Despite their names being similar, current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s beauty pageant Miss USA has no affiliation with the USA National Miss pageant system.
Amanda Pehan, a recent graduate of University of Idaho, was crowned this year’s USA National Miss Idaho, and will advance to the USA National Miss pageant in Orlando, Florida, later this year. She said this year was her first year in the pageant system and she enjoyed her experience competing.
“It was a lot of fun,” Pehan said. “I met a lot of interesting girls and I have never had the opportunity to model on stage so it was really awesome.”
Amanda Pehan | Courtesy
Amanda Pehan graduated from University of Idaho this year with a pre law degree. She was also crowned the USA National Miss Idaho and will advance to the national pageant in Orlando, Florida, on July 27.
Though it was her first year competing in the USA National Miss pageant system, Pehan said she had competed in one different, collegiate pageant system before winning Miss Idaho. She said her first pageant experience changed her perspective on pageants in general.
“When I did the collegiate system, first of all, that really changed my perspective about what it was,” she said.
After competing in her first pageant she realized she wanted to be more competitive with pageantry and hoped to compete on a national level, she said. That lead her to compete in the USA National Miss Idaho pageant.
By winning the Idaho pageant, Pehan advanced to the national competition held at Disney World in Florida. She said she’s excited to compete on a higher level and is anxious to showcase her skills to a larger audience.
“I’m excited to meet all of the girls and I’m excited to perform the skills I’ve been working on since getting my title,” she said.
Pehan said she hopes to pursue more competitive pageant systems in the future. She said she also competes in pageants for the scholarship opportunities that they offer, and she wants to go to law school.
Pehan graduated from UI with a pre law degree this year. She said she loved her experience at the university. She participated in intramural sports and Greek life and tried to be involved in a little bit of everything else.
“I can honestly say that attending school here has definitely influenced my life,” she said. “I’m sad to be leaving.”
Pehan said many pageants offer more things to women than the public perceives them to offer. The scholarship opportunities have benefited Pehan directly, she said, and pageants also work to help women build communication skills as well as their confidence.
She said many pageant systems encourage the women who compete to get involved in their individual communities. Usually, the systems also have their own national platforms that work as a positive force on a larger scale, she said.
“Not only are you working toward your goals and helping your community and people around you and your passions — you’re also helping toward another good cause,” Pehan said. “It’s not all about make up and high heels. It’s about building a better community.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer