Sofia Breuer | Reporter

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For as long as she could remember, she always wanted to be a part of this competition. Growing up, going to the local fair was always a mesmerizing experience for junior Caroline Jackson.

Jackson said that she would always go to the Hendricks County 4-H fair when she was little and would see the girls competing in the Fair Queen Contest. This past July, Jackson decided to enter the competition.

“It’s not something I would normally do,” Jackson said. “But I just thought I’d give it a try.”

In order to prepare for the competition, Jackson said she attended practices over the summer, with the majority of them being optional and one mandatory practice. 

“We had to learn how to walk a certain way and it was pretty much like a pageant even though it’s like 4-H,” said Jackson.

Jackson said that these practices also included interviews and a cosmetologist coming in to teach the competitors.

“It took a lot of time out of my summer because I had to go find a dress, get it altered, and find a business suit,” Jackson said.

As far as the competition itself is concerned, Jackson said the other competitors and herself only had four minutes for an interview with the judges. Jackson also said she was really nervous because she had never done anything like the competition before.

“It helps a lot with public speaking [though],” said Jackson. 

Jackson said the judges scored competitors based on a varying amount of aspects, ranging from how well your dress fits to answering an impromptu question on stage. 

“You just have to do a fun fact and kind of talk about yourself,” Jackson said. 

In the beauty pageant world, the title of Miss Congeniality is typically given to the friendliest contestant by a vote made by the other participants. Jackson said that she went into the competition thinking that as much as you put in, you get out.

“I got to meet a lot of new people and I think that definitely helped, just talking to people,” said Jackson.