From Contestant to Judge

Winning the title of Mrs. Nevada-America 2016 has opened many doors for me. One of which, was being asked to judge the Miss Nevada USA pageant by former Miss USA and executive director of the Miss Nevada USA organization, Shanna Moakler.

This was a tremendous honor, one that I did not take lightly for many reasons. This organization has helped me become the person I am today. I was 15 when I first competed for the title of Miss Nevada Teen USA. I placed 1st runner up to my now good friend, Georgina Vaughan. From then on, I was hooked. I eventually went on to take the title of Miss Nevada Teen USA 2008 when I was 17 and competed the following summer at Miss Teen USA in the Bahamas.                                                                        

After taking a few years off, I decided to enter the Miss Nevada USA pageant when I was a senior in college at UNR. After four months of preparation, I placed in the Top 5 - and honestly, was thrilled. Winning would have been amazing, but I felt a sense of satisfaction that I never would have felt if I hadn't put myself out there in the first place.

The years of competing in the Miss Nevada USA system gave me the confidence, experience and motivation to enter, and ultimately win, the title of Mrs. Nevada-America this year - and for that I am truly grateful.

So, enough of the background - let's fast forward to this past weekend.

Shanna certainly puts on a first class pageant, which is representative of the ladies who choose to compete. These are some of the most accomplished, beauty, intelligent and kind young women in our state. It was an honor to meet them all.



To the contestants...

I hope you noticed me smiling non-stop at all of you during judges' interview and beaming with pride as you each took the stage. I KNOW how difficult that is, and how hard you all prepared. Trust me, I've been there. 

I hope you all realize that this is an unforgettable part of your journey. Even if you choose not to compete again, which I hope you will reconsider, you will look back on that moment and be proud of yourself. I've been in every situation in a pageant - not placing, top 5, winning, top 15, not placing again - you name it. Sometimes it's hard to see the bigger picture, but trust me, it's there. 

It's there when you look into the mirror and smile at yourself because you ROCKED it in swimsuit on stage; it's there when you're giving a presentation at school or work and you feel a little less nervous because nothing could compare to standing in front of a panel of judges hanging on your every word; and it's there next time you're out and about and you find yourself *strutting* confidently down the aisles at Target - yep, this experience has changed you. Always for the better. 



To #TeamNevada...
Thank you to Shanna for asking me to judge! Any contestant would be blessed to have you as their director! Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this team.

Thank you Travis, Jason, Will, Tonya, Jessica and the rest of the team - you make every year an unforgettable experience!

To my fellow judges - Michael, Jade, Ross and Dr. Ben - thanks for making this a super fun weekend and being the most awesome judging panel ever!


And lastly, congrats to Alexis and Lauren. You both are so wonderful and deserving. I am so excited to see what this year holds for you!

XOXO,
Lauren