Jessica Hartman grew up on a farm in Southern Colorado.  And at the age of 2, she discovered ice skating.

Fast forward several years – and you’ll see Jessica decided to attend college in Lindenwood, Missouri because they had a strong journalism program AND… A synchronized ice skating team…

Jessica already has her degree in journalism – and now, she’s working on her masters in communications.  In between her crazy schedule of appearances for Miss Missouri, she’s continued to take classes and hone her skills as a reporter, producer, director and news anchor.

And it’s been great fun to see her balance both duties on social media – plus, the girl has a natural beauty that can’t be denied.  With her rural roots, her team mentality, and her desire for higher education, we know Jessica is bound to accomplish whatever she sets her mind to doing!

And now – When it comes to predicting who’s going to win the title of Miss Missouri 2015 – this one is not easy… There are a lot of girls who look like they’re “in it to win it”… But if we’re forced to narrow it down to only 5, IT’S TOUGH!  This pageant is WIDE OPEN for the taking!  Who do we think will bring home the crown?

That information was released on Sunday in the Junkies Newsletter!  Click here to sign up for the Junkies Newsletter and we’ll send you our latest predictions!  The latest newsletter is sent by 3pm EST every day – So have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  JUNKIES LOVE MISSOURI!!!

#BigJunkieLove

I wish I could’ve heard Miss Iowa 2014, Aly Olson, sing on the Miss America stage… And although I was somewhat comforted after finding this video, I still believe she would’ve been amazing to hear in Atlantic City…

Just lovely!!!

Before she was crowned Miss Iowa, Aly served as Miss Iowa’s Outstanding Teen, where she won the non-finalist interview award.  Shortly thereafter, she did something not many pageant girls are willing to do…

Aly stopped competing.  FOR FOUR YEARS!  Yes – For four years, Aly never entered a single local or went into a different system.  Instead, she spent her time volunteering within the Miss Iowa Organization anywhere she could!  Backstage, emceeing, entertaining on stage with her talent, etc.  During that time, she was able to sit back and watch.  She observed how contestants performed on stage, in mock interviews, what they did with their styling, their posture, etc.  In short, she may have not directly participated in a pageant for four years, but she was never, ever simply “on the sidelines”.

It’s as if she was the under-study for everyone she saw.  She learned as much as she could from their successes AND their failures.  Sure – she certainly could’ve learned some of those lessons on her own by directly competing – But I think there’s something very wise to her approach.  You can hear Aly’s rational and reasons behind her decision, by listening to her amazing podcast at this link… 

I highly recommend it!

Now – Who do Junkies think will be crowned Miss Iowa 2015?  That information was released on Sunday in the Junkies Newsletter!  Click here to sign up for the Junkies Newsletter and we’ll send you our latest predictions for all the states competing this weekend!  The latest newsletter is sent by 5pm EST every day – So have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

I swear – one day – Junkies are coming to IOWA!!!  It’s gonna happen!!!

GOOD LUCK LADIES – JUNKIES LOVE IOWA!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Amanda Fallon Smith.

Junkies didn’t correctly choose Amanda on our “Here’s Who to Watch” list last year… Mainly because we couldn’t find her!  Ever tried googling “Amanda Smith”? LOL!  A ZILLION results come up – and even with all the crazy tricks we employ, we still couldn’t find her.  However, Amanda *Fallon* Smith…?  Now THAT’S a name COMPLETELY google-worthy!

All excuses aside, Amanda has been a spectacular Miss PA – Proved by her Preliminary Talent Win at Miss America.  Her incredible performance can be seen here!!!

Told ‘ya she was Fab!  Junkies were only fooled once… Although we missed her as Miss PA, we chose her as one of our potential prelim winners for Miss America and were not disappointed!

Junkies also learned how lovely Amanda Fallon Smith truly is when we interviewed her during our Pageant Junkies Podcast – which you can catch here…

Amanda’s incredible performance at Miss America certainly won’t be her last… As a musical theater student at Carnegie Mellon, she was cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid at the Gretna Theater this July!  It’s a busy Disney Summer for Amanda – and we know it’s just the beginning of many more wonderful things to come! 🙂

Who do Junkies think will be crowned Miss Pennsylvania 2015?  That information was released on Sunday in the Junkies Newsletter!  Click here to sign up for the Junkies Newsletter and we’ll send you our latest predictions!  The latest newsletter is sent by 5pm EST every day – So have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!! JUNKIES LOVE PENNSYLVANIA!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Miss Illinois 2014, Marisa Buchheit is an uber-talented opera singer.

From her own website, her performance highlights include: National Premier Tour of Romance of the Western Chamber Chinese Musical (portraying the soprano lead role of Ying-ying); Invited guest soprano for the Foreign Ministry of Thailand in Bangkok, Thailand; Performance of Puccini’s La bohème in his hometown of Lucca, Italy; Special concerts in churches and castles in Austria, France, and Italy; and a world music vocal performance with Nation Beat at Severance Hall in Cleveland, OH, home of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Marisa also sings in 7 languages and has performed in has performed in Italian, German, French, Czech, Chinese, Thai, and English.

Marisa has been very visible this year – attending numerous red carpet events as Miss Illinois as well as “Dancing with Chicago Celebrities (a Dancing with the Stars-esq competition in Chicago), Fashion Shows and more.  She was also able to influence numerous students with her platform of “From STEM to STEAM – Keeping the Arts in Education”.

Junkies wish Marisa all the best in her future endeavors – You never know what the future might hold for this aspiring soprano in the years to come!  GOOD LUCK MARISA!!! 🙂

And now – who do we predict has the best chance at Miss Illinois 2015? That information was released on Sunday in the Junkies Newsletter!  Click here to sign up for the Junkies Newsletter and we’ll send you our latest predictions!  The latest newsletter is sent by 3pm EST every day – So have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  JUNKIES LOVE ILLINOIS!!!

#BigJunkieLove