Ithaca College Student on Her Way to Miss New York 2016 Competition

2015 Dec 8

Willa Hahn, a junior Integrated Marketing Communications major in the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College from Berkeley Springs, WV, will compete for the second time in the Miss New York Scholarship Organization pageant. The pageant, held in Staten Island, is set for May 2016.

Hahn earned her spot to compete for the state title in September when she won the title of Miss Metropolitan 2016 at a local pageant in Homer, NY. Hahn sings for her talent and is representing the platform "Youth Involvement in Politics."

Her platform encourages young people to get more involved in politics by volunteering with political campaigns or causes, educating themselves about important political issues, and voting. She says she's looking forward to lots of community service events for her platform this year including voter registration drives and school appearances.

Hahn says many experiences at IC have helped her immensely in her pageant preparation. "Pageants aren't just about being pretty anymore. To succeed in the Miss America Organization you really have to have a strong personal brand and know how to market yourself effectively, and my classes in the Park School have certainly helped me to do that," says Hahn.

To participate in the Miss New York Scholarship Organization, contestants must be a citizen of the United States; live, work or attend school full time in New York State; be between the ages of 17 and 24; and have graduated from high school or successfully completed G.E.D. testing. For more information on eligibility, visit missny.org/compete.

The Miss New York Scholarship Organization is an official state license of the Miss America Organization. The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and one of the world's largest providers of scholarship assistance for young women.

For more information on the 2016 Miss New York Scholarship Competition, visit missny.org.