Hannah Edelen has been crowned Miss Kentucky 2022. Over the weekend, the Northern Kentucky University alumna from Covington was crowned Miss Kentucky and will represent the state in the Miss America pageant later this year in Connecticut.
The Springfield, Kentucky-native has just added another big achievement to her outstanding record. Edelen, 24, said he couldn’t always take part in the program due of budgetary constraints. It was just a few years ago that She decided to take a risk and compete.
Crowned at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center, “I couldn’t help but think about all the people who really helped me to where I am today,” she said. Her mother’s fight with a brain tumor and her father’s infirmity led to financial and marital problems in their troubled household, where she grew up. “My brother and I, we saw a lot of how that affected their livelihood and well-being,” Edelen said. “It really hurt us growing up, and we had our own challenges.”
Edelen opted to move north to attend Northern Kentucky University, where she was voted student body president and became the first member of her family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. After working as an educational assistant in the Covington Independent School District, Edelen enrolled in the Teach for America program and became a licensed teacher by teaching sixth grade at Holmes Middle School in Covington.
She is now pursuing her studies at the University of Kentucky, where she earned a master’s degree and is working towards a doctoral degree. In addition, she’s running for a seat on the Covington City School Board in the next November election.
For Edelen, Miss Kentucky is a chance to expand her work in education, despite the fact that pageants are notorious for their elaborate gowns and sashes.
After all, one of the benefits of competing in the Miss Kentucky pageant is the opportunity to win a scholarship.
During the “pitch” round of the competition, Edelen explained the Read Ready Kentucky initiative, an attempt to encourage young readers to pick up a novel. When Edelen competes in Miss America, she will broaden her message about Read Ready America.
Edelen’s skill in clogging helped her to get a higher score in the evening’s talent competition, despite the fact that her primary priority in both her professional and pageant life is education.
“I’m hoping for my students that they see this as an example of how to look at their own life,” Edelen said. “A lot of our students have a lot of adversities. All throughout my time at Covington, I always told my kids to never let their environment define who they are or what their future will look like, but to define it themselves.”
She was overcome with emotion when talking about her triumph since she was thinking about her kids. It is Edelen’s aim that by sharing her own personal narrative of how she overcame challenges in her early life to become an accomplished student, she would inspire others.
This month, Edelen finished her final school year with Covington Schools and has already had job offers from other school systems and companies. In the meantime, she will be Miss Kentucky, a full-time position that involves promoting the Kentucky Proud state program, which certifies products manufactured in the state.