Where It All Began...

 

Growing up in Texas, the pageant capital of the U.S., I watched all the pageants as it was tradition in every household.  At the age of 5, I begged my parents to do my very first pageant, Little Miss Texas, where I competed against over a hundred little girls.  We were not "in the know" when it came to this new world.  But what I DID KNOW is I wasn't the winner and didn't understand why.  My mom held me back from competing again until I graduated from high school.  She wanted me to have a greater sense of who I was beyond what people saw on the outside.   After we moved to New Mexico and made it our home, I decided to compete again at the age of 17. After finishing my GED and while attending community college,  I competed in local pageants for Universal Miss that required talent, Lil Miss Teen, Miss Albuquerque Teen USA, Miss New Mexico Teen USA and some others.  I was getting involved in the community and working as a literacy tutor with Literacy Volunteers of America. I was starting to apply to college, and I decided to compete in my first Miss America local at 19.  It was there that I won Miss Santa Fe 1999.  A few months later, I won Miss New Mexico 1999 and would compete for Miss America 2000.  I won scholarships and made friends with whom I am still in contact.  Later I competed in Miss USA locals for New Mexico and California. I then put away my pageant heels and started mentoring and training other hopefuls for Miss America and other competitions. It had been a long time since I had competed and I felt somewhat outdated so I wanted to learn more so I could be a better resoure.  I went back to compete one more time and won Ms. Nevada United States 2013.  During the 4th of July weekend where I was 4th runner up at Ms. United States 2014.  

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THIS IS NOW...

 

Queens Vault is about putting heart into your preparation and being with you every step of your journey...defeats and victories included. They are apart of life! But life is a competition and much like Pageants sometimes there's only one winner. However, it's how you prepare for it, handle the outcome and grow from the experience. These pageants do not determine your worth ladies. They only groom you for better things to come! If you're interested in being a QV girl, message me for details. xoxo Blessings!

 

Katie Kelley