BROWNSTOWN

Singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” during the Miss Indiana and Miss America competitions earlier this year, Haley Begay was in her element.

In her second time competing to be Miss Indiana in June, the 19-year-old from Pittsboro won the title to advance to the Miss America competition in September.

Traveling around the state, Begay spends a lot of time visiting schools and domestic violence shelters and making other appearances.

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Recently at Brownstown Elementary School, she was put on the spot when a student asked her to sing while she answered questions and autographed pictures.

She didn’t hesitate one bit.

The fifth-graders were treated to a verse of Andra Day’s “Rise Up” and gave her a big round of applause.

“I love, love, love to sing,” Begay said. “As soon as somebody says, ‘Sing,’ I’ll be like, ‘OK, what do you want me to sing? I’ll do it.’ I love singing in front of huge crowds, too. I would rather sing in front of like 10,000 people than five.”

She has come a long way because before she started competing in pageants at age 11, she said she wouldn’t have been comfortable singing in front of other people.

“When I was younger, I was a nerd. Nobody paid attention to me in school. I was just always kind of hiding,” she said. “It’s really interesting because I was just at my high school (Tri-West in Lizton) at an appearance, and my face is on the wall. It’s a huge banner. I’m like, ‘Wow! I cannot imagine.’ When I was a student there, I never thought they would be giving back to me in that way.”

Begay said her mother inspired her to begin competing.

“When I was younger, I was very overweight, and I had severe anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, and so I was in and out of the hospital,” she said. “My mom wanted to do something that would boost my self-confidence. She was kind of reluctant at first because she had heard the bad stereotypes about pageants.”

Her first competition was National American Miss Indiana.

“As soon as she entered me into the younger division, something like a spark ignited me, and I just knew that I loved being onstage,” Begay said. “I’ve been competing ever since.”

Over the years, she has done more than 20 competitions.

“I would say pageants saved my life because I just really don’t think that I would have the self-confidence that I do today,” she said. “I wouldn’t have the speaking skills. I wouldn’t have the people skills. I’m going to need that because my major is journalism. I’m going to be interacting with people every single day, so just seeing myself grow up through pageantry, it’s been a very significant change, so I’m very grateful.”

Last year was Begay’s first time competing in the Miss Indiana scholarship program, which is open to ages 17 to 24. Contestants can earn scholarship money in the talent, interview and swimsuit categories but not in onstage question and evening gown.

After placing in the top 10 in 2016, Begay not only won the title this year but also the talent, interview and swimsuit categories. The scholarship money will go toward her expenses at Indiana University, where she’s majoring in journalism and Spanish and minoring in psychology.

Only being 19, she said she was surprised to win. She was one of 35 contestants.

“I worked extremely hard on everything. No leaf went unturned,” she said. “I worked very hard in fitness. I had a vocal coach in talent. I worked really hard all year and matured a lot.”

She felt her best category was the interview.

“I love talking to people,” she said. “That’s what my profession is going to be someday, and that’s where you win it — interview. If they like you in interview, that basically carries you through the competition. I definitely didn’t have as much experience as some girls, but I think just the interview skills made up for that where I needed it.”

In the Miss America competition, Begay was one of five teenagers. Orientation in Orlando, Florida, allowed the contestants from each state to get to know each other and learn the rules. Then the competition was in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“I thought I had a decent shot just because I’ve had so much experience, but at that level, it’s just the best of the best from every state, so I wasn’t really expecting much,” she said.

“I was also being pretty realistic,” she said. “I was the second-youngest out of the whole bunch. A lot of them were 24, so I knew I didn’t really have the best shot at winning, but I wanted to make the experience as memorable and awesome as possible, and I did.”

She will remain Miss Indiana until June. She’s taking this semester off from college to fulfill her duties and will return in January.

She has a business manager who schedules her appearances, which mainly is volunteer work.

“Golf outings, visiting schools, being an emcee for an event, dinners, filler talent for something — I’m constantly all over the state,” she said.

At Brownstown Elementary School, Begay read a story she wrote a couple of years ago, “George’s Kindness.” It goes along with her platform of domestic violence awareness.

“The younger kids, I really hope they take away that it’s never OK to hit somebody or bully somebody,” she said of the story. “With the older ones, it goes a little bit deeper. They can catch those subtle clues in there that it’s not OK to abuse animals or people, so I’m hoping that translates.”

She said her favorite appearances are at schools and local pageants.

“If I have the opportunity to touch many lives, then that’s my favorite thing to do,” she said. “Kids are at the age when they are a sponge. They will soak up everything you say, and so I feel like it’s my responsibility to be that role model for them as much as I can because I know when I was young and Miss Indiana came and spoke to us, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ Then, here I am today. I truly enjoy every minute of it.”

As Begay travels around the state, sponsors pay for her gas, clothes, jewelry and makeup.

“I’m very, very grateful because otherwise, I would have to work a lot of shifts at the grocery store,” she said. “That was my job before I was Miss Indiana. I was a cashier, and I baby sat.”

Her ultimate goal is to become a bilingual television broadcaster, and she also has expressed interest in owning an alpaca farm in the south.

The Brownstown Elementary School students and staff members appreciated the opportunity to meet Begay.

Fifth-graders Kassie Helton and Jake Bohn both said they liked the message of her story.

“It’s always good to treat people the way you want to be treated,” Kassie said.

“It’s good to help lonely people and be a friend to them,” Jake said.

Kassie thought it was cool to have Begay visit the school and that Begay’s boyfriend, John McKinney, also was in Becky Baker’s classroom in fifth grade.

“I think it was very generous of her to take her time to read to us,” Kassie said. “She inspired me because she is not afraid to sing in front of people.”

Jake said he liked how Begay someday wants to own an alpaca farm.

“It was pretty cool having a famous person in our classroom,” he said. “It taught me you don’t have to be very old to be famous.”

Baker said Begay was delightful as she interacted with the students.

“The children enjoyed the story she read about the abused dog,” Baker said. “I believe they made the parallel of the story and her platform of awareness of domestic violence and teaching children how to settle disagreements without physical violence.”

Baker liked how Begay emphasized Miss Indiana and Miss America are scholarship programs that encourage academic excellence and the importance of doing your best.

“It was a great opportunity for our students to hear her success story about achieving her goal,” Baker said. “She expressed that she aspires to someday be a TV journalist and encouraged our students to set goals for themselves. Being from a small town similar to Brownstown, it reminds them and shows that even from a small town, you are able to set goals and achieve big things.”

When Begay talked about staying busy with her Miss Indiana duties, one of the students asked if she was rich.

“She’s not rich in money, but she’s rich in talents and experiences,” Baker said.

“And I’m rich in joy,” Begay said with a big smile.

Another student asked if she will always be Miss Indiana.

“In my heart, yes,” she said with another smile.

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Name: Haley Begay

Age: 19

Hometown: Pittsboro

Title: Miss Indiana 2017

Platform issue: Don’t Silence the Violence: A Voice for Children of Domestic Violence

Talent: Vocal

College: Indiana University

Major: Journalism and Spanish with a minor in psychology

Scholastic ambition: To obtain a master’s degree in journalism and Spanish

Secret wish or dream: To own an alpaca farm in the south

Defining moment: “As a preteen, I was always anxious, and I thought I would always be the nervous girl in class with OCD. When I watched Miss America for the first time in 2011, I saw that Teresa Scanlan was only 17 when she was crowned. I decided to distract my OCD by striving to become a titleholder at an early age, just like Teresa.”

Bio: After time spent volunteering with abused children, it is difficult to imagine how someone could hurt them, not only physically but verbally. It is her goal to spread awareness about domestic violence and educate children on how to settle disagreements without physical violence. Through the charity she founded, Domestic Dollars, and the two children’s programs she has created, she plans to make a difference by ensuring violence will no longer be silenced.

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