Miss California 2024 Kimberly Vernon, a Santa Clara native, experienced firsthand the evolving truth about competing in the Miss America Pageant.
“The Miss America Pageant of the 21st century looks a lot different than it did 100 years ago,” said Vernon, who competed for the 2025 title in January in Orlando, FL. “Yet people still have misconceptions about it.”
The big misconception Vernon noted is that the pageant promotes a shallow view of women, focusing on beauty alone. Yet even the swimsuit competition that launched the pageant in 1921 was eliminated in 2018. Another misconception is that the contestants are mean and catty, as in the 2000 comedy “Miss Congeniality.”
For Vernon, although she did not win the crown, representing Santa Clara and California in the Miss America Pageant was a rare opportunity that lived up to the pageant’s mission of “Empowering Women to Lead.”
“It was an amazing experience. Getting to know the other women is always my favorite part of competing,” said Vernon. “The Miss America delegates are an amazing cohort of people to be amongst. They are ambitious and change makers in their fields. Miss Illinois is a practicing lawyer. Miss Nevada hopes to run for political office.”
Vernon, who took a year off from work to fulfill her Miss California responsibilities, is in Marketing. She graduated magna cum laude from California State University Fullerton in 2018 and from Santa Clara High School in 2014.
“It was the fastest and longest week of my life,” continued Vernon, reflecting on the Miss America Pageant week. “It was exhausting, but such fun—a once in a lifetime experience.”
The contestants were hosted at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando. They woke up between four and six in the morning to have their hair and makeup done. Daily events went late into the evening, from photo shoots to rehearsals. On one day, Vernon changed outfits five times. She had packed three suitcases with evening gowns and outfits loaned by California retail stores and former Miss Santa Clara Brea Paillet, sister of Vernon’s dance teacher, Linnea Sheehy.
Sheehy began teaching dance to Vernon when she was four and encouraged her to enter the 2013 Miss Santa Clara Outstanding Teen contest when she was 16. She won the talent award.
Then in 2020, after a seven-year gap, Vernon returned to pageantry, winning—among other titles—Miss Santa Clara in 2023 and the Miss California crown in 2024 on her fourth try. She was 28—the upper age limit—when she competed for the Miss America crown.
Vernon had an entourage of supporters who flew to Florida to root for her—her mom, dad, stepmom, her four sisters, a cousin and friends. Sheehy choreographed Vernon’s 90-second performance of “Le Jazz Hot.” The Rotary Club of Santa Clara was among those who contributed financial support.
“It really does take a village to attain goals like competing for Miss America—even just to build a wardrobe,” said Vernon. “I’ve had so many people in my corner helping me along the way. To share the wins and experiences with them has been an amazing experience.
“This has been a cool thing, but it’s not the only cool thing in my life. It’s just one ambition among others. You never know how many doors can open from pageantry—what kind of doors will open down the way, even jobs.”
Exactly a week after Vernon crowns Miss California 2025 in Visalia on June 21, the next cool thing is happening in her life. She’s getting married—at a backyard wedding near Sacramento, where she and Blake DuPriest, her fiancé, will begin the next experience of a lifetime.
“It’s interesting how many doors will open when you take a chance and put yourself in a position to meet new people and have new experiences,” said Vernon.
