You Don’t Need A Crown To Be A Princess It’s not often I meet a young woman as poised and kind as Azure Rodriguez, the winner of the 2015 Miss South Dakota Collegiate America. Rodriguez left her Rapid City, South Dakota Crowning home to attend Mount Marty College in moment of Yankton. The junior is majoring in Human Azure and her parents Tami and Eddie her new title Services wishing to ultimately work with veterans on the night she passed her title down to Worlds Miss who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the next lucky lady. South Dakota Tourism 2015 or PTSD. Rodriguez’s father Eddie, now a retired police officer, hailed from Texas and was stationed at Elsworth Air Force Base where he met her mom, Tami, from Rapid City. They had boys Alexis, Adrian, Aris and Asau before Azure was born, who she feels are significant supporters in her life. During her junior year at Rapid City Central High School, her psychology teacher approached her about an upcoming Miss South Dakota High School America pageant, suggesting it would be a great scholarship opportunity. The pageant has levels for participants at Junior High, High School and Collegiate levels to compete, basing strong consideration on the participant’s community service involvement. Though Rodriguez didn’t win the pageant her junior year, she amped up her community service involvement and competed for the collegiate level her senior year of high school. Reflecting back on her early pageant entrances she states, “That’s really what started me in my community and really helping out. I’ve loved to do that ever since.” The pageant competition included an interview with four judges discussing a biography about academics, future plans, fun facts and community service. The other components were the evening gown competition and fun fashion, where they could dress up in several different outfits, something Rodriquez really had fun with. Though Rodriguez didn’t take home a title during her second year of competition, she later received a surprise email in 2015, right before college spring break. The director of the Miss South Dakota pageant contacted her and told her that the current Miss Collegiate had to step down. She wanted Rodriguez to fill the Miss South Dakota Collegiate America position so she could take her to the National competition because she had seen her in previous years and knew she was qualified. Rodriguez knew it was an opportunity that she couldn’t pass up. Rodriguez explained how she didn’t quite fit in with the “beauty queen” image at first. “I was like the biggest tomboy ever. I learned Miss Collegiate America 2015 and Azure that I actually like to dress up a little.” Not meeting for the first time at Nationals. having worn makeup leading up to her first pageant, her common attire was jeans, a t-shirts and hair in a ponytail every day. Her mom had to teach her how to do her make-up. Her brothers had to adjust to their little sister wearing make-up. She laughs as she tells me how, before she started wearing make-up for the pageants, her brothers would sniff her face to see if she was wearing any. She laughs, “It’s funny, people used to say to me, ‘You’re never going to be a girly girl,’ and now they say, ‘You used to be a tomboy?’” I agree, it was a little hard to imagine as pretty as she is. Coming out of her shell was the most challenging part of pageant competition for Rodriguez. “It’s fun to see the progress that I’ve made from my junior year (of high school) until now. The self-confidence that you gain on stage is incredible,” she said, explaining how, at the national competition, there were not only thousands of people Crowning moment of her new title Worlds watching from the audience but the show was also streamed on-line. Miss South Dakota Tourism 2016 “I think I can do about anything now,” she continues. “I have a way to present 16vHERVOICEvMARCH/APRIL 2016