BELOIT — There is a video game designer and a young woman hoping to help kids improve their mental health. A former princess wants to become a queen, and another wants to dance in an opening number alongside friends.
They are part of a determined group of young women competing to become Miss Beloit and Miss Beloit’s Teen.
Whoever wins, the city is in good hands, according to Miss Beloit, Miss South Central Wisconsin and Miss Rock River Valley Executive Director Sha-Nita Davies and Teen Director Terri Gile.
Although this year’s group mostly is made up of newcomers, Gile and Davies said they are dedicated and serious contenders ready to represent Beloit well.
The Scholarship Competition is set for 6 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at Beloit Memorial High School (BMHS), 1225 Fourth St. With a theme of “An Affair to Remember,” guests can expect Hollywood vibes.
General admission is $16. To purchase tickets people can contact Gile at 608-289-5777, or email tgile62@gmail.com or buy tickets at the door. All proceeds go to scholarships and awards.
The audience will first be treated to the opening number, “Hey Patchuco!” by Royal Crown Review. Then, they will see candidates answer on-stage questions and view the evening gown and talent competition. Teens will participate in the fitness competition.
The Miss Beloit candidates are Camille Knight, Zanielle Robinson, Anneea Riley, Angelica Chapman-Sykes, Candiss Edwards, Ashante Mayfield, Jazmyne Carter, Chelsea Demos and Lizzie Sage.
The four Miss Beloit Teen candidates are Taniyah Crawford, Tre-Anna Metzger, Connie Acuahuitl and Braelyn Mayfield.
The evening will include Miss Beloit 2022 Alyssa Harmon and Miss Outstanding Teen 2022 Kellyse Lutzow crowning their successors.
This year’s event has attracted some brand new competitors.
Angelica Chapman-Sykes, 25, works as a video game designer in Madison. Her cousin, the late Miss Beloit Pageant President Eddie Farr had encouraged her years ago to compete, but she wasn’t ready.
“He saw this in me,” she said.
On Sunday, Chapman-Sykes had discovered it in herself and was ready to finally heed Farr’s advice. She is eager to expose kids of diverse backgrounds to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and has already started offering workshops for youth as part of her platform.
Lizzie Sage, Miss Beloit’s Outstanding Teen in 2018, was dreaming of becoming the first princess program participant to become Miss Teen and Miss Beloit. Her platform is safety first, the importance of first aid education and implementation. She will be singing “On My Way.”
Candiss Edwards, a freshman at Carroll University studying biology, hopes to promote her platform of changing the narrative and understanding identity to build stronger professional development within different cultures. She will be singing “Stand Up.” She’s been impressed with the sisterhood of the contestants and is most excited to perform the opening number together.
“We’ve seen each other grow, and I’m excited to see everyone on stage and doing it big,” Edwards said.
Connie Acuahuitl, a junior at BMHS, hopes to help youth find resources such as tutoring and sports opportunities to achieve success regardless of their background or disadvantages
She loves interviewing and is eager to share her ideas.
“There are a lot of great things coming from Beloit. I’m so ready,” she said.
Camille Knight, a sophomore at Beloit College studying aerospace engineering, said she was drawn to the competition to promote her platform of mental health awareness and accessibility. She is hoping to collaborate at Cunningham Intermediate School to help teach kids tools to cope with stress and anxiety with tools such as journaling, breathing techniques, sensory toys and more. Her talent will be a speech about authenticity.
Having grown up with a military family, Knight shared that she benefited from travel and hopes by her degree in aerospace engineering she can make air travel more affordable and accessible.
The competition will be an emotional farewell for Harmon, who called her year as Miss Beloit life-changing. She said she enjoyed building new connections with the community and honing her public speaking skills.
“Now I can walk into a room and speak intelligently and not be afraid,” Harmon said.
Gile, Davies, Lindsay Healless, Jaylaan Clayton, Jackie Jackson, Anita Jones and other volunteers have been helping the young women prepare for the big event.
