Meet the candidates for Miss USU 2024
Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect new and accurate information.
From diversity to education to athletics, the annual Miss USU pageant is a showcase of many fields of the student population.
This year, the pageant will be held on April 9 in the TSC ballroom from 7-9 p.m. The doors open at 6. The event will not have tickets, and the contestants advised arriving early to claim a seat.
The theme for this year’s pageant is “We All Belong.” The 15 girls running for the title have already been crowned in their category and are working on their platforms.
Miss Agriculture is Zoey Olaveson, a sophomore studying agriculture business.
“My platform is ‘Empowering Women Through Opportunity, Community and Activity,’” Olaveson said. “It’s all about providing women with opportunities to grow outside of the classroom and learn skills that will benefit them in all aspects of their lives.”
Olaveson is the first president of USU’s branch of the Sigma Alpha sorority, and she said being part of a supportive community of women pushes them all to achieve excellence.
“I want to do this through mentorship opportunities, speaker series, skill sharing and other similar things,” Olaveson said. “This way, women can get involved in what they’re interested in and meet others who have similar interests.”
Olaveson said she was born an Aggie and grew up learning about the impact of Miss USU on the campus community.
“My mom and I have loved to travel to campus and watch the incredible women share what they are passionate about,” Olaveson said. “I want to make a difference at Utah State just like the amazing women before me and continue to strengthen our campus culture.”
Miss Art is Madison Black, a junior in music therapy with a vocal emphasis. Black’s platform, entitled “Showing up for Others,” involves increasing student awareness of resources on campus.
“People feel more belonging on college campuses if they’re aware of the resources available to them,” Black said.
Black is passionate about normalizing multiple types of therapy, including music therapy, in order to increase mental health awareness. In her research, Black has found hearing multiple stories about methods to overcome a sense of loneliness helps students determine their best method for taking care of their mental health.
“Different things work for different people,” Black said. “I plan to implement a required reading for incoming freshmen to read just a few stories of recent graduates from USU of how they overcame struggle with a sense of belonging.”
Miss Athlete is Lexie Tueller, a junior studying communications studies. Tueller went to USU Eastern before coming to Logan, playing on the volleyball team there. Now, she is on the pickleball team and plays a lot of intramurals.
“There’s two parts of my platform,” Tueller said. “Part one is ‘Be Yourself’ and part two is ‘Make it Happen.’”
The first part, “Be Yourself,” is focused on learning individuality and how to put yourself before other parts of the world.
“I think that by cultivating positive habits, showing ourselves some grace and becoming the most healthy version of ourselves, we are able to find ourselves,” Tueller said. “Once we do that, we’re able to share those unique gifts with others.”
The second part, “Make it Happen,” is about finding communities to increase support and belonging.
“My goal is to encourage my peers to find who they are while cultivating a community around them so they are able to make their dreams come true,” Tueller said. “I think that everybody has a right to pursue anything that they put their mind to, and it’s important that at Utah State we recognize the individual worth of each person.”
Miss Business is Grace Engst, a sophomore in finance. Engst’s platform is focused on mentorship.
“I’ve had some really great mentors that have connected me to some really great opportunities on and off campus,” Engst said. “I feel like mentors are a great way to find belonging, because I think you can find belonging in places that you can contribute to the conversation.”
According to Engst, mentors are a great way to push students in the direction of finding their niche and connecting students to important opportunities.
“What I want to focus on is creating a network of professors and alumni to match with students, so they can learn more about the students,” Engst said. “Learning more about their interests will help them to be able to connect them to the wonderful opportunities on campus that maybe students aren’t as aware of.”
Engst said she entered the pageant to meet new people and have a platform for what she is passionate about.
Miss CEHS is Izzy Hamblin, a sophomore studying nursing. Hamblin’s platform involves creating a survey students can take to connect them with different clubs, organizations or other people.
“I think that an important thing, especially where we’re all at in life, is trying to figure out who we are, what makes us feel important and who we want to associate with,” Hamblin said.
When Hamblin was a senior in high school, she came to USU for a True Blue preview day, and she listened to a presentation given by a woman who had participated in the pageant before.
“She was talking about how she never saw herself doing it, but she decided to give it a chance and it ended up being a really cool experience,” Hamblin said. “I wanted to put myself out there and try something.”
Miss CHaSS is Grace Longaker, a junior studying social work. Longaker’s platform is to encourage true service to meet unmet community needs.
“I feel there is an increase of belonging when people feel a part of it and can contribute to it,” Longaker said. “It makes them feel like they belong there because what they do matters and what they have done in their service is helping their community.”
According to Longaker, the pageant is a great chance to see different perspectives and hear different opinions.
“Miss USU creates an opportunity for people to share what they’re passionate about and share their corner of the university,” Longaker said. “They also share how they want to change it, which is a really special thing.”
Miss Diversity is Meg Malo, a sophomore in geology.
Malo said her mom said she had an ‘aloha spirit’ because she could always light up a room. Malo’s platform is about bringing that spirit to USU.
“It was really hard for me to figure out where I belonged a lot growing up, being from a diverse background,” Malo said. “Now that I’m older, I kind of just adhere to the culture of kindness and bringing out aloha spirit to everybody that I meet.”
Malo said a large part of her platform is initiating culture nights so people who haven’t had an opportunity to be exposed to many other cultures will get that chance.
