Lauren Kuhn may be the fourth runner-up at Sunday night’s Miss America pageant; she is still number one in the hearts of Grays Harbor.
“I am really excited,” said the Grays Harbor native as she noted it was “crazy” to be cheered on as Miss Massachusetts as well as by many in her home state at the pageant.
Kuhn, who is studying at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, is a veteran pageant winner and was Miss Grays Harbor 2013 before moving to east to attend graduate school.
Kuhn could hear the tape-delay version in the background while talking to The Daily World. “They will say my name first,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone as they announced the fourth runner-up. “Yay.”
She was pleased with her effort, adding she picked her gowns, her swimsuit, arranged her piano piece and even did her own hair and makeup. It was her personality out there, she said, “I was true to myself … I was glad of that.”
Kuhn was also one of five contestants who won a $5,000 scholarship for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. As a runner-up, she will be awarded another $10,000 in funding. The Miss America pageant is the largest source of scholarships for women in the world.
“We are so thrilled … it’s all good,” said Dawn Kuhn, Lauren’s mother, minutes after the pageant ended in real time in Atlantic City, N.J.
“It was so incredibly exciting, we just kept saying: ‘wow, she’s made it this far … wow, she made it this far,’” Dawn Kuhn said.
“She is a very hard worker,” Dolores Rabuffo, executive director of Miss Massachusetts pageant organization said. “She did it all the way.” Kuhn will continue to appear this year as Miss Massachusetts, Rabuffo said. It was great to see so many of Kuhn’s fans and family from Washington at the pageant, she added.
Unlike 50 of 53 contestants, Kuhn said she has been juggling dental school with her pageant duties and public appearances as Miss Massachusetts. The organizers want her to stay in school. She is re-evaluating that. Kuhn may take a year off so she can take full advantage of being a role model.
“I have to admit, it hasn’t been easy,” she said of juggling the two all-consuming activities.
Being a role model is one of the main reasons Kuhn is a pageant contestant. The appeal is when you are a winner “you open people’s eyes and catch the attention to inspire others” to strive for what the goals they want to achieve in life. she said. “To show them it’s possible.”
Kuhn made much of her status as the soon-to-be “Dr. Massachusetts” from dental school, placed in the top 15, 20 minutes into the competition.
She strutted her stuff a deep pink strapless bikini and an elegant white gown she picked because it reminded her of Jackie O, (Kennedy Onassis), “who I admire.” She wore an elegant blue strapless gown for her piano performance of “Valse Dramatico” which she arranged.
Her judge’s question concerned rape on college campuses. Having a best friend at Gonzaga University who was raped made her want to see men and women learn more about how to prevent drinking and sexual assault on campus, she told the judges.
More than 40 people from Grays Harbor to the East Coast showed up to cheer Lauren Kuhn in a very loud television audience.
As she played her piano arrangement on a white Steinway, comment balloons flashed on the television screen. One noted she was attacked by a cheetah while studying abroad in Zambia, the other claimed she was always the last person picked in kickball.
She thought about how genuinely kind and supportive the smart and talented women at the pageant were as she waited to hear her name called.
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