Whitley Boyd is your typical college freshman except for one thing.
While, like the others, she endured a battery of final exams, moved out of the dorm and found a summer job, she has an added activity.
She is also preparing to be in the Miss Texas pageant June 26.
Since the Miss Texas spring seminar in mid-April, it’s been a whirlwind of activity for the Rockdale native who will compete for the Miss Texas title as Miss Rockdale Fair in Richardson.
“We have an opening dance number that I practice, and have met with another Miss Texas candidate to work on it together,” she said. “I am super excited about the pageant and appreciate the opportunity of being part of the Miss Texas organization.”
Her friends are happy for her too.
“My best friend from back home and I have joked about me doing Miss Texas since the night I won Miss Rockdale Fair in 2019. She is over the moon excited for me. My college friends think it is so neat and have told me multiple times that they will definitely be there,” she said. “Special shout out to my mom, she helps me chase one crazy dream after another, she makes life so fun.”
He route to the pageant was a long one, because of COVID-19. The 2020 pageant was canceled, but Boyd found out she was still eligible for the 2021 pageant earlier this year.
“I had been wanting to do Miss Texas in 2020 but I didn’t have a clear talent and I was trying to figure out college plans, so it just got put on the back burner. Then, I realized it was canceled and didn’t think much more of it until this spring break when the head of the Miss Texas organization reached out and said they would be having a 2021 pageant and that because of COVID, they extended everyone’s year of eligibility therefore I could compete,” she said.
“March was very late to decide to compete, but I remember my mom telling me it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am determined to not let opportunities pass me by, so here we are.” Her talent for the event will
Her talent for the event will be the spoken word.
“I feel comfortable with my talent, it’s very me. The hardest part is fitting it into 90 seconds without jeopardizing the story it tells. It’s personal so it’s all important…I don’t want to cut any of it,” she said.
The women also have to have a platform.
“My platform created for the competition is Girls Authenticating Girls, and it is about girls building each other up and fixing each other’s crowns. The one thing that I believe is most beneficial for a girl to have is confidence, and this stems from feeling beautiful, inside and out, and being healthy. Girls Authenticating Girls will focus on these elements through runs for girls, fashion shows, and Bible studies,” she said.
Cookies will also play a part in the week of pageant events that begins June 20.
Boyd started a cookie decorating business while at Rockdale High School that she is continuing off and on.
“I would love to keep my cookie business going after TCU and I would love to expand. I will just have to see what God has planned for me though. I had started dipping my toes in cookie decorating spring of 2019, sold my first order that August, but never put a name to it until March of 2020, the beginning of quarantine,” she said. “I will also be decorating cookies to include in a silent auction for which each candidate provides an item. What’s better than representing my talent that I can’t show on stage.” Boyd was salutatorian of
Boyd was salutatorian of the 2020 class of RHS where she was also a cheerleader, golfer and participated in other activities.
She went to the state tournament in golf, a sport she followed her dad and brothers into.
“Both of my brothers and dad played, I feel like l grew up at the golf course. I was always tagging along while they played and then all of a sudden the roles reversed,” she said.
She will also enjoy getting back to TCU, where she is majoring in fashion merchandising, in the fall after the pageant and her summer job at a Christian camp in Branson, Mo.
“I like how TCU is a top college athletically and academically, however it is small. Everyone here has such a drive to be successful,” she said.
“My favorite part about Fort Worth is having my brother, new sister-in-law and their golden doodle Charlie so close. I love the stockyards and most of my weekends are spent with my best friends at Billy Bob’s where we go see Texas country music concerts and two-step,” she said.
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