IU coeds to contend for Miss Indiana title

Beginning June 16, nearly 60 young women from all over Indiana gathered in Zionsville at the local performing arts center to compete for the titles of Miss Indiana and Miss Indiana’s Outstanding Teen.

“The Miss Indiana Scholarship Pageant is a part of the Miss America Organization, one of the largest providers of scholarships to young women in the world,” Miss Indiana Director of PR and Social Media Marni Lemons said. “We are very proud to be a part of that.”

Three Miss Indiana contestants, including Miss Indiana University 2013, are students at IU in Bloomington.

Kaitlin Karr is 21 years old and a graduate of Garrett High School in Garrett, Ind. She is studying speech and language pathology at IU. Karr was crowned Miss Northeast in Auburn, Ind., and her talent includes tap dancing. Her platform is “Relay for Life: Lights, Camera, Take Action.”

Lauren Mnayarji of Terre Haute is 19 years old and a graduate of Terre Haute South Vigo High School. She is currently studying journalism and public relations at IU and was crowned Miss Southern Heartland in Terre Haute. Mnayarji’s talent is contemporary dance and her platform is “Make A Wish Foundation: Adopt a Wish Program.”

Terrin Thomas is 20-year-old Auburn-native and a graduate of DeKalb High School. She is currently studying journalism at IU and is the current reigning Miss Indiana University. Thomas is a vocalist and her platform is “Service-Learning: Learning through Action.”

IU has held the title of Miss Indiana three times in recent years: Betsy Uschkrat was Miss Indiana 2006, Nicole Pollard was Miss Indiana 2009 and Gabrielle Reed was Miss Indiana 2010.

The winner of the Miss Indiana Scholarship Pageant will receive a $7,000 scholarship and serve for a year in the state. She will also travel throughout the state making appearances at local festivals, major events and at local children’s hospitals.

“Part of the Miss American national platform is the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, which is directly tied to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis, so the winner can visit children there or all around Indiana,” Lemons said.

This year the pageant is offering something new to the public to get them more involved.

“We are trying something new, if you go to the Miss Indiana website you can actually submit a question for the girls to be asked on stage,” Lemons said. “And while you are there you can now vote online for your favorite contestant for one dollar.”

Questions can range from politics to current events to popular culture and will be asked completely at random to the women on stage.

Voting for your favorite contestant allows the public to become the sixth judge to choose one of the finalists for the titles of Miss Indiana and Miss Indiana Outstanding Teen 2013. The dollar proceeds benefit the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital and both scholarship funds.

“One of the most beautiful things about this pageant is that it encourages these young women to be humanitarians and the importance of giving back to the community,” Lemons said.

 —Samantha Felix