Miss Provo and Miss Deseret received preliminary awards during the first night of The Miss Utah Scholarship Competition held at the Covey Center for the Arts on June 10, 2021.
In addition, the brand new Rookie Talent and Red Carpet preliminary awards were announced. The well-earned Soles4Souls shoe drive winner and doTERRA STEM scholarships were also announced.
Talent Preliminary Winner
Miss Provo, Katie Ann Powell was the winner of the preliminary talent competition and will receive a $100 scholarship. Katie performed a classical harp solo to “Variations on a Theme of Paganini.” She is a senior at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah studying public relations, Portuguese, and harp performance.
Red Carpet Preliminary Winner
Miss Deseret, Austri Ekker was the winner of the preliminary red carpet competition and will receive a $100 scholarship. She is a senior at Utah Valley University studying communications.
ROOKIE PRELIMINARY WINNERS
The Miss Utah Scholarship Organization announced the new “rookie” preliminary awards for candidates competing for the first time at The Miss Utah Competition.
TALENT
Miss North Ogden, Gracie Kay Nichols was the winner of the preliminary talent rookie award and will receive a $100 scholarship. Gracie performed a lyrical acro dance to “Painted Skies.” She is a freshman at Weber State University studying political science and broadcast journalism.
RED CARPET
Miss Orem, Glory Thomas was the winner of the preliminary red carpet rookie award and will receive a $100 scholarship. She is a junior at Brigham Young University studying experience design and management.
SOLES4SOULS SHOE DRIVE
Miss Orem, Glory Thomas was also recognized for raising the most shoes – 4,980 pairs! – for the non-profit Soles4Souls. She will receive an all-expense-paid international humanitarian trip with the organization.
The Miss Utah Class of 2021 collected over 51,000 pairs of shoes, which will provide one year of food and shelter for 77 families.
doTERRA STEM Scholarships
For the third year, doTERRA awarded two $500 scholarships to candidates that have excelled in STEM-related fields. Eligible candidates participated in a private interview with a representative from doTERRA.
Miss Garfield County, Brenley Veater — a junior at Dixie State University studying Information Technology — and Miss Zion, Brittney Herman — an LLM Candidate at Georgetown University with aspirations of becoming a corporate tax lawyer — were awarded the 2021 doTERRA STEM Scholarships.