Coralville’s Miss Iowa USA 2023 prepares to compete at national level for Miss USA crown

CORALVILLE — As a journalist, Grace Lynn Keller learned how to tell other’s stories. And as the newly crowned Miss Iowa USA 2023, there’s a lot of voices to channel now.

The former Miss Johnson County USA, crowned Miss Iowa USA in June, is preparing to advance to the national Miss USA competition by the end of this year. But even though the crown’s on her head, she said it’s not all about her.

“I get to represent all the people from my wonderful state of Iowa,” Keller said. “While it’s an opportunity for myself, it’s an opportunity for those people. I want to make sure I represent everyone here as best as I possibly can.”

The University of Iowa journalism graduate first fell in love with pageantry as a child. A classically trained ballerina starting at age 3, being on the stage was the way she knew she could break out of her shell.

Starting at age 11, the Island Lake, Ill., native decided putting herself on stage would be a fun way to push herself even further as a shy person.

“In retrospect, I see it as that turning point from being shy and not having confidence,” she said. “I competed at 11 and was trying to figure out who I was. … It helped me define the person I wanted to be and surround myself with incredible role models.”

  Buy Photo

Now, at 24, she works as vice president of production and digital marketing at Executive Podcast Solutions, a company she helped start as an intern while studying in Iowa City. She credits her early success to the power of the transformation she has undergone through pageantry.

“It’s helped me grow in my confidence and get transferable skills to take into other areas of life. I’m an executive in a media space,” Keller said. “As a female young executive, I’m usually the only person in the room that’s under 30, and usually one of the only women in the room, if not the only woman. People take me seriously because I can present myself in that way.”

Through years of personal development, pageantry has helped her understand the power listening has in being a role model.

What started as something she thought “would be fun” as a kid has become a full-time job in itself as an adult. As Miss Iowa USA, Keller has traveled more than 30,000 miles crisscrossing the state for her platform’s childhood literacy program, Reach to Succeed.

It’s something she’s passionate about because of the passion a listening fourth-grade teacher sparked in her for reading, literature, and consequently, public speaking and journalism.

“She said the more you read, the smarter you get. I always wanted to be the smartest kid in my class,” Keller said. “I don’t know if I’d be competing today if not for that conversation.”

Reaching more than 4,000 students in kindergarten through third grade so far, Keller has focused on low-income and rural school districts. With a large portion of the state being rural, she said many of Iowa’s districts have a deficit of resources compared to their urban and higher-income counterparts.

With fun story times, reading comprehension exercises and quick tests, Keller’s work aims to help children understand stories by thinking about them in their own words and with their own thoughts.

  Buy Photo

As a bookworm, it’s her personal mission to get kids excited about reading — and for good reason. Studies show that students who don’t reach reading proficiency by third grade are significantly more likely to not graduate high school on time, which is linked to many adverse life outcomes.

“My goal is to go in and get them excited about it and get them to want to practice it outside the classroom to be successful in their lives,” Keller said. “Help them before it becomes a problem to break cycles of poverty, so that students have tools to be successful for their entire lives.”

Demonstrated through her countless hours of service to communities, pageantry is more than standing on stage to smile and wave. In helping children find their voice in reading and representing the voices of Iowans, the former Daily Iowan reporter has found a voice of her own, too.

That came through vulnerability — the biggest challenge in her journey to become Miss Iowa USA.

“One of the best things I can do, being a role model for others, is to be vulnerable. It’s taken me a long time to be comfortable in my vulnerability and let others see my heart and my message,” Keller said. “Without vulnerability, I cannot connect with other people. I don’t just represent myself, I am representing an entire state of all different people.”

With a shot at becoming Miss USA 2023, the larger crown would give her a condo in Los Angeles and a chance to scale her childhood literacy platform to a national level.

As she awaits an announcement for the date and location of the televised competition later this year, she prepares daily through prep team calls, interview practice and reading up on current events.

Soon, she hoped to use her voice to represent millions of others on the national stage as she vies for the crown. The woman crowned Miss USA will go on to represent the United States in Miss Universe, which is televised in more than 130 countries around the world.

“Story telling is powerful — it weaves who we are as humans. The more I can learn about other people, especially people who are different from me, the better I can be as a person,” Miss Iowa USA 2023 said. “I’m the one with the crown on my head, but this is not about me. Being able to take that platform to help other stories be heard and help other people feel seen and heard — that’s the most important work I can do with the opportunity I’ve been given.”

Comments: (319) 398-8340; elijah.decious@thegazette.com