Miss America MI/Instagram
Who Is Miss Michigan Heather Kendrick? The Miss USA Hopeful Has Serious Music Talent
This Sunday marks the 97th annual Miss America competition, and naturally, everyone is wondering about the contestants. Of course, all of the competing ladies have unique talents and traits to offer, but one name that we keep hearing about is Heather Kendrick, aka Miss Michigan.
The 23-year-old Marysville native was crowned Miss Michigan in June of this year, and, not surprisingly, she feels "so grateful" for the opportunity. Heather beat out 33 other women, and no doubt, her musical abilities and smarts played a big role in her victory. Heather is a violinist who played Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" while strutting around in a short sparkly dress and sky-high stilettos for the talent portion. Needless to say, people were impressed.
In addition to being a trained musician, the beauty queen also is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she received a B.M. in Instrumental Music Education (Violin) and a B.A. in Organizational Studies. Not stopping there though, Heather wants to further her education by obtaining an MBA in Positive Organizational Scholarship. Clearly, this is one ambitious woman.
From the looks of things on her Instagram and Miss America bio, in addition to loving music, Heather is a huge fan of the outdoors and fitness. When asked about her proudest accomplishment, the hopeful listed CrossFit among them. "I’ve always loved being active and spending time outdoors, but when I first started CrossFit, I began to appreciate my body for the work it can do," Heather said. "This mindset transformed how I approach self-care, health, and overall well-being."
Like all of her competitors, Heather has issues she cares about deeply. The U of M alum is passionate about making sure schools continue to keep the arts in their curriculum. In fact, her platform is Keeping the Arts in Education: Advocating STEAM. In a recent Instagram video, the violinist revealed how it's her life's work to keep the arts — as well as science, technology, engineering, and math — in the educational lives of America's youth. Working with her platform daily, Heather is also Program Director for the M-Prize Competition, the world’s largest competition for chamber music. If that isn't a strong competitor, people, not sure what is. Good luck, Heather—though, not sure you need it!
