Pageant contestants prepare for Miss South Dakota

Some University of South Dakota students are tackling homework, preparing for finals and juggling the responsibilities of a beauty pageant crown.

As the current Miss Siouxland, part of the Miss America program,  junior Autumn Simunek has dedicated herself to training for Miss South Dakota and promoting her platform, Five Stars for Serving Those Who Served, which works with veterans and their families.

Simunek said she was attracted to pageants at a young age after seeing the transformations past Miss South Dakotas have undergone.

“I always knew it was something I wanted to pursue,” Simunek said. “I wanted to become the best version of myself I could be.”

In her fourth year of vying for the Miss South Dakota title, Simunek said she’s looking to break her streak of close calls. With a fourth runner up and two second runner up titles, Simunek has been making appearances, traveling, practicing her talent of singing and working out at the gym to prepare for the competition. She recently spearheaded a fundraiser which raised $12,000 in items for her platform.

“It is a huge time commitment,” Simunek said. “It’s more than a title — it’s a job.”

Pageants have been highly beneficial to Simunek, she said. The scholarship money she’s won has been enough to cover her tuition.

Simunek said she was drawn to her platform because her grandfather and great grandfather were veterans and her mother works at a Veterans Affairs medical center in the Black Hills.

“It spurred something inside of me,” she said. “I wasn’t as tall as a wheelchair and I was wheeling them to their next destination.”

If she were to win Miss South Dakota, Simunek said she’d take two semesters off to train for Miss America and dedicate herself to her duties, including intensive travel. At the end of her reign, she would return to school.

Simunek said she has changed her view of Miss America contestants since competing in pageants.

“The truth of Miss America and the women are that they’re the image of imperfection and that’s beautiful,” Simunek said. “Don’t take the stereotypical image and have that be your only version of pageants you have.”

Sophomore Carrie Wintle is the current Miss Dakota Plains, covering the Brookings area. Last year, she was Miss Dakota Rose, covering the area around Vermillion.

Both competitions are part of the Miss America pageant circuit, a program Wintle said she chose because it provides winners with scholarship funds. Both competitions are general competitions, which means although Wintle is from Huron, she is able to compete throughout the state.

Wintle has written editorials and visited 4H groups to promote her platform of 4H education.

Outside of promoting her platform, Wintle practices her talent, jazz dancing and walk. Wintle is currently developing a new dance for the Miss South Dakota pageant this summer.

“I practice because I don’t want to end up tripping,” Wintle said. “I practice to make it a habit.”

Wintle has competed in pageants since 2007, when she ran for teen titles. Despite the competitive nature of the pageants, Wintle said seeing the other contestants through the years has formed a strong bond between them.

“My favorite part is all the girls and I really mean it,” Wintle said.

Last summer, Wintle was a semifinalist for Miss South Dakota. If she were to win this year, Wintle said she would take the fall semester off to prepare for the Miss America pageant.

She has set the talent portion as her focus for this year.

“I really have to focus on technique and the difficulty level,” Wintle said.

Wintle said competing isn’t cheap, that contestants have to purchase items such as evening wear for the competition, but that there are fundraisers and volunteers who help ease the financial burden.

Despite the competitiveness and glamour of the pageants, Wintle’s focus is on the charitable work she does as part of the program.

“It’s definitely fun to dress up, but it’s all about your platform,” she said.

Wintle chose 4H as her platform after being involved in the organization for more than 10 years.

“All the projects provided me with a life skill,” she said. “I’m still using them today.”

She has also taken away skills from competing in the pageants, including interview skills.

“That is probably one of the best things I’ve taken away from it,” Wintle said. “I can enter into a career field and already have experience.”

Until the Miss South Dakota pageant, Wintle is setting a goal list and tackling it one item at a time.

“I’m attacking each day,” Wintle said.

Junior Shelby Beer will compete alongside Wintle and Simunek for the Miss South Dakota title this summer. Beer is the current Miss USD.

Beer entered the Miss USD pageant with a friend. She prepared for the pageant by practicing to walk in heels, but said she was surprised to win, especially because it was her first competition.

“My first reaction was, ‘what the heck just happened?'” Beer said. “It was definitely one of awe and ‘holy cow.'”

Beer channeled her past acting experience for her talent, a monologue called “Sophie’s Rant” about an Olympic swimmer who wants an admirer to back off.

To prepare for Miss South Dakota, Beer said she is searching for attire for the competition, staying healthy, practicing her walk and promoting her platform, the American Cancer Society.

Beer said she chose her platform because if she didn’t she would not have felt true to herself.

“It’s something that really spoke to my heart,” she said.

If she were to win Miss South Dakota, Beer said she would return home and encourage girls to participate in pageants because it is a way to earn scholarship money and meet new people.

“It was such a fun experience,” Beer said. “I can see myself possibility competing in another one.”

Photo: Junior Autumn Simunek hands out Purple Up stickers in the Muenster University Center ballroom April 15. Simunek’s platform is about assisting veterans and their families. (Kelsey Kroger/The Volante)