Miss Rocky Mountain and Miss Heart of Utah Win Preliminary Awards at Third Night of 2016 Miss Utah Scholarship Pageant
Miss Lehi Wins Sadie Huish Memorial Scholarship, Miss Northern Utah County Wins Utah Valley University Leadership Award
SALT LAKE CITY — June 17, 2016 — Miss Rocky Mountain and Miss Heart of Utah received preliminary awards in the Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit and Talent competitions during the third night of the 2016 Miss Utah Scholarship Pageant.
Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit Preliminary Winner
Miss Rocky Mountain, Shakelle Valdez, was the preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit winner. She will receive a $100 scholarship for her award. Shakelle is a graduate of Utah Valley University in business management. Her platform is “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!: Read to Succeed.” After winning Shakelle said, “It feels amazing, it was one of my goals from the very beginning and so I’m super proud that I was able to accomplish it.”
Talent Preliminary Winner
Miss Heart of Utah, JessiKate Riley was the preliminary Talent winner for her classical violin performance “Praeludium and Allegro.” She will receive a $100 scholarship for her award. JessiKate is a junior at Brigham Young University studying violin performance. Her platform is “Finding ValYOU Within.” JessiKate said, “I just feel really honored and it’s such a privilege to perform on such a great stage. Honestly I put talent on my last night so I could look forward to something all week and it was the best moment of the whole week.”
Sadie Huish Memorial Scholarship Award
Miss Lehi, Caitlin Thomas, received the Sadie Huish Memorial Scholarship Award in memory of Sadie Huish, a young girl that was chosen to represent Eagle Mountain in the Little Miss Utah Program, but became too ill to participate. Sadie passed away on June 25, 2009. Each year, her family chooses the contestant they feel has achieved the most with their service platform. Caitlin’s platform issue is “Choose to Live: Suicide Awareness and Prevention.” She will receive a $1,000 scholarship for her award. She is a senior at Brigham Young University studying communications-news media.
Utah Valley University Leadership Scholarship
Miss Northern Utah County, Lauren Wilson received the UVU leadership award for getting the most views on her video about her platform, “With Help Comes Hope: Suicide Awareness and Prevention.” She received
The pageant continues with the final night of competition and the crowning of Miss Utah 2016 on Saturday, June 18, at The Capitol Theater at 50 W 200 S, Salt Lake City at 7 p.m.
The Miss Utah Organization
The Miss Utah Organization is an affiliate of the Miss America Scholarship Pageant, the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women and one of the nation’s leading achieving programs. For more information about the Miss Utah Organization, visit www.missutahpageant.com.
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CONTACT: Whitney Thomas, [email protected].