By Bella Aldridge and Donya Hassanshahi
On November 5th, Keira Bixler ’24 was crowned Miss Yosemite Valley’s Outstanding Teen as she continues to make an impact in the community and the surrounding cities.
Keira Bixler ’24 is a member of various clubs and programs as she serves as VP of activities for FBLA and Community Service Director for Key Club. With this, Bixler is a key member of CSF, Ranger Choir and Varsity Cheer.
Bixler began her journey through the Miss America Organization starting in the second grade and has flourished as she was recently crowned the title of Miss Yosemite Valley’s Outstanding Teen.
In previous years, Bixler was a, “princess from the time I was in second grade through seventh grade. I won my first local title last year, I was Miss Tulare County’s Outstanding Teen, and so this is my second year as a teen in the organization.”
When looking at the time she will be fulfilling her new duties, Bixler says, “It’s about a year long. It’s slightly different depending on when the next competition is, but roughly a year.”
Photo Courtesy of Bixler
In this organization, each teen in the running is required to have a ‘social impact initiative’, in which the individual uses the sort of platform to promote various causes.
Bixler has her very own social impact initiative entitled, ‘Imagine with Keira’. Within this, Bixler promotes the importance of literacy as she has been, “working in literacy for roughly ten years now.”
With the title, there is multiple events included that Bixler attends, such as going to the other local competitions to meet the new girls as they join the class, “and just promoting the ‘Miss America Organization’ overall. For example, I have an Instagram page that is passed down from girl to girl. It’s @missyosemitevalleysot .”
As Bixler looks to what is next in her future, she says, “Preparing for Miss California is another big aspect. ‘Miss California’ will be in late June early July [and] it’s here in Visalia for the very first time.”
“The organization is amazing. I’ve earned over seven-thousand dollars in scholarships in the past year to year-and-a-half. The motto of the ‘Miss America Organization’ is: ‘preparing great women for the world’. So, whether that be through college, career ambitions, or anything in between, it’s a great way to figure out what you want to do in your life.”
Keira Bixler ’24
When looking at the numerous benefits surrounding the organization, Bixler says, “again, there are so many benefits. As someone who is aspiring to go into the news and journalism world, that’s a very big aspect, being able to be in front of the public eye and speak… the ‘Miss America Organization’ provides that.”
Through her title, Bixler is able to make strong impacts as she is, “able to work with my Congresswomen, my state Senators on legislation and that’s another big part of news, which is really exciting as well.”
Growing up in this organization, Bixler had been a princess during her childhood which she explains wasn’t a competition of any sorts, but rather like a mentoring program.
Bixler drew inspiration from various individuals throughout the organization. Each year, Bixler would get a new set of ‘sisters’ that had been within the ages of fifteen to twenty-four years old. Bixler says that these ladies, “were just my mentors growing up; they taught me how to be the best version of myself and a lot of the advice that they gave me at a young age is still with me today.”
When undergoing the process of running for the title of Miss Yosemite Valley’s Outstanding Teen, there are a few important steps.
Photo Courtesy of Bixler
The first part is an interview which is approximately eight minutes long, following a thirty second closing. The interview is structured as a press conference style with a panel of judges that ask various questions that you do not have time beforehand to prepare for. This first part is thirty percent of the overall score.
In correspondence, “Next, is the night of, and the first category that you compete in is fitness” which is ten percent of the score.
Following this, one goes onto talent which has a time limit of ninety seconds and is forty percent of the score. Bixler’s talent is tap dancing.
The final part is evening wear and on-stage question, with the remaining twenty percent of the overall score.
This year, Bixler’s on-stage question was “Why is it important for High School students to be educated on current events?”
For anyone interested in competing for Miss Tulare County’s Outstanding Teen from ages thirteen through eighteen, or Miss Tulare County for ages eighteen through twenty-five, Bixler encourages them to, “[direct message] me @imaginewithkeira on Instagram and I can help you through that.”
To find more upcoming updates, you can go to @missyosemitevalleysot on Instagram.
Donya Hassanshahi
Donya Hassanshahi, '24 is a third year journalism student writing for the Redwood Gigantea. She seeks interest in the Humans of Redwood, hoping to inspire the Redwood community with her writing. You can reach her by her email at donya.hassanshahi@gmail.com.
Tags: Bella Aldridge, deep dive, Donya Hassanshahi, humans of redwood, keira bixler, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, rhs, visalia ca