Every year, young women in Lancaster County have an opportunity to participate in the Miss Lancaster County Scholarship Pageant. On Feb. 3, six titleholders were crowned during the contest at Ephrata High School, qualifying them to advance to the Miss Pennsylvania and Miss Pennsylvania's Teen Scholarship competitions in June. This year's winning contestants include Noelle Schneider of Quarryville, Julianna Billings of Peach Bottom, AmandaGrace Krier of Levittown, Kathryn Davis of Willow Street, Whitney Ridler of Manchester, and Maggie Roe of Lancaster.

During the scholarship pageant, each contestant gave a unique performance and highlighted a community service project near to her heart. Roe, a senior at Hempfield High School and the recipient of the Miss Heart of Lancaster's Teen award, performed a lyrical dance and shared her community service initiative, SMASSurvivor. SMASSurvivor seeks to raise awareness of superior mesenteric artery syndrome (SMAS) and to provide support for those with the condition. SMAS is a rare disease that causes proximal small bowel obstruction, and it can become fatal in cases where diagnoses are delayed. According to Roe, 33% of people who die from SMA syndrome are diagnosed on the autopsy table. "When I found out a large percentage of those who pass away from SMAS were never diagnosed and would never know why they always felt so sick, I was horrified," Roe wrote in an Instagram post in January. "This fact was one of the main reasons I started SMASurvivor. Because everyone deserves a diagnosis, an opportunity to receive treatment and a chance to experience a fulfilling life."

Schneider, who received the title of Miss Lancaster County, performed a harp arrangement that combined Handel's "Passacaglia" and Destiny's Child's "Survivor" in a mashup of the classical and R&B genres. Schneider presented her service project, MAOSmiles: Delivering Hope to Hospitalized Children. Through Schneider's initiative, gift bags containing greeting cards, craft kits, toys and books are delivered to children undergoing hospital treatment. Each bag also includes a QR code to a YouTube channel of Miss America titleholders reading their favorite children's books.

Billings, who was crowned as this year's Miss Red Rose City, presented a jazz-influenced dance routine to the song "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" by Pink. Billings said she chose this particular song due to how deeply its lyrics and title resonated with her; the 2023 Solanco High School graduate has been dancing for 15 years, and she currently works as an assistant coach at Debbie School of Dance in Quarryville. Billings also discussed her service initiative, Chiari Malformation Awareness, which she created to educate people on a rare condition she was diagnosed with in 2020. Billings said her goal is to use her platform as Miss Red Rose City to raise awareness of the condition and share her personal experience with it.

Krier, Ridler, and Davis were awarded the titles of Miss Heart of Lancaster, Miss Red Rose City's Teen and Miss Lancaster County's Teen, respectively.

The scholarship contest is coordinated by the Miss Lancaster County Scholarship Organization. The program seeks to empower young women across the nation by providing them with a platform to share their input on critical topics and hone various leadership skills as they compete for scholarship awards.

For more information, visit http://www.misslancasterco.org.