A local teen’s story of pageants and philanthropy
Photo by Jamie Plain
Owensboro High School freshmen Jalayla Huguely Phillips started doing pageants last year. While many participants in the pageant circuit get their start at a younger age, Jalayla has found her recent pageant participation to be both successful and inspiring.
Although she has only been in the pageant world for a little over a year, she already holds the title of Miss Teen Daviess County 2023. During that reign she started the International United Miss (IUM) system, where she competed and currently holds the title International United Miss Kentucky Teen 2024.
Her mother Meagan Mauzy has discovered the world of pageants and talent stages that once made her apprehensive is actually a positive outlet for her daughter.
“Pageants may get a bad rap sometimes, and parents may worry about their child being in the spotlight, wearing makeup, looking older than their age, etc. I quickly found that IUM didn’t allow the participants to even wear makeup until the age Jalayla is in now – the teen competitions,” Mauzy said.
Not only did Jalayla compete for the International United Miss pageant this past summer, she also currently holds the Miss Crittenden County title as well.
“Jalayla has had a good experience with these pageants.They are putting the girls in the community in the right places, which is what pageants should be about – service to others, finding a voice and helping the community,” Meagan said.
One of the focus areas for Jalayla is to help other young people find their voice.
“She is really into creating her platform, Philma Literacy Learning Steps. She wants to create a safe place for children to have a love for reading and literature. She drafted her first book with a program called NaNoWriMo at school this past year. Along with her platform, she wants to get involved in the schools and reach elementary school kids as soon as possible,” Mauzy said.
Jalayla’s love for reading came naturally, as she learned to make her way through the pages of a book before starting school. By the time she started Kindergarten, she could already read.
“She started reading at four and she felt that really helped her to find her voice,” Meagan said. “She wants other students to have that opportunity too, to be able to find a love for reading and writing as well.”
Jalayla’s volunteer work includes connections to Mentor Kids, Borrowed Hearts and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Daviess County Public Library’s chapter. Not only does she love to give back to her community, but she is very involved in the arts too. As a dancer for Owensboro Dance Theatre in the apprentice company, she has grown in confidence and in performance.
“It’s awesome to see how much she has grown in the past year and a half – her public speaking skills, confidence, leadership and self-motivation have increased. She has acquired leadership skills, interviewing skills, and goal setting. One of her goals is to get into the USA system. She is working on her dream to get into this. She plays the violin, participates in dance, and musical theatre, so she would like to refine some of those talents to enter into the USA system at some point,” Meagan said.
As far as the talent portion of her competition skills, when Jalayla participated in the International United Miss Kentucky Teen, she won second runner up in her optional talent as a spokesmodel. Set up similar to a TED talk, Phillips was livestreamed during the pageant in front of an audience of around 350 people.
Watching the growth of confidence in her daughter is just one reason that Meagan is proud of the accomplishments Jalayla has made in the last year and a half.
“Just her drive and ambition, and her heart for service makes me proud,” Meagan said. “She’s always been self-motivated. I don’t want to have to tell her to practice – she always just shows up and shows out.”
Much of her motivation comes from her Granna, Della J. Phillips, a long time local educator who served in the Owensboro Public Schools.
“My mom was a teacher for over 60 years. She is the reason behind Jalayla learning to read at an early age,” Meagan said. “Because of this, Jalayla dedicated the book she wrote, ‘The Boy Across the Room,’ to my mom when she finished it.”
As far as future plans, Phillips would like to be an OBGYN when she grows up. For now, she enjoys inspiring audiences with her words, which are beyond her years.
In the pageant process, participants are required to give an ntroduction to the audience and judges. Jalayla’s introduction starts with, “Under the deep blue sea lives a magical creature who once said, ‘Who says my dreams have to stay just my dreams?’”
“I’m most proud that over the past year and a half I have been able to grow my faith and passion for service and be active with making my dreams come true,” Jalayla said. “My passion now is fueled by God’s guided steps in wanting to be the best version of myself where I can make my community and my family proud.”
