Nelms began competing in pageants at the age of 12 just to help her get over her severe introverted personality. “My first pageant was in a mall and there were only three in my division and I was so scared out of my mind.” said Nelms. “I had glitter eye-liner and I looked like someone out of the 80’s because we didn’t know anything. But it was so much fun.”
In that pageant, Nelms spoke in front of people for the first time and she realized that she survived the experience and actually had fun. It took Nelms a couple of months before she won her first pageant, which was at a state fair competition.
Nelms entered her fourth preliminary competition earlier this year and competed for Miss Lake Worth against 12 competitors. When she was named Miss Lake Worth, that qualified her for the Miss Texas competition which is taking place now.
The Miss Texas contestants checked into the Eisemann Center in Richardson on Saturday morning and immediately had a fashion show and gala. After those events, the contestants are completely sequestered with their phones taken away.
“I don’t get any contact.” said Nelms in a Friday interview. “Our parents aren’t allowed to talk to us except for visitation which is after each competition. We don’t have our phones from 6 am to 11 pm and we’re completely cut off from everyone.”
This schedule will take place until Sunday. On Tuesday, Nelms will interview, which is a 10 minute process where judges ask the contestants anything from political questions to current affairs. After that interview, she’ll get two minutes with her parents before doing the swimsuit and evening gown performances. Wednesday is the talent portion of the contest which Nelms is a talented flute player. On Thursday, Nelms will face the on-stage questions.
“You have to really know yourself.” said Nelms. “You have to know what you think and have an opinion. They don’t care what your opinion is, you just need to be able to defend your opinion.”
With media today, everything is scrutinized so Nelms wants to make sure and avoid the moments of losing train of thought.
“You just can’t allow yourself to get scared.” said Nelms. “One time I fell on stage and it was an awesome face-plant. When my family gets together, my dad will play it on a loop.”
The cost of the pageant life can add up, but it has also paid off for Nelms who has received over $2,000 in scholarships from pageants.
“It’s not cheap, but you get so much out of it.” said Nelms. “I have great interview skills now. I have a job because I can interview well and I can now talk in front of thousands of people. So it is expensive and it offsets the scholarships, but it gives you so much more.”
Nelms says that her favorite part of the pageant is the interview. “It’s the only part that you can control what they think about you.” said Nelms. “Everything else is based on how you look and present yourself. But in the interview, you get to actually have a conversation with them. I love talking to people.”
Nelms wants to be a surgical nurse, but first wants to be Miss Texas and then Miss America.
Nelms will soon be attending Midwestern State University and plans to take the first year off from pageants. She has taken a year off from pageants before, but returned this year.
“I just want to get into the groove of college, but I do want to come back because my goal is to be Miss America.” said Nelms.
She is the daughter of Robin and Kenneth Nelms and is the youngest child to siblings Layne and Brice. Her brother Brice suffers from Dysautonomia, which is a type of neuropathy affecting the nerves that carry information from the brain and spinal cord to the heart, bladder, intestines, sweat glands, pupils, and blood vessels. Kendall Nelms’ platform for her bid to become Miss Texas is based on Dysautonomia.
“When I go to programs, I always talk about him and how this has affected our family.” said Nelms, who has volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House.
Whether Nelms is crowned Miss Texas this week or not, the achievement of having the opportunity is overwhelmingly rare. She may wear a Miss Lake Worth banner when she walks on the stage, but this town really knows what city she represents.
