10/14/22
By Tisa Mason
HAYS, Kan.– Basically, I developed this column so that I might compose stories about amazing individuals like the ruling Miss Kansas,Ayanna Hensley Life for Ayanna was a difficulty from the start. She matured in Dodge City, the kid of 2 moms and dads whose drug abuse concerns resulted in associated criminal activity. She never ever understood what would occur when she got up every day or what awaited her after the school day.
” My moms and dads were young, and honestly neither one of them was preparing for a kid. I was the outcome of a teen pregnancy. Although there have actually been low and high in my relationships with my moms and dads, I am grateful they compromised what they might in order to assist support me in my ventures today,” statedAyanna
While other kids her age took pleasure in birthday celebrations, slumber parties, and household suppers, she underwent abuse, overlook, and hardship. Injury was something the young Ayanna just needed to find out to cope with to endure. That was up until she got in the 2nd grade. Then, Ayanna came across one of the very first grownups who acknowledged her as a distressed kid and did something to assist.
Her instructor, Karen Bartholomay, observed that Ayanna frequently dropped off to sleep in class, tended to use the very same clothing every day, and could not deal with even the smallest interruption or dispute. Karen developed a “book club” for her and choose schoolmates. This fed her natural love of reading and assisted her establish social abilities and relationships with schoolmates. She likewise permitted Ayanna to snooze when she required it and supplied her with a treat drawer in the class she might go to on the days when she had absolutely nothing in your home to consume. She didn’t understand it at the time, however the compassion of Karen Bartholomy instilled in a extremely young Ayanna a twinkle of hope that life for her didn’t constantly need to be a battle.
Still, it wasn’t up until intermediate school that Ayanna understood that the characteristics of her life varied from other trainees. Luckily for Ayanna, the shift from middle to high school would likewise function as a transformative experience forAyanna Cross nation would be the driver for her change. She discovered a “people” in athletic competitors that invited, appreciated, and supported her. She won her share of races however likewise found out to end up being a great colleague and leader. Competitive group sports likewise developed structure and stability she had actually never ever understood.
” Sports instilled consistency and responsibility when I required it most. I discovered an escape in activities that pressed me to be a much better professional athlete and general leader,” stated Ayanna.
As a high school senior, Ayanna made a prominent Rudd Scholarship. The Rudd Scholarship is a Kansas program for Kansas citizens who get approved for a Pell Grant and have the grit and decision to attain their long-lasting objectives. She got here on the FHSU school in the fall of 2019 with the objective of pursuing her love of dance as a member of the Tiger Debs Dance Group.
Getting In FHSU, she likewise chose to make the most of the chance. Throughout her freshman year of college, she chose to complete for the title of Miss Kansas.
” I lastly had the cash I required to pursue the important things I wished to do, so I made a guarantee to myself to attempt brand-new things. One of my high school good friends had completed, and I saw her self-confidence grow through her participation, so I figured, why not?” stated Ayanna.
She took a strong leap and got in the world of competitive scholarship pageants, winning the Dodge City/Cowboy Capital/Boot Hill Scholarship Competitors in her home town of Dodge City. She parleyed that success into the chance to complete for the title of Miss Kansas. She completed second in the 2021 competitors.
She returned to the Miss Kansas competitors in 2022, winning the title of Miss Kiowa County and once again receiving the statewide competitors. She won that competitors in June of this year, and you may believe that may be the conclusion of a dream, however it was simply the start forAyanna
Ayanna’s choice to complete for the Miss Kansas title was not a pursuit of individual popularity and magnificence; it was constantly going to have to do with utilizing the platform to make a distinction in the lives of kids who, like her, are stuck in a cycle of abuse, overlook, and hardship. Each Miss Kansas is needed to develop a social effect effort. ACE’s Low: Getting rid of Negative Youth Experiences is the title of Ayanna’s effort. The Centers for Illness Control and Avoidance explains “ACEs” as negative youth experiences that can enormously affect future violence victimization, perpetration, long-lasting health, and chance. ACEs consist of all types of abuse and overlook, such as adult compound usage, imprisonment, and domestic violence.
As the recently crowned Miss Kansas, Ayanna instantly dove into the crucial work of advancing her ACE’s low effort, crisscrossing the state and capitalizing of every chance to share the story of her experiences and how her faith has actually altered her life. She credits her faith with bringing individuals into her life who assisted her reach her capacity. She even more credits her faith with supplying her with a sense of consistency in brand-new and frequently foreign environments, like scholarship pageants and public speaking trips.
Now 4 months into her service as Miss Kansas, Ayanna has actually made regular looks in Hays and on the FHSU school. She remained in Hays on September 15 to take part in the FHSU Language and Literacy Institute’s household literacy night at the Hays Masonic Lodge 195. The following day, she was on school to promote a brand-new FHSU scholarship program for Miss Kansas scholarship competitors individuals. She went back to school on September 20 to sign up with K12 education, psychological health, and social work experts for a live-streamed panel conversation on trainees and injury.
I had the chance to meet Ayanna a couple of weeks back, and I was struck by her relatively limitless energy and her clear-eyed and total commitment to utilizing her chance as Miss Kansas 2022 to do great and make a distinction. That work consists of youth literacy and mentorship through a collaboration with the Big Brothers and Big Sis network in Kansas. However her primary focus will be on bringing awareness to the problem of youth injury.
This remarkable girl withstood and eventually conquered years of youth injury that might have resulted in anguish and getting drawn into the cycle of dependency, abuse, and overlook that had actually taken a lot from her household. Ayanna Hensley personifies the qualities of the fantastic individuals I discuss all the time in this column. She is consistent when the going gets difficult and discovers ingenious methods to turn her Miss Kansas chance into a driver to make impactful modification in our neighborhoods. And Ayanna does it all with a principles of care in service to others, showing what it implies to approach life with the “heart of a tiger.”