(LEX NEWS) — Nearly two weeks have passed since Reagan Earlywine was crowned Miss Kentucky, but the Paris native says she's still in disbelief her lifelong dream has come true.
"I started when I was 12 years old, and this is the first time I won," Earlywine told Sunrise anchor Evelyn Schultz. "I live by the quote, 'A dream deferred is not a dream denied,' because it took me 13 years to finally get the title. And just because last year or the year before was not my year, this year was."
And what a year it's about to be. Earlywine has already hit the ground running, ahead of the Miss America competition in West Palm Beach, Florida in September. She's also busy promoting oral health with her community service initiative, "Make Someone Smile."
It's a fitting cause for the third-year dental student at the University of Louisville. She's taking a one-year break from school while she completes her Miss Kentucky duties.
"I want to bridge the Kentucky Proud initiative with oral health, because Kentucky Proud foods that are grown right here in the state also promote good oral health," she said.
Earlywine has made it her goal to visit all 120 Kentucky counties with that message, but it's still her hometown of Paris that means so much.
She shared this message for other young women across Kentucky: "If they have any ounce of desire to compete in the Miss Kentucky organization, I would tell them to go ahead and sign up. I was a chronically shy 12-year-old whenever I first started competing, but the organization gave me confidence when I truly needed it the most."
