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Miss Louisiana contestants pose for a group photo in front of the Alumni Plaza. From left to right: Mandi Ridgdell, Carlee McCord, Whitney Mixon and Brittany Pippin.

Demons aim for Miss Louisiana title in summer competition

By: Bethany Frank

Posted: 4/22/09

Butt glue, hair spray, concealer, talent and charm.

And a little bit of filé tossed over the shoulder for good luck.

Four NSU women are armed and ready for the battlefield that is the Miss Louisiana Pageant.

"A dream come true," "my life's ambitions met," "world peace"-all phrases said by women in the Miss America pageant.

This is pageant where women receive the opportunity to flaunt their beauty, earn scholarships and compete for the coveted crown and honor accompanied the title of Miss America.

Fifty-two women attend the Miss America pageant each year representing each state in the country, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands.

This June, four NSU students will meet in Monroe, La. to compete for the Miss Louisiana crown.

"This is where it gets competitive," Carlee McCord, junior criminal justice major, said. "You're competing for Miss Louisiana. [It's] more than just clothes and make up."

McCord was crowned Miss Holiday in Dixie on Nov. 29. She competed in five pageants within the year beginning with the Miss Lady of the Bracelet pageant in 2008, where she was awarded second runner-up and won the swimsuit competition.

She was supposed to compete in the Miss Lady of the Bracelet pageant this February after passing preliminaries, but she was not able to compete after winning Miss Holiday in Dixie.

McCord never thought she would win Miss Holiday in Dixie after not placing in any of the preliminary awards, but she ended up head over heels in shock.

"I was moving my dress so [the girl behind me] could be crowned, and I fell," she said. "I was so shocked. You would have thought I won a million dollars."

Brittany Pippin, freshman psychology major, will join McCord at Miss Louisiana as the Miss Northwestern Lady of the Bracelet.

"[Winning] was unexpected as a freshman," Pippin said. "That moment was indescribable."

Pippin has participated in four pageants since she was 12 years old and walked away with the crown each time. She said she was a "little girl who liked to dress up."

"Now I realize what a difference a titleholder can make," she added.

Pippin tries to have qualities a role model should possess by being a good leader, standing up for what she believes in and making good decisions.

Whitney Mixon, sophomore psychology major, was scheduled to compete with Pippin in the Miss Lady of the Bracelet this February, but was no longer able to compete after being crowned Pineville's third ever Miss City of Pineville.

"Sometimes even crazy dreams come true," Mixon said referring to the song, Crazy Dreams, by Carrie Underwood. As she told her mom, "I just wanted to hang with the big girls."

Mixon wanted to get some experience competing in the Miss America circuit before standing in front of her peers at the Miss Lady of the Bracelet pageant, so she competed in the City of Pineville pageant on January 17. Mixon hopes to try again next year for the Miss Lady of the Bracelet pageant.

The 2008 Miss Lady of the Bracelet, Mandi Ridgdell, will join her NSU peers at the Miss Louisiana pageant, but Miss Louisiana is not new territory for the senior theatre major.

Ridgdell competed last summer for Miss Louisiana when she represented Northwestern as the Miss Lady of the Bracelet and made top ten, won talent preliminaries and won People's Choice.

In order to compete again for the Miss Louisiana crown, the 2008 Miss Lady of the Bracelet competed in about eight pageants this year alone, where she won talent and placed first runner-up at almost all of the pageants, Ridgdell said.

"Competing in Miss Louisiana last year was one of the most amazing experiences of my life," she said. "I learned that I could set a goal for myself, and then through hard work and determination I can reach that goal and beyond."

This summer, Ridgdell will compete again at Miss Louisiana as Miss Louisiana Jazzland 2009.

"This year isn't much different," Ridgdell said. "I have set a goal for myself and I am working hard to achieve it in any way possible. I have my eyes on a bigger goal. I want to be Miss America."