By Jamie Ausk Crisafulli
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
With the excitement of the local competition and earning the Miss Montana’s Outstanding Teen title not quite worn off, Glendive’s Alexa Baisch is busy getting herself ready for the national competition which will be held in Orlando, Fla. later this month.
“I feel like it still hasn’t fully set in yet,” Baisch, who will be a senior at Dawson County High School in the fall, said.
Baisch competed in Miss Montana’s Outstanding Teen in 2016. While she didn’t place last year, she said she knew as soon as it was over that she was going to do it again.
Getting to know the other competitors was the biggest part of what made Baisch want to compete again.
“Everybody says this ... but you really do make a lot of new friends and there are really, really cool people that compete,” she noted.
This year was the last year Baisch, who is 17, could compete in the teen division.
During rehearsals, every girl involved in the program must practice what to do if she is crowned Miss Montana Outstanding Teen. All of that practice went out the window, Baisch said.
“They said my name and I forgot everything,” she said.
Along with the title, Baisch earned $1,500 in scholarships: $1,000 for the title, $250 for best talent and $250 for spirit in leadership.
“Aspire to Inspire: The Importance of Being a Positive Role Model” is the platform Baisch chose for the competition.
“I really just like helping girls be the best versions of themselves,” she noted.
Baisch said her roles as dance instructor and gymnastics coach give her many opportunities to teach girls about becoming mentors. She said she likes to remind them that each of them has a role as a mentor, that there will always be younger girls looking up to them.
“I think that the earlier we can get that in their minds, the better,” she noted.
She plans to spread her message of mentorship during public appearances as MMOT and in local schools when she joins Miss Montana Maddie Murray on her school tour.
For now, the new Miss Montana’s Outstanding Teen is fitting a lot of preparation for the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen competition in Orlando later this month in a short amount of time.
She is in the dance studio daily practicing her talent, musical theater tap dance to “Forget About the Boy.” For the national competition Baisch has upgraded to tap shoes with tap heels, which has proved a bit challenging.
With interview being another big part of the competition, Baisch is working hard on improving her skills by practicng with family members every day and researching questions that are often part of pageant interviews.
One of the MMOT sponsors offered to send Baisch to the RMEA modeling camp at Flathead Lake. This will give her additional interview training and help with her the evening gown competition.
Baisch has also received a lot of advice from former Miss MT Outstanding Teens from Glendive, Haylee Storlie and Alysse Charlesworth.
Baisch’s two sisters, mom grandma and local pageant director Jan Holden will be among those cheering her on in Orlando.
Once she returns from the national competition, Miss Montana’s Outstanding Teen will be available for public engagements.
“I’m excited for any chance I’ll get to talk about my platform,” she said.
Baisch, who has a goal of making the Miss Montana Outstanding Teen Program grow, also encouraged anyone interested in competition in the program to contact her with questions.
Reach Jamie Ausk Crisafulli at rreditor@rangerreview.com.