University of Kansas junior Hayden Brax has been named this year's Miss Kansas after competing with 20 other women. She will represent Kansas at the Miss USA Pageant in the spring.
The competition took place on Jan. 19, in the Lied Center. Brax, who is originally from Leawood, balanced her pageantry work on top of being a full-time applied behavioral science and psychology major at the University.
“It’s been really exciting but really surreal,” Brax said.
Her roommate and sorority sister from Chi Omega, Paige Harding, encouraged Brax to start competing in pageants.
“Having a good group of women behind me helped me the most with this pageant,” Brax said.
Harding, a history student at the University, said she helped Brax prepare for the competition by sharing her own pageant experience through the Miss America organization. Harding said Brax had six weeks to prepare and ended up in the top five in her first pageant nearly one year ago.
“She came back and won this year, and it was awesome,” Harding said.
Brax said her favorite parts of the competition were the interview with the judges and the swimwear segment. She said the judges got to see who she was as a person with the one-on-one interviews, and in the swimwear segment, she felt empowered walking down the runway, which helped her gain the confidence she needed to win the competition.
“It was the most incredible experience,” Brax said.
In taking on the new role as Miss Kansas, Brax said she hopes to raise awareness for third world countries, such as Swaziland, where she traveled last December with the nonprofit organization “Give Hope, Fight Poverty.”
“It was astounding to me seeing all the hardships that are happening in other countries,” Brax said.
Brax said she plans to host a donation drive to raise money for the women in Swaziland who are not receiving the same benefits as men.
“Hopefully I can continue to do that as Miss Kansas,” Brax said.
Brax will still be a full-time student at the University, studying applied behavioral science and psychology. After graduating, she said she plans to attend graduate school and get her master’s degree in occupational therapy.
“I want to help with the rehabilitation for children with disabilities,” Brax said.
Brax also said she aims to end the stigma pageantry may have. She said pageants teach women to have good interview skills and be their own person.
“I absolutely believe that anyone can do it,” Brax said. “Any woman can do it.”
Brax said women don’t have to fit into a stereotypical body type to compete in a pageant. She said one of the most important aspects of pageantry is exuding confidence.
“You have to know yourself to show yourself,” Brax said.
Photo courtesy of VanBros and Associates, article courtesy of The University Daily Kansan.