On the weekend of Nov. 12, Sydnee Stottlemyre was crowned Miss Missouri Teen USA at the pageant in Springfield, MO. 

“As silly as it sounds, it’s very hard to remember the crowning moment,” Stottlemyre said. ” The nerves and excitement rushing through me in those seconds caused slight memory loss—pure exhilaration is the best I can describe it.”

The stand out memory of the night?

“I managed to gracefully rip the bottom of my dress with my heel while embracing my family as they came on stage to greet me,” Stottlemyre said.

Stottlemyre has been competing in pageants since she was 7, starting with the National American Miss contest.  She then went on to capture the Miss Gateway St. Louis and Miss Missouri Outstanding Teen crowns in 2008.

Growing up as a pageant girl, Stottlemyre has had to stand up against negative opinions.

“The typical pageant stereotype is something I deal with frequently, which may in part be due to the media and Hollywood movies,” she said.  “The false light that may sometime be directed at “beauty contests” is that girls are in it for one thing—fame.”

She continued,  “I can tell you from experience, that this is not the case.  I have been honored to meet the most selfless people I will most likely ever meet, through organizations like Miss Teen USA.” 

However, when contestants turn nasty, “I stick to one golden rule: kill them with kindness.”

Part of winning certain pageants is to promote a certain platform.

“A crown is merely a microphone that can be used to amplify a greater cause,” Stottlemyre said.                   

” My platform when I served as Miss Missouri’s Outstanding Teen was The Healing Power of Pets, in which I was named the national spokesperson for ReCHAI (the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction of the University of Missouri-Columbia).”

As Miss Missouri Teen USA, Stottlemyre has kept promoting the same platform.

“As spokesperson for this organization, I have the opportunity to extend my lifelong love and admiration of animals to helping others understand, experience, and apply the cutting-edge research being done in the area of human and animal health,” she said.

Questions and Answers with Miss Missouri Teen USA

Q.  How do you prevent the crown from falling off your head?

A. “The crown is actually very easy to keep on my head, as long I keep the jumping and head-tilting to a minimum. There are combs on either side of the crown and I have sized it just right to fit around my head.”

Q.  What’s your special talent?

A. “I have been dancing since I was 2 and competitively since I was 7.  In addition I have played basketball since the age of 9. However, the strangest special talent I possess is forming my tongue into a clover.”

Q. What is the Miss Congeniality Award?

A. “Miss Congeniality is an award given to a girl voted on by fellow contestants (the girl who they felt most helpful and friendly to be around). It often comes with a small scholarship.”

Q.  What’s your secret beauty weapon?

A. “My secret beauty weapon is hairspray—the possibilities are endless. If you spray it over your deodorant, when you get dressed it will prevent white smudges from rubbing off onto your clothing. Also, you can use it to set your makeup if you’re going to be sweating—it won’t run.”