By Tori Templet | Staff Writer
Waco freshman Keaghan Pruitt was crowned Teen United World 2022 at the United World Pageant held Sept. 3-5 in Round Rock.
United World Pageants is an international pageant organization providing outstanding women the opportunity to compete. Pruitt went up against many other young women for the title she now holds.
“I started doing pageants when I was 19. I fell in love with it,” Pruitt said. “Getting to be crowned Teen United World was so unreal. It’s the biggest dream come true and something I have worked so hard on for the last four years. Just to see my dreams coming true in front of my eyes was absolutely crazy.”
While competing in pageants, Pruitt has used her platform to shed light on an organization she is passionate about. After losing her father to suicide in 2014, Pruitt has championed throughout her pageantry for Suicide Prevention Awareness. She also just so happened to be crowned during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Pruitt spreads awareness in hopes to help normalize mental health struggles and improve access to resources and education.
“Pageants give you a foundation to speak about the things that you believe in on a bigger platform than just yourself,” Pruitt said. “The United World system’s motto is ‘United We Stand,’ and it just means that all of us get to come together from different backgrounds to make a bigger difference than we could by ourselves.”
As Pruitt moves forward with her pageantry and her international title, she gets the chance to travel and make appearances while promoting the United World Pageant system.
“Since it’s an international title, I get to travel the world which is super fun and exciting,” Pruitt said. “I’ll get the chance to watch other girls compete and speak more about my platform.”
China Spring freshman Riley Bradburn, and longtime friend of Pruitt, said it has been amazing getting to witness Pruitt thrive in this kind of competition.
“She puts others before herself and continues to make decisions for the better of those around her,” Bradburn said. “I have watched as she has grown in her self confidence and worked her way to this title.”
While being the titleholder for UWP, Pruitt is trying to find a balance between enjoying the freshman Baylor experience and fulfilling her duties as Teen United World.
“School comes first,” Pruitt said. “Winning this title towards the beginning of the school year actually benefited me because I’m still learning time management … I don’t think any of this takes away from my freshman experience. I just think it makes it a little more fun.”
