Idaho's sweetheart wins big
Coeur d'Alene's own Kylee Solberg has been named the Miss National Sweetheart of 2015, winning the Gem State the national competition for a second year.
"I'm really honored to be chosen out of all 41 (other) contestants," Solberg said Tuesday. "There was so much talent and there were so many incredible women that I was competing with that it could have gone to any one of them."
Solberg, 20, leapt, danced and twirled into the hearts of judges and audience members as she performed a classical ballet for the talent portion, for which she scored the most points. She also scored highest when she dazzled the crowd in the evening gown category and wowed judges during the interview portion. She said the interview is the toughest to prepare for - it's conducted away from the audience where judges test contestants' knowledge on world affairs and probe for their opinions on controversial issues. Contestants do not know what the questions will be ahead of time.
"Every person has a different opinion, so you have to learn to be respectful but stay true to yourself," Solberg said, adding that judges look for well-rounded knowledge as well as sincerity.
"Throughout all stages, they said I was genuine. I love to hear that," she said. "I just love being able to perform and be on stage and grow as a competitor in this organization."
Solberg earned the title of 2015 Miss Meridian earlier this year, she earned First Runner Up at the 2015 Miss Idaho competition and she is presently Miss Tri-Counties and she is preparing to compete in the 2016 Miss Idaho contest. She said she is still trying to wrap her head around her newest victory.
"It was pretty amazing," she said, referring to the moment when her name was announced. "It's still hard to wrap my head around but it's pretty awesome."
The National Sweetheart Pageant is exclusively for first runners-up in their respective states' Miss America pageants. Nine previous National Sweetheart titleholders have gone on to become Miss America.
"It's all the stuff that I dreamed of as a little girl," Solberg said. "Now that I'm living it and actually doing it, it's so surreal."
The National Sweetheart contest takes place in the town of Hoopeston, Ill., which has a population of just more than 5,300 people. As the National Sweetheart, Solberg was awarded a $1,000 academic scholarship and smaller cash prizes as well as a gift bag of trinkets and keepsakes from local businesses. She said Hoopeston treated the contestants like royalty and the town, known as the "original sweetcorn capital of the world," will always be a special place in her heart.
This was the second consecutive year that an Idaho contestant won; last year was the first year Idaho placed first, when Kaylie Wright of Kimberly took home the honors.
"It's pretty fantastic that Idaho has never been in the (Sweetheart) pageant realm," Solberg said. "To have back-to-back pageant titles shows that we're up and coming."
Solberg, who is a communications student at Boise State University, plans to promote her platform of "Know Your Worth" as she pursues a bachelor's degree. Her platform is all about building strong self-worth and fighting negative societal behaviors such as bullying. She will also strive to maintain good grades, a healthy physique and be a helpful, positive community member as she works her way toward the Miss America challenge.
"You look at these women on TV and it's like, 'Holy cow, I don't think I could do that,'" she said. "I've come into this just really wanting a great experience and growth out of the program. I want to make sure that stays with me even though I'm getting more serious.
"I'm just really excited about what the future holds."