By Diane Gasper-O’Brien
FHSU University Communications
Taylor Clark is grateful for all the scholarship money she has won while participating in the Miss Kansas Organization (MKO) since she was 5 years old.
Clark, who now bears the title of Miss Kansas, wants other young women to experience the same kind of opportunities.
Not long after being crowned Miss Kansas 2021 last July, Clark decided to try to expand the scholarship opportunities for Miss Kansas participants. Numerous community colleges and a few private four-year colleges have partnered with the Miss Kansas Scholarship Program for years. But there were no four-year public universities on that list.
Until now.
Last month, Fort Hays State University became the first institution in the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) system to join this partnership with the Miss Kansas Organization, establishing an in-kind scholarship program that will begin in the 2022-23 school year.
Clark contacted the KBOR, which sent her to the individual universities. Fort Hays State jumped on board immediately.
There are several layers to the FHSU program, highlighted by a full-ride scholarship for undergraduate students – renewable for three years – to winners of both the Miss Kansas Outstanding Teen competition in March and the Miss Kansas competition in June.
The full-ride scholarship will be worth more than $14,000 annually. But the Fort Hays State scholarship program features much more. It includes $2,000 annual scholarships for those who finish first runner-up through fourth runner-up, and all other candidates will earn $1,000 scholarships per year. All these awards can be combined with other eligible FHSU scholarship awards. Questions pertaining to these scholarships can be addressed by calling the FHSU admissions office at 785-628-5666.
“I’m really excited about this scholarship program,” Clark said. “I went into this hoping for a $2,000 scholarship to our top winners. But Fort Hays State wanted to go above and beyond. The night I got the email from FHSU with the breakdown, I was ecstatic.”
Joey Linn, vice president for student affairs at Fort Hays State, said it was an easy decision to join the partnership with MKO.
“It’s part of our DNA here at Fort Hays State University to find ways to promote and support student success,” Linn said. “The contestants at the MKO program are exactly the type of hard-working, determined, dedicated students we want as part of our Tiger family. We’re excited to expand our opportunities and keep our talented women here in Kansas.”
Clark grew up in St. John, just 25 miles from Pratt – home to the Miss Kansas Pageant. She participated in the Sunflower Princess mentoring program when she was 5 years old, and she was hooked. She has competed in age-division MKO programs ever since, with the exception of her first two years of college at Kansas State University. She was crowned Miss Kansas Outstanding Teen in 2017.
“I decided really young I wanted to be Miss Kansas someday and make an impact,” Clark said. “Then when I won two talent awards at the national Miss America’s Outstanding Teen competition, that solidified I wanted to be Miss Kansas.”
She is definitely fulfilling her dream of making an impact.
Clark’s Miss Kansas platform is “Sound for Common Ground: Music Connects.” She travels all over the state and begins her presentation with a musical activity called “Bucket Beats.” She invites participants to make music with her, encouraging them to talk about anything they want. She then gives each participant a pair of drumsticks. Just this last weekend, Clark also started a new partnership with Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters and plans to hold several match events with BBBS.
Clark competed in the Miss America competition in December. Although she didn’t make the finals, she said the experience was invaluable – just like all her years of competing in Miss Kansas programs. She also won a $3,000 participation scholarship and enjoyed representing Kansas.
Clark is busy during her last few months wearing the Miss Kansas crown. She has already made appearances at 300 events. After crowning her Miss Kansas successor in June, Clark will finish her last year at KSU in 2022-23 and graduate with a music education degree in May 2023. She said the experiences she gained during her years in the Miss Kansas Organization are empowering and will be invaluable for years to come.
“The Miss Kansas program prepares great women for the world,” she said, “setting up a launching pad to learn the best version of ourselves and learn professional skills. The personal and professional skills a person learns through this organization are very transformative. They’re not trying to change us. They’re trying to develop us into career-minded young women.”
Clark first visited with FHSU administrators in January and returned to campus again last week with Miss Kansas Outstanding Teen Gracie Hendrickson, a 17-year-old high school junior from Newton. Their day began at a local preschool, where Clark and Hendrickson performed an age-appropriate leadership activity with the children. They also had time for a tour of campus.
“FHSU rolled out the red carpet for me during my first visit,” Clark said, “and again this week. Each time, it was a great day to learn more about Fort Hays State. What I learned was that they really care about students.”