“In doing this, you’re cultivating a community of belonging where everybody feels like they have a place and where they’re seen and validated,” Malo said. “When you’re kind to others, it inspires people to do better and be better.”
Malo decided to be a part of the pageant on a whim, but she is grateful she did and for the opportunity to present her platform and prove one person can make a change.
Miss Engineering is Maya Solis-Stokes, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering.
“I was interested in the pageant, because I went to it last year and absolutely loved it,” Solis-Stokes said. “I actually started a brainstorming sheet on my platform for if I could do it one day.”
Although she is still working on the logistics of her platform, Solis-Stokes is very excited to be part of the pageant.
“I think people should know that it’s just such a fun event and it’s so awe-inspiring to watch such a strong group of women tell something they’re passionate about and some change that they want to see at the university,” Solis-Stokes said. “I’m so honored to be a part of it.”
Miss Graduate Studies is Elsie Murphy, a graduate student in sports management.
“My platform is ‘To All of Those Who Didn’t,’” Murphy said. “For those who didn’t get picked first, didn’t win and didn’t succeed. This is for those who were told they weren’t strong enough, fast enough, smart enough or good enough. This is for those who didn’t get the job, the promotion and didn’t make the team.”
Murphy said the goal of the platform is to help those who have failed come together to bounce back stronger.
“The reason I was interested in the pageant is I wanted to spread the idea of failing forward to let people know that you can turn failure into success with hard work and passion,” Murphy said. “That feeling is hard, but when you come together, that’s when you find success.”
Miss Greek is Gracie Moyes, a sophomore majoring in data analytics.
Moyes said she had the opportunity to study abroad and travel, which provided her meaningful experiences with other cultures and beliefs.
“My platform is called ‘Bridge the World,’” Moyes said. “To increase belonging, I would like to create a week of opportunities where students can come to events and meet people of different cultures, faiths, religions, ideologies, etc.”
According to Moyes, the plan would be to make most of the events free, with the exception of a silent auction.
“I would love to put all the money that is earned from that event towards a scholarship fund for students who would love to study abroad that don’t really get the same opportunities as other people,” Moyes said. “It would be called the ‘Miss USU Bridge the World Scholarship.’”
Moyes said the best part about being in the pageant has been meeting all of other participants and learning new perspectives from them.
Miss Involvement is Raegan Schmidt, a junior studying international studies and global communications.
According to Schmidt, Miss USU is a great way to get involved in USU.
“I love USU, and any way that I could represent and share seemed like something more than worth it,” Schmidt said. “I’m so stoked to be Miss Involvement.”
Schmidt said she was nervous to meet everyone in the pageant because of the portrayal of pageants in the media.
“Every single girl competing has genuinely become one of my good friends, and I love spending time with them,” Schmidt said. “I’m so glad I did this because I got to meet them.”
Miss Natural Resources is Rachael McBride, a senior studying forest ecology and management and range land ecology and management.
“My platform is ‘Building Belonging Through Outdoor Connection,’” McBride said. “I’ve seen time and time again how spending time outside together builds strong communities, which is what I want to strengthen here at USU.”
McBride said she joined the pageant out of love for her college and the opportunities it brings.
“People should know that Miss USU is such a great way to get involved in the university and make changes and be a voice for things that they’re passionate about,” McBride said.
Miss SAA is Tabitha Wagner, a junior studying political science. As she is representing the Student Alumni Association, Wagner said she is interested in contacting alumni and determining why they came to USU.
“My platform is ‘Home is Where the A is,’” Wagner said. “It’s so important that when you’re looking at universities to attend to find the one that you know will become your home.”
Wagner is from Cache Valley and grew up watching Miss USU at events like the homecoming parade.
“When I had a chance to live out one of my childhood dreams, I absolutely had to give it a shot,” Wagner said. “I would love to have an opportunity to represent the university that has played such a major part of my life.”
Miss Science is Emma Lynn, a junior studying computer science.
Lynn’s platform is “Find Your People, Grow Your Community.” The first part, “Find Your People,” is centered around building new connections and diversifying interests.
“I would do this by hosting at least two events each semester,” Lynn said. “These events would involve a variety of clubs or organizations and each group would spend around 20 minutes leading an activity or presentation showing what their group does. These activities would give students the chance to meet new people, discover new passions and increase their on-campus involvement.”
The second part, “Grow Your Community,” is focused on reaching out to members of the campus community who may feel underrepresented.
“I would do this by attending and promoting at least one event for each college in the academic year, reaching out to and increasing the visibility of minority organizations on campus, attending and promoting women’s sports and attending or hosting at least one community outreach event a semester,” Lynn said.
Miss USUSA is Alexis Lyman, a sophomore studying communication studies.
Lyman’s platform is called “Seen, Heard, Known,” and it is centered around mental health and the importance of advocating for oneself.
“Learning how to advocate for yourself is a super powerful tool to have, especially as women, and as any minority,” Lyman said. “I think that there are so many amazing institutions and policies and programs already set in place here at the university and I want to increase awareness of those resources and create events that can continue to bring awareness to these things.”
Lyman fought a chronic illness last year and posted about it on social media. She said the experience helped her realize differences don’t have to drive people apart, but they can bring them together.
“I want to continue to build belonging in that sense, because I have never felt more accepted or loved or more like I belong than what I have advocated for myself,” Lyman said.
For more information on the Miss USU pageant, visit usu.edu/calendar/?day=2024/4/9&id=85899.