In Ohio University’s final Spring Quarter, students are bonging beers at street fests and basking in the sun — but the laid-back scene does not include junior Kayla Hardimon as she pursues her dream of becoming a national pageant queen.
Traveling throughout the state, she inspires women to chase their dreams while she pursues hers.
This past October, Hardimon strutted onto the stage of her third pageant ever with hardly any experience and only a slight prospect of becoming Miss Black Ohio.
Six months into the journey to Miss Black USA, the 20-year-old is a known face for “A Woman’s Worth,” her campaign encouraging girls to embrace their education and inner beauty.
“I’ve come a long way in believing in myself and believing in things that I can accomplish,” Hardimon said. “I think it’s nice when somebody believes in you the same way you believe in yourself.”
At the Alpha Phi Alpha-sponsored regional pageant Miss Black and Gold, Hardimon was asked about the biggest struggle for young women today, a question she turned into her mission: to defy false images of beauty and restore the value of intelligence.
This August, she’ll be one of the youngest women competing in the national pageant — and potentially the one with the least experience — but Hardimon is relying on her sincerity and relatability to win her the Miss Black USA crown.
“I’m not even the prototype of a pageant girl,” she said. “I’m 5 feet tall. I’m not super skinny. I’m just an average girl but I do enjoy (doing this) and I think that’s what it’s all about.”
Despite Hardimon’s inexperience on stage, her coordinator Whitney Gaskins — also executive director of Miss Black Ohio and former proprietor of the crown — is confident that Hardimon’s level head will put her ahead of the 41 competitors.
“She has an open mind. She’s not jaded by past experiences,” Gaskins said. “She’s going to be genuinely happy to be there, and she’s doing it for all the right reasons.”
The Ohio-born Bobcat will be one of only four undergraduate students in the pageant. With speaking skills rooted in broadcast journalism, a lifetime of modern dance practice, and a passion for motivating young women, Hardimon is making Ohio a serious contender for this year’s crown.
Miss Black Ohio has been around for 26 years, making it the oldest pageant in the state. An Ohio representative has never won Miss Black USA.
“Ohio isn’t looked at as one of those states that can do something big, so it would be such an inspiration to this state and its women for her to win,” Gaskins said. “It would make people say ‘Wow, look what they can do.’ ”
With just three months left to prepare, Hardimon practices her time-management skills more than ever. On any given week, she juggles her roles as a student, peer mentor and Student Senate vice commissioner for black affairs while only missing class on occasion to don her tiara at Cleveland Cavalier games, the Statehouse or other can’t-miss events.
“A lot of times, I go to schools and talk to young women about the importance of education, so if I’m not focused on my studies, I can’t really motivate them and encourage them to be focused on theirs,” she said.
But beyond the youths she targets in her “A Woman’s Worth” campaign, she also makes an impact on her OU peers, said Winsome Chunnu-Brayda, associate director of the Multicultural Center.
“She inspires a lot of students. I can see from how they talk about her that they want to do better and be better,” Chunnu-Brayda said. “This is great for women respective of (their) race or background, but it’s not even about race or gender. It’s important across the board that you are proud of who you are and express that in different ways.”
In the next 90 days, Hardimon will perfect her dance routine for the talent section and finalize her wardrobe for the big event, but she won’t rehearse her interview answers for fear of damaging her ordinary-girl image.
“I would have never seen myself in this place a year ago,” she said. “I would have never thought that I would be a role model for young women — which I still don’t completely believe.”
oy311909@ohiou.edu
