Miss. USU Eastern

This archived article was written by: Nathan Pena

An 18 year-old freshman from Price, Utah, was crowned Miss USU Eastern on Nov. 11 at the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center. Celeste Smith was crowned as Miss USU Eastern after swimsuit, talent, evening gown and questionnaire events.
The annual event demands practice and preparation as whoever wins Miss USU Eastern represents the university at the state competition of Miss Utah in June 2016. Her preparation for the event, Smith says “I meet with a speaking coach that helps me with the interview portion of the pageant, which happens before the main pageant. She brushes me up on current events, helps me answer questions that help prepare me for the on-stage questions as well.
“I met with a woman in Vernal to learn a new solo for this pageant, which I will also perform for Miss Utah in June. I also used all of my attire except for the evening gown.”
With all of this much preparation and practice, Smith says that she “Learned about the event two or three months ago, so I’ve had a little bit of time.”
A pageant can be very intimidating, especially when being a contestant on one that connects to Miss Utah. However, Smith is no stranger to the spotlight or to any challenge. She said, “I really like performing in front of people since I was 4. The thing that I was nervous about is the interview. It always gets me and is the most nerve-wracking, but other than that, I just like performing and entertaining in front of people.”
Last year, Smith served as Miss Carbon County and competed in the Miss Utah pageant in June 2015. “It was an amazing experience. Girls from all over the state compete. Miss Utah is really fun and I’m excited to go back on June 20.”
As the newly crowned Miss USU Eastern, Smith will be able to promote her platform: Reading for Success.
“I’ve always been passionate for reading,” she says. “I would rather read a book than watch TV.”
One of the benefits of being this year’s Miss USU Eastern, Smith will have a whole year to promote her platform.
“I want to go to elementary schools and continue tutoring and spreading it throughout the community. I also want to have the clubs in campus involved in tutoring as well. I also want to go to nursing homes and read to the elderly and spread awareness throughout our community and campus the importance of reading and how reading everyday can improve one to become more successful.
“I also go into classrooms where I talk one on one with students who are lacking in comprehension and things like that. I’m deciding how I will be going about fundraisers so we can help with the library to buy new books and set up funds for damage repairs to get our library looking better.”
Now begins the first step for Smith and for her platform and she is looking forward to it. “I’m hoping to get involved in as much as I can on campus and meet new people. I live at home so I don’t get the full college experience. But I’m hoping for a full year of service and I’m really excited to get to meet new people.”