Keighley Kelley received the crown as winner of the 2019 Miss LSU-USA Pageant after showing off her skills in the bathing suit competition, evening gown competition and answering interview questions. Kelley was also recognized with the best interview award.
Kelley is from Madisonville, Louisiana and is a children and family studies major. She has watched the Miss LSU-USA pageant since she was 13 years old and since then she has dreamed of winning the competition.
Kelley was crowned by 2018 Miss LSU-USA Olivia Rackley. Rackley is a senior majoring in mass communication. Rackley loved her role of Miss LSU-USA and used her platform do good things for LSU.
“Being Miss LSU means that you are an ambassador for the school and a voice for the students and you are a voice to the community,” Rackley said. “It also means you have a platform to stand on to change and promote what you are the most passionate about and I think that’s the best part.”
Miss LSU-USA is not just part of the Miss USA pageant circuit, it is also a philanthropy event for the Delta Zeta sorority. Delta Zeta has been hosting the Miss LSU-USA pageant for the past 20 years in order to raise money for both their local and national philanthropies. These philanthropies include the Starkey Hearing Project, the Painted Turtle Camp, St. Lillian Academy and the Emerge Center.
The women who competed in the pageant are involved in various activities around campus. Some of the contestants were members of sororities like Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha and Delta Zeta. Others, including last year’s winner Olivia Rackley, were not involved in Greek Life but are part of other organizations such as Tiger TV and the U.S. Army.
What all of the contestants had in common was their love of LSU and their passion for the pageant and what it means to be Miss LSU.
“It’s kind of like being the face of LSU,” said political science junior Brooklen Farley. “You should carry that with pride and love purple live gold.”
The pageant also featured a group number consisting of all the contestants. The men’s acapella group “Tiger Tenors” performed the national anthem and the LSU Golden Girls performed after intermission.
Overall, every contestant at Miss LSU-USA showed off her beauty and talents at the pageant. As the winner, Keighley Kelley has the opportunity to compete in the Miss Louisiana pageant. Congratulations to every woman that went on stage for the competition and shined in front of so many people.
