Miss Louisiana, Jaden Leach, Aspires to be Crowned Miss America

Preparing for a pageant is demanding and competitive. We need the perfect hair, the perfect beauty pageant dress, and the perfect smile to win over the judges. We worry so much about how we present ourselves and how we’ll do match up against our competitors that it’s easy to forget why we’re there in the first place.

That’s where Jaden Leach comes in. Leach has just been crowned as Miss Louisiana and she’s hoping to become the Pelican State’s first pageant contestant crowned Miss America. But Leach isn’t just another pretty face. The 21-year-old junior at the University of Louisiana at Monroe is hard at work on more than just beauty competitions and her education.

Leach’s heart is with her platform, Children at Risk. She’s committed to promoting creativity and the arts among children with learning disabilities. Leach says these activities give the children confidence and the ability to cope with their hardships.

A platform is something from which to build, but also a cause that demands struggle and dedication. Competing in pageants is not about the beauty pageant dress or the talent you perform onstage. The competition itself is a platform for you as a person.  Each public appearance is an opportunity to further yourself and the causes you support. Your work offstage makes you more of a competitor on it. And more importantly, the platforms you champion are what really matters. Because no matter what happens onstage, how you judge yourself in life is the most important competition.