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March 29th, 2024

cyara wins miss kansas teen usaCyara Heredia stops for a photo with the Miss Kansas Teen USA pageant judges after being crowned Miss Kansas Teen USA last weekend. Heredia will next be competing in the Nationals competition. Courtesy photoELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times

 

The Miss Kansas Teen USA pageant took place last weekend in Kansas City, and one of Liberal’s own brought home the title. 

Cyara Heredia, the daughter of Marisol and Robert Heredia, was named Miss Kansas Teen USA at the end of the pageant after competing in categories including active wear/swimsuit, evening gown and personal interview. Overall, Heredia said, she felt nearly every emotion possible after her name was called as the winner. 

“I was complete shock and there was such a rush of other emotions that were running through my mind and of course I was crying from happiness and excitement for the year to come,” Heredia said. “I definitely worked on steeling myself and keeping focused on my goals, and my best friend and I would actually hit the gym each morning to go work out, and I also practiced a lot on my interview skills and walking onstage. I practiced a little of everything, really, and it was a lot of work. My favorite part was the interview question with the judges because not only do they learn about me and my platform for the pageant, I also got to know them a little bit and build that rapport with them.”

Heredia said there are several things she would like to do during her tenure as Miss Kansas Teen USA. 

“I’m working on promoting my non-profit organization Agape, which focuses on helping with mental health. And that’s really important to me because as a college student, I see some of those struggles my fellow students have, so I want to help promote a healthier mindset and help bring awareness to that,” Heredia said. “I’ve seen a lot of my friends, many of them international students, go through some struggles from being so far away from home while also dealing with schoolwork and everything else they have to do. So by having this organization, I want them to feel like they’re not alone and there is someone to help them have a healthier mindset. With Agape, I’ve been working on that for roughly the past year or so. Last summer I was working at the Farmer’s Market and my best friend and I were selling some baked goods to raise money for this organization, so it’s very dear to me. Ultimately, I want to really start promoting it more not just in Kansas but also throughout the U.S. because mental health is something being talked about a lot these days that’s affecting a lot of people. I want to start visiting schools and other places to talk to them about how to have a healthier mindset and get help if they need it, which will ultimately help them have a better and happier outlook on life.”

Heredia has been participating in pageants for several years now, and she said it has been an enjoyable experience each time around.

“I started pageants about 10 years ago and I’ve always enjoyed them. I used to be really, really shy so doing these pageants helped me break that and also learn a lot of different skills like with interviews and talking onstage and things like that. Overall there’s just a lot I’ve learned through doing these pageants and they’ve all been really enjoyable,” Heredia said. “By doing pageants like this I’ve been exposed to so much more and I’ve met so many people by doing this. And through doing this I’ve gotten offers to model for great organizations, and this is also just a great way to help my community and bring attention to it. Also, it’s a great way to help you get out of your comfort zone. You’re not only representing yourself, but you’re also representing your city, which is a great accomplishment even if you don’t ultimately get the crown. You also get to meet so many new people and the preparation and all the other work is just a great experience. Meeting new people is another thing I love about doing these pageants and there are girls I’m friends with who I met several years ago when I was starting this, and it’s great seeing them also go through their lives and accomplishing their own goals and everything else.”

Heredia will next be heading to the Nationals competition (with the date and location yet to be announced) and said she is excited for that competition as well as the prep work beforehand. 

“I’m actually going to be in Austin this weekend meeting to pick out my dress for the Nationals competition and I also get to go to Fashion Week in New York and among all of that, I’ll be working on promoting Agape and other parts of my platform and preparing for the next part of the competition,” Heredia said. “I’m really looking forward to meeting all the other girls. I got to meet some of them when I won, so when I’m in Austin this weekend I’ll get to meet all of them as I’m choosing my dress and everything for Nationals, which is still currently shrouded in secrecy because they typically don’t reveal the date/location and all of that until a handful of weeks before the competition. So I’m looking forward to learning where it is this year, it’s somewhere different every year. And Nationals will be a great opportunity, I’ll be representing all of Kansas and the other girls will be representing their respective states, so I’ll be interested to see how it all goes and I can’t wait to meet everyone.”

Heredia also expressed gratitude for those who helped her for this pageant. 

“I’m so appreciative of all the support I’ve received from everyone. If it wasn’t for Liberal’s support, I wouldn’t have this title, so I want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s been with me through all of this,” Heredia said. “I also want to thank my dress designer Gaspar Cruz for designing my dream dress! Not only did it make me feel like Belle but it gave me so much confidence that I never wanted to take it off. I also want to thank my glam squad, thank you for making me feel my best with the amazing hair and makeup! Waking up early was definitely worth it when it came to working with your technique. It’s something I definitely wouldn’t haven’t been able to accomplish and for that I’m so grateful. To the special team of Devine Studios, I would have never won Miss Photogenic without their help, they’re a marvelous team to work with and I will never forget how welcoming they were with me and my mom. I also want to say thanks to Conestoga and Presley Solutions for sponsoring my ad page and being part of this great journey with me.” 

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Those interested in following Cyara’s journey to the Nationals competition can follow her at: 

Facebook: Miss Kansas Teen USA 

Instagram: missksteenusa

Twitter: missksteenusa