Liberty Alumna Wins America United Miss Pageant

Liberty University alumna and previous Miss Virginia Petite titleholder, Kendra Hicks, achieved a two-year long dream in September by winning the title of America United Miss.

Hicks competed in the America United Miss scholarship pageant, also known as AUM, and won her sixth title to date. As an advocate for sustainable fashion and volunteer work, Hicks balances her responsibilities as a pageant queen and nonprofit organizer with her job as a middle school English teacher in Killeen, Texas. 

“I finally accomplished a goal I set for myself two years ago,” Hicks said. “I made a promise to myself, even in spite of a lot of … disappointment, that before I retired from pageants I really wanted to work and work and work and earn a national pageant title.”

While volunteering over 350 hours of her time to the community, Hicks sees the work as a character builder. Hicks is a registered volunteer of her city’s Animal Advisory Committee as well as a background-checked volunteer for Killeen’s Parks and Recreation department. A local library, Harker Heights Public Library, has also been a major part of her volunteer work, allowing her to travel for different events around the country.

During her time at Liberty, Hicks developed a passion for sustainable fashion, leading her to create a nonprofit called Trash to Treasured Totes.

“I essentially take donated T-shirts, denim and fabric, and I sew them into tote bags that I fill with hygiene items. … I deliver them to our local homeless shelters and police stations to be handed out by officers,” Hicks said.

Hicks said she was inspired to start her nonprofit while she was studying at Liberty as a fashion major as well as serving as the president of a fashion club. She explained that several of the events that the club facilitated centered around sustainable fashion, which is why she wanted to continue this theme through her own nonprofit.

Hicks said the second biggest pollutant, behind oil, is textile waste. She looks to bring her nonprofit to the national level with the help of her new title and hopes to donate totes to all 50 states.

As a teacher at a local private Christian school in her town, Hicks works with fellow Liberty alumni and current students.

“We talk all the time about how Liberty prepared us, not just for this pageant title, but for life,” Hicks said. “I think Liberty has helped me … to stand up for what I think is right and doing it gracefully. I definitely think that I’ve learned to speak the truth in love and actively search out the kind of people and influences in this industry that lead me closer to Jesus.”

As she continues to follow God’s leading, Hicks plans to expand her nonprofit and continue to grow in the roles God has placed her in.

“I want to continue volunteering with the organizations that I’m already volunteering with, but my main goal is to scale Trash to Treasured Totes. … And I don’t want to get complacent either. I want to have personal spiritual growth this year. Winning the title doesn’t mean my work is done as a competitor. I still intend to grow and get better,” Hicks said.

McKinnon is an arts & culture reporter.