were 13 contestants this year, with one from each college as well as Miss Involvement, Miss Athlete, Miss Greek and Miss SAA.

The Miss USU contestants pose for a picture together after the Miss USU event on April 8.

This year’s People’s Choice, voted on through Instagram likes, is Miss Greek Ella Martin. Miss Engineering Sydney Traveller was voted to be this year’s Miss Congeniality by the contestants.   

The judging panel consisted of former Miss USU and USUSA President Clara Holdstock, current USUSA President Matt Richey, Stewart Needham from S.E. Needham Jewelers and alumni center representative Shelley Wardell.

Unique to this year’s competition, among the contestants was a set of twin sisters. Miss Graduate Studies Katelyn Parker and Miss College of Humanities and Social Sciences Eileen Parker are identical twins who competed together and were each other’s escorts.

The program started with a performance number from the contestants, followed by the talent portion with performances ranging from piano, singing, dancing, drag, poetry, a fashion show and a stunt performance.

For her talent, in what one of the emcees called a “ground-breaking revelation,” Miss Grad Studies revealed her identity as the face behind the Instagram account usu_bathrooms, which is dedicated to ranking bathrooms on the USU Logan campus.

In her identity reveal, she dubbed one of the worst bathrooms on campus to be those located in the HPER and the best to be the bathrooms in the Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center.

Alexis Lyman, 2024-25 Miss USU guest, spoke after the talent portion, reflecting on her year with the crown.

“I dedicated anywhere from five to 15 hours a week to this position. It’s a lot of work, but I’m really, really thankful that I had the opportunity to do it,” Lyman said.

2024-2025 Miss USU Alexis Lyman gives a speech at the 2025 Miss USU event on April 8.

Those 15 hours were often dedicated to Lyman’s platform titled “Seen, Heard, Known,” which she promoted through the Miss USU Instagram account.

“I want to remind you all, including myself, that you are seen, heard, known,” Lyman said.

After the winner announcement was made, Lyman spoke to The Utah Statesman about passing the crown to Berry and reflected on what that transition was like with her and 2023-24 Miss USU Regan Tracey.

“Regan taught me to embrace my personality. She taught me to be proud of myself and to do what I feel like is important. She also just taught me to be very strong and sure of myself and to exude confidence,” Lyman said.

The question portion of the evening proceeded, where the contestants were escorted by a close family member, partner or friend of their choice and asked a range of questions all centered around the spirit of USU.   

After the question portion, while the judges evaluated each contestant, the audience was shown a video of each contestant doing a USU spinoff of the famous talk show segment “Carpool Karaoke,” but instead of a car, contestants and the emcees rode in a golf cart around campus singing songs like “Determinate” from Lemonade Mouth or “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer.

Miss USU is annually put on during the spring semester by the SAA in the TSC ballroom and is a non-ticketed event open to the public, unlike its Mr. USU counterpart, which is held in the fall in the Newel and Jean Daines Concert Hall and is a ticketed event put on by the USUSA Traditions Committee.