Meet the contestants running for Miss Northern Lights and Miss Northern Lights' Teen 2024

STEVENS POINT – The Miss Northern Lights Scholarship Organization will crown its 2024 titleholders this weekend.

The Miss Northern Lights and Miss Northern Lights’ Teen competitions, returning for the first time since 2018, will start at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Sentry Theater, 1800 North Point Drive in Stevens Point.

Here’s what you need to know before you go.

What is the Miss Northern Lights Scholarship Organization?

The organization was created by Katie Williams Tomsyck, volunteer executive director, in January 2016. It holds Miss Northern Lights and Miss Northern Lights’ Teen competitions as local, preliminary competitions within the Miss America Organization. The local titleholders will compete at Miss Wisconsin and Miss Wisconsin’s Teen in June, and those state titleholders will go on to compete at the Miss America and Miss America’s Teen competitions.

All national, state and local competitions within the Miss America Organization provide scholarships for the young women who compete. The four points of the organization – marked as each of the four points of the crown – are service, scholarship, style and success. The program aims to empower young women through scholarships and by helping them learn public speaking and leadership skills to be successful in their future careers.

The Miss Northern Lights competition is open to women between the ages of 17 and 28 who live, work or attend school in Wisconsin. The Miss Northern Lights’ Teen competition is open to young women between the ages of 13 and 17.

Where do I get tickets?

Tickets for the competitions are $20 for general admission, and they can be purchased at the event. Doors will open at 4 p.m. ahead of the competition.

What does the competition look like?

Seven women will vie for the title of Miss Northern Lights, and seven will compete for Miss Northern Lights’ Teen. All women will compete in five phases: a private interview with a panel of judges, talent, evening gown, health and fitness in activewear and an on-stage question.

In preparing for competition, each women has chosen a talent to perform on stage, and each has chosen a topic important to her that she would promote as the titleholder, called community service initiatives. The Miss America Organization created a new talent category for contestants to choose, called HERStory. It's an option for a contestant to write an inspirational story about herself to share her passions or to share something that happened to her, and judges will consider the contestant's storytelling ability.

At the end of the event, Miss Northern Lights 2024 and Miss Northern Lights’ Teen 2024 will each receive a $500 scholarship.

How will titleholders spend their year of service?

The two local titleholders will spend the next year serving their communities, volunteering with nonprofits, appearing at local events and promoting their community service initiative.

In June, both will compete to become the state titleholders in Oshkosh.

Meet the Miss Northern Lights 2024 contestants

Contestant No. 1: Allison Wisinski

Wisinski is from Stevens Point and is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Her community service initiative is titled "Body Positivity," and she will perform a vocal performance of "Don't Rain on My Parade."

Contestant No. 2: Cassidy Sairs

Sairs is from Wisconsin Rapids and is a graduate from UW-Stevens Point. Her community service initiative is titled "A Layered Approach to Skin Cancer Awareness," and she will perform a lyrical dance to "Incomplete."

Contestant No. 3: Aryssa Wright

Wright is from Menasha and is a student at UW-Oshkosh. Her community service initiative is titled "HEROES: Help Empower Reacclimate our Esteemed Soldiers," and she will perform a vocal performance of "Flashlight."

Contestant No. 4: Makaya Stanke

Stanke is from Trempealeau and is a student at UW-Stevens Point. Her community service initiative is titled "Youth Girls in Football," and she will perform a HERstory called "The Love of Football."

Contestant No. 5: Emma Booth

Booth is from Eau Claire and is a graduate from UW-Eau Claire. Her community service initiative is titled "Shattered Screens: Protecting Young Minds from Social Media," and she will perform a saxophone solo of "September."

Contestant No. 6: Mandi Genord

Genord is from Beaver Dam and is a student at the University of Alabama. Her community service initiative is titled "P.O.W.E.R. Promoting Our Wellness & Exercise Routines," and she will perform a lyrical dance to "I Have Nothing."

Contestant No. 7: Alanna Racine

Racine is from Wausau and is a student at D.C. Everest High School. Her community service initiative is titled "American Foundation for Suicide Prevention," and she will perform a vocal performance of "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You."

Meet the Miss Northern Lights' Teen 2024 contestants

Contestant No. 1: Angelina Bollom

Bollom is from Onalaska, and her community service initiative is titled "Happy to Help Fight Hunger." She will perform a piano solo of "Lunar Eclipse."

Contestant No. 2: Alexis Ullrich

Ullrich is from Baraboo, and her community service initiative is titled "Teens for Seniors." She will perform a lyrical dance to "You Say."

Contestant No. 3: Eliana Sine

Sine is from Portage, and her community service initiative is titled "Dancers Against Cancer." She will perform a lyrical dance to "You Say."

Contestant No. 4: Madeline Lehmann

Lehmann is from Holmen, and her community service initiative is titled "Speaking Out Against Animal Abuse." She will perform a viola solo of "Swan Lake."

Contestant No. 5: Ruby Marti

Marti is from Wisconsin Rapids, and her community service initiative is titled "Silence is NOT Golden: Early Language Matters." She will perform a hip-hop dance to "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

Contestant No. 6: Madison Graf

Graf is from Vesper, and her community service initiative is titled "FaceTime in Real Time." She will perform a tap dance to "Man With the Hex."

Contestant No. 7: Bianca Bowden

Bowden is from Wisconsin Rapids, and her community service initiative is titled "Make Safety a Habit, Not an Option." She will perform an acrobatic hip-hop dance to a mash-up of "Get Ugly," "Pause" and "Jump."

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Contact Caitlin at cshuda@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.

This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Miss Northern Lights and Miss Northern Lights' Teen 2024 contestants