Newly crowned Miss Kentucky has Danville ties
Published 4:38 pm Thursday, July 14, 2022
- Miss Kentucky Hannah Edelin has Danville ties. Photo by Rob Metzger Photography
STAFF REPORT
The newly crowned Miss Kentucky might be from Springfield, but she has ties to Danville.
Hannah Edelen, a Springfield native and Coving resident, was named Miss Kentucky last month. A graduate of Northern Kentucky University, she is a teacher at Holmes Middle School in Covington.
Miss Kentucky Hannah Edelin has Danville ties. Photo by Rob Metzger Photography
During the statewide competition, which culminated with the Miss Kentucky pageant in Bowling Green, Edelen represented the Miss Danville Scholarship Organization as Miss Heart of Central Kentucky.
Since winning the title of Miss Kentucky, Edelen says she will take the year off from teaching to fulfill her duties throughout the state, as well as representing Kentucky in the Miss America Pageant in December in Connecticut.
Edelen came from an impoverished background in Springfield, and she is very open about the challenges she faced growing up in a low-income family while her mother battled suffered from a brain tumor. She credits one of her own teachers, Sarah Raikes, with helping shape her future.
“(She was) the catalyst that changed the way I looked at myself and my future,” Edelen said.
Edelen hopes her own story, the challenges she has faced and how she has overcome them will inspire others.
She graduated from Northern Kentucky University in 2020, the first in her family to graduate college and went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Kentucky, where she is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in education and evaluation. As Miss Kentucky Hannah received a $15,000 Cash Scholarship and was also awarded the title of Miss Congeniality which was voted on by the other candidates. She also received a car for her year of service donated by Martin Kia of Bowling Green.
Given Edelen’s profession, it should come as no surprise that her focus is on improving education across the state and throughout the country. Her platform is titled “Read Ready America,” and carries with it a goal of improving access to a high-quality education, equitable resources, and strong mentor programs for all children.
Her platform is a derivation of “Read Ready Covington” that focuses on teaching kids how to read and use that skill to impact the world.
