07/30/2026
Fall of 2022 will forever remain important to me. As I go into the fall season, I remind myself once again why I fell in love with this organization.
For example:
This was my first ever pageant, and first time competing in a MAO local. I wore my old prom dress, begged a classmate to help me with my makeup, and did powerlifting as a talent. I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing, and in reality I knew exactly what I was doing. I was being Julia, and what make me so special.
Now when you look across the women on the stage, the gold dress, she would become my grandbig in my sorority. The woman in white, well she would become Miss South Dakota that year, and to say she’s had a profound impact on me would be an understatement. The women in red at the end, that’s Molly. Molly came to watch me compete in Miss Iowa, even after we both moved away from South Dakota, she showed up just for me.
The fall of 2022 has a special place in my heart forever, because it’s not only where I fell in love with the sisterhood, it’s where I found myself again.
