Emily Deaver, the reigning Miss Kansas, traveled to Las Vegas in January to compete in the Miss America Pageant. As a former WSU student, she took a bit of our Shocker community into the limelight with her.
But before she packed her bags for the glitz and glamour of Vegas, there were many days, even years, of serious preparation. First, she had to win the Miss Kansas Pageant in June 2008. Her road to the Kansas crown is uncommon in pageantry.
In high school and then during the beginning of her years at Wichita State, Deaver struggled with alcohol abuse. But through some life-changing experiences, she moved her life in a different direction.
“I wanted to change because I was hurting the people I was closest to,” she says about her troubles. “Wichita State is where I changed my life.”
Miss Kansas
After she determined to make changes in her lifestyle, Deaver set her sights on competing in the Miss Augusta pageant. As a senior in high school she had competed for the title, but had not placed. This time was different. She was crowned Miss Augusta — and she decided to go for the Miss Kansas crown.
“I used to tell people I decided to compete for the scholarship money, but I really think I was following a gut feeling,” says Deaver. “I just went for it.” And won, surprising herself with the accomplishment. Although a touch shocked at first, Deaver soon embraced her new position full heartedly. “There were certain things I had to sacrifice — like I have to wear heels,” she says with a laugh, “but I’m still allowed a huge part of myself.”
As Miss Kansas, Deaver has spent much of the past year making various appearances and advocating her anti-substance abuse platform. She often speaks several times a month about substance abuse, often to young people. With her past, Deaver knew that vying to be Miss America would be a unique experience for her. But for her, she says, pageantry is about being her “quirky self,” and she hoped that the judges would think highly of someone as genuine as she.
Miss America contestants are scored in several categories, Deaver explains, including interview, talent, onstage question, evening gown and swimwear. When she started preparation, she says she was most worried about the interview and onstage question. January came fast, and Deaver left for Las Vegas feeling excited, a little nervous, but well prepared. “My goal was to go there and be myself while representing Kansas,” she says.
Miss America
to her music studies in fall 2009 at Wichita State,
signs photographs for fans. She competed for the
Miss America crown in January in Las Vegas.
When she arrived for a 10-day stay, she was taken by limousine to her hotel, where she checked in and went to her first Miss America meeting. There, Deaver and the other contestants found out they would be performing a dance production number as a group during the pageant finalé — something that hadn’t been done in more than 10 years.
Although the competitors worked hard all day in various rehearsals and at scheduled appearances, at night they got to see many of Las Vegas’ attractions. And, though Deaver was serious about competing, she became close friends with several women, whom she called “my girls,” especially Miss Wyoming and Miss Washington. The friendships, she says, made the high-pressure experience easier: “If any of us had gone to the top 15, we would have been just as happy for her as we would have been for ourselves. To have that kind of connection and love for someone is incredible.”
The days before the finalé were filled with interviews with the judges and preliminaries in talent, onstage question, swimsuit and evening gown. Even though the interview was something Deaver had been nervous about, when the time came she was calm and ready. She was led into a room with all seven judges to stand at a podium and be interviewed. She came away feeling confident.
The talent preliminary was particularly special to her because her gift is playing piano and singing. For the past several semesters, her focus at wsu has been jazz studies. “Emily’s interest in jazz really started during her first couple of years as a music major,” says Tom Fowler ’68/79, associate professor and associate chair of music at wsu. “She studied jazz piano and arranging with John Goering. Emily became a huge fan of the late, great jazz pianist Bill Evans. She transcribed and performed his music, along with other jazz pianists.”
Last spring, Deaver contributed an original composition, “Here... There,” to WSU’s Jazz Arts ensemble library and conducted the work as part of the college ensembles portion of the 37th Wichita Jazz Festival. “The work was well received,” Fowler says, “and I feel gave Emily a real boost of confidence. Upon her return to WSU, I sincerely hope she continues performing and writing in the jazz idiom. She is very talented, creative and serious.”
Kan., at National Night Out, a law enforcement and
firefighter community outreach program.
During prelims, Deaver recalls going on stage for her presentation and then backstage to change and wait for the awards ceremony. She and the other contestants listened to iPods, touched up their hair and makeup, anything to get their nervous energy out.
Friday, the day before the finalé, was the only day off from stage performance. Deaver went to rehearsal all day but that evening there were several cocktail parties and a dance. “I danced until my feet hurt,” laughs Emily, “and then I danced some more.”
But then she and the others had one last serious rehearsal before it was time to get ready for the finalé with the production number and, of course, the announcing of the top 15. The dance featured all 52 contestants and host Mario Lopez. It was all a blur for Deaver. “Then they called out the top 15 and I’m not it, so I smile and I find my girls,” she says. Relief washed over her immediately and she felt a great weight lifted from her shoulders. “With this competition I was able to go, do my best, feel good about it and not get it and still say ‘Oh my gosh, I’m still just as incredible as I was before’,” says Deaver. “That’s something people will go their whole life without learning.”
With the upcoming Miss Kansas competition in June, Deaver will give up her crown in just a few short months and plans to return to wsu this fall to continue with jazz studies. She does not plan to compete in any other pageants, but she would like to start a rock band.
Miss Kansas didn’t win any preliminaries or make it to the top 15, but she’s definitely Miss-America worthy to her fellow members of Shocker Nation.
