Beauty pageants have mesmerized Victoria Vredevoogd ever since she was a girl.
The crown, the sash, the long sparkly gowns? She loved them all and drew glamorous pictures of herself, leaving them on her mom’s pillow in hopes of persuading her to allow her to start competing.
Her plan worked.
The Grand Canyon University alumna, now a law student at Arizona State University, won the Miss Arizona pageant in June, achieving her childhood dream.
But before her, the stage sparkled with purple pride when GCU alumnae Jacqueline Thomas, who works as deputy assistant secretary for strategic communications at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., took the Miss Arizona title in 2019. And Jennifer Hart, an independent country singer-songwriter, also served as Miss Arizona in 2013.
Victoria Vredevoogd
Miss Arizona 2026
Vredevoogd was 12 years old when she entered her first competition.
Since the moment she put on her first gown, her end goal became obvious: to be Miss America. She has dedicated most of her life to pageantry, but it did not come without challenges.
When Vredevoogd entered her first Miss Arizona competition, it took several attempts to reach the top. Her first year, she did not make the top 10. The following year, she did but did not clear the top five. When she competed in her third year, she rose to the top five, but she didn’t win the title until her fourth year.
“I always like to tell people I wouldn’t have published a book or gotten into law school had it not been for my experience competing in pageantry,” said Vredevoogd, an honors student when she was at GCU who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and advertising. “It teaches you to not be afraid to fail.
“There hasn’t been a moment in my life where I wasn’t actively preparing to compete in pageants. But I feel very lucky and privileged to have that because not everybody can say they’ve lived out their childhood dream. Now I am ready to give back to the next generation of young women who are wanting to step up and take on this big adventure and carry on the legacy.”
Along with the crown, Vredevoogd took home scholarships that helped fund her education. While gowns and glam are the signature look, the pageantry’s mission is to empower women to become strong leaders and active members in their communities.
They spend a year preparing for their competition, focusing on interview skills, fitness, healthy lifestyle and service projects.
Contestants are challenged to lead a service initiative project that reflects the kind of changemaker they want to be. For Vredevoogd, that meant founding the Gender Violence Project, a student organization that provides free legal resources and representation for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
At her recent Miss America competition, Vredevoogd, who competed against another Lope, Miss Alaska 2026 Nora Andrews, was awarded the Quality of Life scholarship for her service initiative project.
“We do wear beautiful gowns and have the hair and makeup. That’s the fun part, but it’s one week of the year,” Vredevoogd said. “Really, at the heart of it, is the other 51 weeks, the weeks where you are out in the community, you are prepping to compete and pouring into your community service initiative. It’s a lot of work, and it’s not something where you just kind of step on stage and hope for the best. It took me a long time to get to where I am today.
Vredevoogd is in her final year of law school at ASU.
Jacqueline Thomas
Miss Arizona 2019
For 2017 GCU honors graduate Jacqueline Thomas, pageantry was an unexpected journey.
She grew up watching pageants on TV with her mom but never thought to pursue the platform. Because she didn’t compete early on in life, Thomas thought she wouldn’t qualify as a competitor without previous experience.
But when she saw a Facebook post from a childhood friend who won Miss Arizona without experience in pageantry, Thomas’ interest was piqued.
She reached out to her friend, who quickly connected her with local pageant training programs. Thomas won her first local title in 2013 and, for the next six years, her world revolved around pageants.
“I won my first local title in August 2013, my first week of freshman year at GCU. This is where it all comes together, my Miss Arizona journey and GCU. Since my first week at GCU, I had the presence, mentality and guidance of the Miss Arizona organization, and that really was a driving force through my entire GCU experience.
“GCU is a great environment in that anything that you want to discover while you are at GCU – faith, extracurriculars, club, a specific degree, of course – you can go find it, and they will be there to support you.”
Thomas’ time spent at the university was about more than just going to class and getting her business management degree. Her student years were sacred and crucial in preparing her for her dream career of working in political communications for the federal government in Washington, D.C.
She was consistently training for her competitions, which required her devotion to fitness and health, professionalism, interpersonal skills and, most of all, her community service project.
Passionate about raising the next generation of female leaders, Thomas launched Lady Leaders, an organization empowering women to step into their leadership roles and fulfill their calling. With support from GCU and the Honors College (recently renamed the Sheila and Mike Ingram Honors College), Thomas hosted panels on campus featuring strong female leaders who shared stories about their professions with students.
“GCU and, specifically, the Honors College, they gave me resources, the support and encouragement for everything that I wanted to do, from being a local title holder for the first time at 18 years old, all the way to supporting me in my win six years later,” Thomas said.
“When people think of pageants, they think it’s just pretty girls and pretty dresses, but it is actually the best personal branding exercise you will ever go through. We are in the day and age where anyone can get on TikTok, post videos and become their own version of online famous. Being an influencer is great, but that does not teach you the skills of mental discipline, dedication, camaraderie and resilience that competing in a pageant gives you.”
Thomas is now deputy assistant secretary for strategic communications at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Hart
Miss Arizona 2013
Similar to Thomas, 2015 GCU grad Jennifer Hart was thrust into pageantry through a friend.
When she saw her best friend win Miss Arizona in 2011, she wanted to know what it’s like to carry the special title.
Hart got involved with local pageants, which led her to compete and win Miss Arizona in 2013. She was awarded a scholarship to attend GCU, where she graduated with a degree in communications.
“It was not really something I had on my bingo card,” Hart said. “Even though I won (Miss Arizona) on my first try, I took off a whole year to prepare because of how committed I was. You are studying everything going on in the world, in the news, you have to know your opinions on everything.
“Also, you are putting months or years into the gym when you are preparing for the swimsuit competition. There is so much more than just what you see on stage.”
Hart wanted to make her time in pageantry count. Above the studying and working out, she was most dedicated to her community service project, Tourette Syndrome awareness and advocacy. Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at a young age, Hart’s passion for the project stemmed from personal experience.
As she raised awareness through events and initiatives, Hart committed to working past her public speaking fears. Natural Chinese acupuncture and pageantry encouraged her confidence and growth, which led her to being a speaker at her GCU commencement ceremony. Hart is now an independent music artist in Nashville.
“I was so fearful to speak and sing in front of everybody,” Hart said. “When I decided I wanted to compete, I thought, I am going to have to get over this, and I am just going to have to enroll myself in a public speaking class. It ended up being one of my favorite classes in college. I ended up being Miss Arizona, student commencement speaker, and now I sing in front of people.”
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]
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