FeaturesJune 15, 2016
There she is ... area contestant for Miss Missouri
By the end of this week, 20-year-old Jackson native Aimee Stockard could be catapulted into the national spotlight if she emerges victorious in the Miss Missouri Scholarship Pageant in Mexico, Missouri. "If I win that, I go to Miss America," she said...
By the end of this week, 20-year-old Jackson native Aimee Stockard could be catapulted into the national spotlight if she emerges victorious in the Miss Missouri Scholarship Pageant in Mexico, Missouri.
"If I win that, I go to Miss America," she said.
No stranger to the pageant world, Stockard qualified for the Mexico competition earlier this year when she won the title of Miss Jesse James in the Miss Jesse James/Pony Express/St. Joseph Scholarship Pageant in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Before that, most of the pageants she competed in took place on the local level.
But now, as a nursing student at the Goldfarb School of Nursing in St. Louis, Stockard hopes to secure not only a sparkly crown, but the scholarship money that will enable her to continue working toward her bachelor's degree.
Stockard's ultimate goal, she said, is to work in a children's hospital or possibly with pediatric cancer patients.
Having lost two young friends to childhood cancer, her personal platform as a pageant contestant is "believe in the cure."
In the meantime, she is preparing intensely for the Miss Missouri competition, which will take place June 15 through 18 at the Missouri Military Academy.
There, Stockard will run a gauntlet of traditional judging categories, including being interviewed on stage, a talent segment, swimsuit competition and eveningwear competition.
The age limit for contestants is 24, with no particular size or shape requirements.
Young women who enter must be poised, project a confident demeanor and be considered positive role models.
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For the talent portion of the program, Stockard plans to perform an acro-jazz dance set to "Let's Get Loud" by Jennifer Lopez.
During the interview phase of the competition, she could be asked to expand on any topic of national or international importance, such as which candidate she supports for U.S. president.
That's the question she answered during her last competition, telling judges her views coincided more closely with Donald Trump's on a number of policy issues, such as immigration, education and health care.
"You can prepare and prepare and prepare, but you don't know what they're going to ask you," she said.
To keep herself looking trim for the beauty-intensive parts of the competition, Stockard said she visits the gym four to six times a week for intense, two-hour workouts.
Although she's only 5 feet, 2 inches tall, Stockard said she prefers doing fewer cardiovascular exercises and sticks mostly with weight training because it helps her figure remain more defined at size 0 to 2.
"I'm the short one (in pageants)," she quipped. "I wear big heels."
No particular diet is involved -- just a healthy lifestyle, she said.
If she wins the Miss Missouri competition, Stockard will continue maintaining her total package as she travels for appearances at civic and charitable events statewide.
"There's so many different things you get to do," she said.
ljones@semissourian.com
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