22 years old Taylor Even from Jesup, Iowa was crowned Miss Iowa USA 2015 and will now represent Iowa at the Miss USA 2015 pageant. Currently she is taking a year off from school and hopes to utilize her respiratory therapy degree to one day work in a children’s hospital, after graduation. Taylor is not new to the pageantry world and the Miss Iowa USA 2015 pageant was Taylor’s third attempt. She credits much of her success to her family as they have been great supporters.

Taylor’s first attempt at beauty pageant was at the age of eighteen (18). On her first attempt Taylor got all nervous and had cold feet, started crying and ran out to the car where her parents were waiting. The pageant itself – Miss Iowa USA – was intimidating, Taylor said. “It was my first-ever pageant,” she said. “I was the youngest in the Miss division.”

In her spare time, Taylor enjoys kickboxing, bike riding, boating and jet skiing in the summer on the Mississippi River and cheering on her sister and cousins in their sporting events. Taylor holds a special bond and place in her heart for those with physical or mental disabilities and hopes to get involved with Special Olympics. Taylor says that the swimsuit round was the most difficult round for her when she first entered the pageants world. “It was my first year doing pageants, I was 18 years old and had to walk around the stage in a bikini and five-inch heels with all these random people looking at me. But I succeeded, and I’m glad I went through with it.”

Apart from the winning the tittle Miss Iowa USA 2015, Taylor works two part-time jobs and is focusing on charitable work. She has been a long-time volunteer through her church, St. Athanasius, and its parish school; with the Catholic Worker House; and with the organization Up with Families, which works with families who have disabled children.  Taylor has been preparing herself for the Miss USA 2015 pageant by working on her interview skills, narrowing down her dress choices and practicing her walk. “I am nervous, but I tend to hide that,” she said. “I will be gone for three weeks. There will be a media tour, so I will get to know the rest of the girls.” Her motto in life is “Step outside of your comfort zone, believe in yourself and your dreams will come true.”