Vermont Business Magazine Miss Vermont, Rylee Field, is in Atlantic City, New Jersey this week representing Vermont at the Miss America competition. She has spent the last several months perfecting her spoken word poetry talent and has been grilled by panels of "mock" interview judges. Since becoming Miss Vermont at the end of May, Rylee has travelled across the state promoting her platform, Find a Happy Place: Positive Mental Health a
nd Wellness.
“The goal of my work is to open up the discussion throughout the country on mental health issues, predominately with kids and teens.Being able to have that discussion about these challenges opens up the door to allow kids and teens alike to begin “stigma-fighting.” To put that simply, it’s about education and inclusion. If we don’t allow the younger generation in on this discussion now, they are far more likely to stay out of that discussion when they are adults. We need as many voices as we can get talking about what we can do for others with mental health challenges, and how to promote positive mental health approaches, to break down the stigmas surrounding mental illness. That’s why I’m so excited to bring this message to the Miss America stage and why I hope to continue this work as Miss America,” said Field.
Rylee will compete for the national title and $50,000 in academic scholarships over three nights of preliminary competition. On Monday, September 5th, she had a private interview with the judges. On Tuesday September 6th, she competed in the talent competition with her spoken word poetry talent to “Say Yes” by Andrea Gibson. On Wednesday, September 7th, she will compete in On-Stage Question and on Thursday, September 8th, she will compete in both the Lifestyle and Fitness competition and in the Evening Wear competition. The final night of competition will be Sunday, September 11th at 9pm EST and will feature the top sixteen states LIVE on ABC. For more information, visit www.missamerica.org.
Miss Vermont Scholarship Organization Executive Director, Roberta “Cookie” Steponatis says, “Rylee has been an exception Miss Vermont. She’s done great work breaking down barriers in conversations on mental health and wellness. We’re excited to see her continue to share her gifts and hope to see her become Miss America 2017.”
Photos are courtesy of Jon Adams Photography.