IRMO, S.C. — Lily Richter is a Irmo High Senior who currently holds two titles: Miss Yellow Jacket and Miss Teen South Carolina North America. She will be representing our state in an international pageant that includes Canada and Mexico in June. But before this time last year, Lily had never even considered pageants.
Irmo High School pageant coordinator Sherrel Mars recalls meeting Lily, “Well my first encounter with Lily, of course, was last year and I spotted her in the cafeteria and thought 'OMG you’re so pretty'." Mars then proposed the idea of competing in the school's pageant to Lily where she said she would think about it. "And the rest is history”
Lily told us, "Going into Miss Yellow Jacket, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing so that definitely was a super fun experience. I was just kind of there to make friends and just kind of gain more confidence and get involved in school.”
Having the Miss Yellow Jacket Title comes with responsibility though. Lily has to maintain a certain GPA, do community service and turn in letters of recommendation just to compete. After winning, she acts as an ambassador and face of the school, representing Irmo High in the community and special events and welcoming guests into the school.
Just last month, Lily used the t confidence she acquired during Miss Yellow Jacket to compete in another pageant, this time for the entire state.
Not only does she know how to pick out the perfect dress, Lily uses skills she learned in her Mock Trial club and International Baccalaureate Diploma Program,-IB Program- to succeed in pageants and most importantly the panel interview portion.
"With IB its just a completely different way of learning," Lily shares, "We have a class called theory of knowledge so that just lets you delve deeper into different questions about ethics and moral decisions. Definitely in pageant interviews stuff like that comes up a lot. It really just encourages you to think in a different way and that’s really helpful in pageant interviews.”
Lily is proud of her titles and even more proud of the community she's in. She says every one lifts each other up and has each other's backs. She is also exposed to many organizations and activities she can get involved in.
“[She is a] very positive queen. Very good representation for Irmo High School as well as her peers,” Ms. Mars shares.
Lily's next competition will be in Orlando in June of this year.