Every year, the Miss SWOSU Scholarship Pageant brings together an amazing group of young women to compete alongside one another for the title of Miss SWOSU. Southwestern Oklahoma State University has hosted pageants on campus for over 100 years. The title of Miss SWOSU represents a strong sense of leadership, pride, and an urge to involve yourself with and help your local community. Miss SWOSU 2025, Mia Macias, has had an amazing year showcasing these qualities, but she is now preparing to pass her title on this Saturday. 

This week, I reached out to all 17 contestants competing in this year to give them a chance to introduce themselves to the SWOSU community ahead of the pageant. Four of these contestants–Jocelyn Treece, Sierra Stephens, Dakota Duke, and Caroline Snider–got back with me and shared a little about who they are, why they’re competing, and how they plan on using the Miss SWOSU title if they win.

Sierra Stephens

Sierra Stephens, a 20 year old from Mountain View, is competing in Miss SWOSU because of the experience she had last year. She expressed how welcoming everybody in the organization has been to her ever since she first competed. New and great friendships from last year were what encouraged Stephens to compete in Miss SWOSU again. If she were to secure the title of Miss SWOSU 2026, she would use her platform to bring together the community of Weatherford through reading. Her CSI, “Reading Across the Ages”, aims to build the bridge between the younger and older generations with reading. She believes that being Miss SWOSU is her first step in building a strong relationship between the university and the Weatherford community.

Caroline Snider

Caroline Snider, a freshman from Laverne, is currently pursuing a degree in radiology. For pastimes, she enjoys singing and playing golf. She is competing for the title of Miss SWOSU because it would provide her with the opportunity to spread awareness about her CSI platform to a wider audience of people. “The Beat Goes On: Keeping Music Programs In Schools” is Snider’s community service initiative. Her goal is to spread awareness about the loss of music programs in schools, especially smaller ones, and why they are important to students. If she were to win the title of Miss SWOSU 2026, she plans on using her platform to open doors to converse with administrators, school boards, and PTA groups about the importance of music education and the impact it has on students.

Dakota Duke

Dakota Duke, a 18 year old from Okemah, is majoring in pre-pharmacy. The opportunity to compete in the Miss SWOSU pageant excited Duke and inspired her to sign up. As she has prepared to compete, she has learned that the friendships she made along the way have made this entire process worth it. If she were to win the title of Miss SWOSU 2026, she plans to reach out to people who are in their last few years of military service. Duke’s CSI encourages people serving in the military to open their eyes to the several paths of education and careers that they can pursue. She believes that after serving in the military, these people should learn about and pursue new opportunities in education and career paths.

Jocelyn Treece

Jocelyn Treece, a 19 year old from Woodward, is passionate about learning new things, meeting new people, and pursuing opportunities that can help her grow as a person both personally and professionally. She is competing in Miss SWOSU because she wants to represent her university and community with pride, while also encouraging others to do the same by pursuing their own goals. This platform would allow Treece to use her voice and express her passions openly, leading others to believe in themselves as well. If she were to win the title of Miss SWOSU 2026, she would use the title to grow as a leader. Treece’s community service initiative, “Beauty Beyond the Mirror”, is about discovering confidence within yourself. With this platform, she would organize community events or social media campaigns that promote body positivity and mental wellness among young women and men.

As the night of the pageant grows nearer, these four contestants are more than ready to showcase their Bulldog pride on stage. Everyone here at The Southwestern wishes all 17 contestants the best of luck. Students, faculty, and members of the community are encouraged to attend the Miss SWOSU Scholarship pageant on Friday, November 15th at 7 p.m. to support this year’s amazing contestants and find out who the next Miss SWOSU title holder will be.