When University of Idaho sophomore Olivia Kennedy was crowned as the first Miss Northern Idaho last week, she wasn”t surprised.
Her mother Bobbie Kennedy, on the other hand, was relieved and elated.
“When you”re a parent, you have hopes and dreams for your children and you know you don”t want to see them disappointed,” Bobbie said. “I was just relieved that the judges felt the same way about her that we do.”
RL Miller Photography | Courtesy
Miss Northern Idaho Olivia Kennedy (left) and Miss Northern Idaho Outstanding Teen Janessa Riordan pose for a photo after being crowned Saturday. Kennedy is a UI sophomore.
Olivia was introduced to the world of pageants at an early age, when at the age of eight she watched her mother compete in a pageant. Bobbie said she had entered the pageant to encourage herself to be physically fit.
Olivia said her mother has always been a huge influence in her life.
“I”m surprised she remembers to eat and function, because all she does is make sure that we have enough opportunities and that we get to do the things that she never got to do,” Olivia said.
Olivia, a vocal performance major, sang “Glitter and Be Gay” from the show “Candide” at Miss Northern Idaho. She received high marks in the talent portion of the competition for her performance, which she said was weighted heavily in the final results.
While Olivia”s dream is to make it on Broadway, she said she didn”t always think she had a good voice. Olivia said she used to be a dancer and believed herself to be was tone deaf. It wasn”t until she auditioned for a musical in high school that she realized her talent.
While she said she is excited to move on to the Miss Idaho competition this summer, Olivia said one of the highlights of the pageant for her was meeting the other women.
“My best friend has cystic fibrosis, and one of the girls at the pageant also has cystic fibrosis,” Olivia said. “That was cool to get them to meet each other and have like a friend in common.”
Olivia transferred to UI this academic year from Lewis-Clark State College, where she studied nursing. She said she has enjoyed her time in Moscow so far, and appreciates the beautiful location, her professors and the women in her sorority, Delta Zeta.
Transferring to UI wasn”t the first time Olivia found herself in a new environment. As a daughter to a father in the military, Olivia”s family moved often when she was younger. It wasn”t until her father retired two years ago that the family settled in Idaho.
Olivia”s childhood played a big part in how she built her platform, which she said is an important component of competing in pageants. Her platform is appreciating military children.
“The reason our veterans can do the amazing job they do is because of their families, and especially because of their kids,” Olivia said. “The kids are the ones who give up their childhood.”
Bobbie taught Olivia to get involved quickly whenever she found herself in someplace new, and that was what Olivia did when she came to UI. Since joining Delta Zeta, she”s become the head of the sorority”s community service and she said she hopes to be president before she graduates.
Bobbie said she is always proud of Olivia and what she has accomplished. When she sees the strides Olivia takes in life and hears about the values her daughter stands for, she said it assures her that she and her husband raised her well.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer