Sunrise Beach girl wins pageant title
This is the moment Adilyn Smiles learned she won the title of Universal Beauty at the Our Little Miss Texas State Scholarship Pageant on Oct. 27 in Bastrop. The 11-year-old from Sunrise Beach Village is now on her way to the 2025 World’s Universal Beauty Competition in January. Photo courtesy of Missie Pinegar
Adilyn Smiles, an 11-year-old from Sunrise Beach Village, took home the title of Universal Beauty in the Our Little Miss Texas State Scholarship Pageant on Oct. 27. Her win at the state level earned her a spot in the 2025 World’s Universal Beauty Competition in Montgomery, Ala., from Jan. 16-20.
“It’s been awesome to see her work really hard and accomplish a goal that takes so much energy and effort,” Adilyn’s mother, Jeanette, told DailyTrib.com. “It’s very emotional and very exciting.”
The 2024 Our Little Miss Texas State Scholarship Pageant was held in Bastrop and serves as a qualifier for the national competition.
Along with first prize, Adilyn took the titles of Model of the Year and Miss Photogenic.
“(Adilyn) was shocked,” Jeanette said. “It is a very hard pageant to win; people come from all over the state for this.”
Adilyn is already a scholarship pageant veteran, having taken home victories in four divisions in Kingsland’s Miss AquaBoom scholarship pageant: Teeny Tiny Miss AquaBoom (ages 2-3), Tiny Miss AquaBoom (ages 4-5), Little Miss Aquaboom (ages 6-8), and Young Miss AquaBoom (ages 9-10).
According to Jeanette, scholarship pageantry is more conservative and thorough than “glitz” pageantry, which has more of a focus on looks and outfits. For the Our Little Miss Texas pageant, Adilyn had to run on a platform showcasing her contributions to the community, public speaking ability, and, of course, poise and grace.
For their community project, she and her mother started a program called Filled with Love, a service that fills backpacks with necessities and comforts of home for children who are in transitional housing in the foster care system in the Highland Lakes.
“It’s a lot of work; it’s not just showing up and looking pretty,” Jeanette said.
Adilyn has grown up in the Highland Lakes and attends the fifth grade at Spicewood Christian Academy, where her mother works as a kindergarten teacher.
If you’re interested in supporting Adilyn on her World’s Universal Beauty run, contact Jeanette at jsmiles623@gmail.com.