A Crowning Achievement: Blakely Callahan’s Journey from Childhood Dream to Miss Kentucky’s Teen

Blakely Callahan is one step closer to a dream that began at only three years old after she was crowned Miss Kentucky’s Teen in June.

Blakely is the daughter of Shane and Melanie Callahan. She was named Miss Kentucky’s Teen on June 13th after competing against 26 other teenage girls from across the Commonwealth.

Blakely is a junior at South Laurel High School where she plays varsity tennis, is an officer for the Laurel County Youth Leadership Program and a member of the Laurelettes. She also is the founder of the nonprofit Callahan’s Crowns for the Cure, which works to help raise funds and awareness for multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that has affected Blakely’s mother for over 20 years now. Blakely also enjoys opera singing, playing pickleball and is currently working towards getting her pilot’s license.

Since she was little, Blakely’s parents were always encouraging her to truly be herself and she always has been—learning to ride a tricycle in high heels; greeting her teachers and fellow students when she arrived at school like she was in a parade, hanging out the sun roof and waving at everyone; having a Navy Seals birthday party, complete with a Jedi robe and light sabers, at 10 years old.

When Blakely was only three years old, the now 16-year-old was already dreaming of one day being crowned Miss America after watching the Miss America pageant for the first time.

“Blakely walked up to me and said, ‘how do you spell ‘Merica’,’ so I wrote it down for her and she drew a picture of herself in a dress with a crown and a sash on and she wrote ‘I will be Miss Merica,” said Blakely’s mother, Melanie. To this day, her mother still has that picture stored away.

“She said that from the time that she was three years old that this is what she wanted for her life, and she is putting in the work to get there.”

At five years old, Blakely joined Miss Kentucky’s Little Sisters Program, formerly known as Bluegrass Princesses, where she had the unique opportunity to meet contestants and titleholders for Miss Kentucky and Miss Kentucky’s Teen pageants and be mentored one-on-one by them.

Today, Blakely serves as a mentor for the program where she gets to help little girls like her discover their dreams and unlock their potential.

Blakely continued to be a part of the Little Sisters program until she aged out, knowing that one day she would be one of those mentors. She quickly began working towards her goal of competing for the title of Miss Kentucky’s Teen, keeping up with her health and fitness, staying up to date on current events, working on interview prep, practicing her talent portion of the competition and so much more.

Blakely competed in a few pageants before Miss Kentucky’s Teen, including being crowned Teen Laurel County Homecoming two years ago. Last year, she was crowned Miss Heart of Bourbon Country’s Teen in her pursuit for Miss Kentucky’s Teen. 

“It has taken me about three good years to truly prepare for everything and prepare to compete,” she said. “I wanted to be completely ready to just take on the title and really represent the state well.” 

After finally feeling like she was ready to take on that title, Blakely traveled with her family to Bowling Green where she competed in the Miss Kentucky’s Teen pageant. There, Blakley wowed judges with her poise, her opera singing, her knowledge of current events and her evening gown that won her first place. Blakely also took first place for her talent, as a newcomer and as Kentucky’s Choice, in addition to being crowned Miss Kentucky’s Teen.

“The best part was, after I walked for the first time as Miss Kentucky’s Teen, I turned around and every single girl was running towards me on that stage to give me the biggest hug and we were all just crying,” Blakely said. “In that moment, there was no competitiveness, no bitterness, it was just pure joy and love and sisterhood and that’s what made it so special.

“It was like a lifelong dream happening in that moment. It hit me all at once, like this is my life now, this is going to be my life now.”

Life has been a whirlwind since Blakely’s crowning, as she has done multiple interviews, appearances and other events, all the while preparing for and working towards her next goal of winning Miss America’s Teen, which will be held at the end of August in Orlando, Florida.

“I think I have found myself through this experience and I think I find myself every day,” Blakely said. “It has just been so genuine, and I truly believe that God has guided every second of it. It has just been so amazing in every aspect of it. I get to go in front of all these people and share myself with everyone. I want to be a representative for Kentucky and for London and our community.”

Blakely’s dreams don’t just stop at Miss America, though. Following her high school graduation, Blakely plans to attend the United States Naval Academy. She has dreams of being a pilot for the United States Navy, while also pursuing a law degree and eventually joining the JAG (Judge Advocate General’s) Corps.

Blakely hopes that she can help people to understand that those who compete in pageants are so much more than what you see on the outside.

“A lot of people, they see pageants and they think pretty face, pretty hair, pretty outfits, swimsuit competitions, don’t have a brain—it is so not that, it is so much more than that,” she said. “I think through the Miss Kentucky organization and through the Miss America organization, I have been able to come into myself so much and find myself. This has been my form of expression. This is how I say, ‘this is who I am,’ not just on the outside, even though I do like having my hair and makeup done, but this is also who I am on the inside. Being able to do what I love, to perform and speak and advocate, that is meaningful, and it can be such a genuine experience if that is what you allow it to be.”

Blakely said that the community’s support throughout her run for Miss Kentucky’s Teen has been so special and she hopes to continue making her community proud as she takes on the Miss America’s Teen pageant later this month.

As someone who has always been truly herself, Blakely hopes that she can encourage young girls to truly be themselves and to follow their dreams, whatever they may be.

“Being yourself is only going to do good things for you,” she said. “That is such an easy thing to lose, especially when you are trying to fit in and trying to find things in common with others at my age, because that is something I have absolutely struggled with. But being yourself is only going to help you find things in your life that are going to provide you with so many opportunities; it is only going to make things so amazing in your life. God has a plan for your life, just trust him and let him lead the way and enjoy the life that he has for you.”