Students may be surprised to hear that royalty is among the student body at Eastern.

Reina Almon, Kailee Dunn and Kahlani Badeaux were crowned Miss Evergreen, Miss Northwest and Miss Inland Empire, respectively, on April 7. This pageant was the official preliminary to move onto becoming Miss Washington, which is under the umbrella of the Miss America Organization. Whoever wins the Miss Washington pageant held in July will move onto the Miss America pageant in September.

Almon, a pre-law major, got into pageants after seeing her cousin compete in a local pageant and thought it was the “coolest thing ever.” She has competed in pageants since she was 13 years old. At age 15, she started to compete in the Miss America Organization.

“I didn’t really know anything about it, but at the time just having a crown looked fun,” said Almon. “Now I know that it is a whole lot more than that.”

Dunn, a communications major, got into pageants after watching a friend compete in the Miss America Organization, and it opened her “eyes to the possibilities that could come from it.”

Badeaux, a special education major, got into the organization after learning about it from some representatives at her high school in her hometown of Auburn, Wash., and thought it would be “something fun to do.”

Badeaux and Dunn have been competing for two years in the organization. In her first competition, Dunn won the title of Miss Tri-Cities in her hometown of Kennewick, Wash., in 2012. In the past, Almon was crowned Miss Teen Washington and Miss Yakima, which is where she is from. Being crowned Miss Inland Empire is the first win for Badeaux.

Part of what intrigued Dunn was that the organization is more than it seems.

“So many people don’t know that it’s not just a beauty pageant. It’s a scholarship organization. So no matter win or lose, you win scholarship money,” said Dunn. “You also work with a platform, [which is] something you are passionate about.”

The Miss America Organization, according to their website, is the “leading provider of scholarships for young women in the world.” Each year the organization provides more than $40 million dollars in scholarship assistance.

Both Dunn and Almon said the money they won from the pageants has helped pay for their time at Eastern. Dunn was even able to pay for an entire year at Eastern last year and has no student loans yet.

“Lots of contestants are completely loan free because of this organization,” said Dunn.

Almon said one of her favorite things about pageants is the connections she has made with the girls. Dunn said she has made connections with the businesses she has worked with.

“It’s opened so many doors for me and future prospects in working,” said Dunn.

Badeaux said she thinks there is just a general misunderstanding of what Miss America pageants are about.

“People have this idea that it is all about your appearance,” said Badeaux. “It isn’t. There are five areas that you are judged on throughout this experience: private interview where you are asked questions about yourself, your platform, current events and anything under the stars that the judges may come up with to throw you off. Onstage question, where the judges ask you two random questions and you are allotted 30 seconds to come up with a well thought out and supported answer; evening wear, bathing suit and talent. You really do have to have a solid grasp on every component to even have a chance of winning.”

Almon agreed and said it helps to look nice on stage, but that appearance is not really the point anymore.

“Being a pageant girl in the Miss America Organization is just about being a well rounded individual,” said Almon. “You have to be good at everything and I like that. It makes you constantly have to better yourself in all aspects of life.”

Side Bar

The Miss America Organization began in 1921. The first pageant was held in Atlantic City, N.J. According to Almon and Dunn, Washington state has never won a Miss America title in all the 92 years pageants have been held.

According to Badeaux, there are four different components that are emphasized within the Miss America Organization. Each of these components represent a point on the crown which are style, success, service and scholarship.