A graduate of Helias Catholic High School will be competing in the Miss Missouri Pageant in June after winning a competition this past weekend.
Katie Farr, 18, won Miss Southern Missouri. Farr, who is a freshman at Missouri State University in Springfield, said this was her first pageant.
"I've had friends working with me who thought this would be a great opportunity," Farr said. "I'm so excited, and now I've got some time to prepare for Miss Missouri."
The winner of Miss Missouri goes on to represent the state in the Miss America Pageant. To get the title of Miss Southern Missouri, Farr said she was judged in several phases.
"We have a private interview where we talk about our social impact and what it would be like for us to be a title holder," Farr said.
Farr's social efforts focus on eating disorders, which she said she dealt with while growing up.
"During my senior year at Helias, I wrote about my experience and talked with freshman about the issue," Farr said. "It resonated with them, and I think it helped them. So that's when I knew what I wanted to do because so many people, boys and girls, struggle in silence with this. It's not talked about enough. They need to know about treatment options. We need to start talking about this at a younger age to let all kids know they are beautiful inside and out."
For her talent portion of the competition, Farr sang, "Speechless," from the movie Aladdin. There was also an evening gown portion where contestants are judged on their poise and grace in how they wear the gown.
The 2022 Miss Missouri contest will be June 15-18 at Missouri Military Academy in Mexico.