Recently crowned Miss Missouri's Teen Gracyn Rouse, 16, Thayer, was inspired growing up by watching two older cousins competing in Miss Arkansas pageants, and wanted to enter Miss America and Miss Missouri pageants. That desire began at about age 7 for Rouse.
Those cousins, Regan Wheelis and Hannah Billingsley, have gone on to graduate college and Billingsley has her own family now. The two are from Izard County, Ark., and Rouse, having lived in Thayer a literal stone's throw away from the Arkansas border, has personal and family ties to northern Arkansas.
Her talent is singing and, though she's had no formal training, she did get advice from her father, who had professional training.
On the way to winning her crown, she performed "That's Life," a jazzy, uplifting Frank Sinatra classic she chose because it fit her voice well. She'd also seen a clip of Miss Texas 2022 Landry Champlin performing it and is an admirer of Champlin. Watching pageants is also something Rouse has always enjoyed doing.
Other judged elements of the competition included an interview, onstage conversation, fitness and evening gown.
She said the best thing about competing is the feeling of sisterhood shared with other competitors and the friendships she has made. Besides those connections, she encourages other girls to become involved in the Miss Missouri’s Teen and other pageants as a way to gain valuable skills, like how to respond well during interviews and while speaking publicly.
Her win qualifies her for entry in the Miss America's Teen competition, which will be held in January and be broadcast as a livestream courtesy of Pageants Live.
Another of her goals in competing is to earn enough to help put herself through college debt-free.
"I'm very independent, and I want to pay for my schooling as much as I can,” she explained. She earned a $7,000 scholarship as Miss Missouri's Teen, crowned in a field of competition against 28 other regional delegates.
That schooling will eventually lead to a career as a physician's assistant, she says. She plans to attend the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and achieve a bachelor's of science degree in biology and a medical sciences degree from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., through that school’s physician's assistant program.
She will be a junior this fall at Thayer High School and has two older sisters: Emma, who is entering medical school in August, and Abbi, who is enrolled at Missouri State University-West Plains. She and her family, including parents Adam and Leah Rouse, have been lifelong members of Thayer First Baptist Church, and her faith guides her in her decisions. She also sings as a member of her church's praise and worship team.
"The Lord gave me a heart for people, to love people and help people, and that's a way to be able to do that," she said of her aspiration to become a physician's assistant. When asked where she might practice in the future, she replied "Wherever the Lord takes me."
