When Miss Kenosha leaves for state pageant competition next week, she’ll be taking with her the prerequisite physical attributes and personality, a solid performance background, ambition and seemingly no aversion to risk-taking.
23 year-old Kaitlyn Rhey choked back tears a few weeks ago when she revealed details of her adolescent depression.
At UW-Whitewater, Rhey scrapped a degree in political science a year before graduation and enrolled instead in Gateway Technical College’s C-N-A program. Soon afterward, she landed a job in a local E-R.
With a four-year degree from Parkside under her belt, her next academic stop is Marquette, with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner in psychiatry.
As for her pageant ‘talent’, Rhey twirls a baton. It’s one of the few choices in which the contestant risks injury. Speaking with Community Matters host Len Iaquinta recently, Rhey, who’s been twirling since grade school, talked about practicing her new routine, and her history of injuries. "I can't tell you how many times that baton has fallen on my face," she said. "I've broken my nose several times. It's not easy."
Despite dropping her baton in practice, by her estimation, 60% of the time, she and her former teammates were good enough to win a world championship in 2009. The Zion-based Razzle Dazzles competed that year in Belgium.
Several other area women will be taking part in the upcoming Miss Wisconsin pageant, including Miss Chocolate Fest Haylee Bande, Miss Racine Brynn Weinzirl, and Miss Southern Lakes Elise Elmblad. Bande, by the way, will also perform a baton twirling routine.
The pageant finals will be in Oshkosh the evening of Saturday, June 24th.
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