Mahomet resident Julianne Wallace won the Champaign County Queen Pageant at the Rantoul Township High School Saturday afternoon.
After Wallace was named runner-up at the Miss Fisher Fair Queen Pageant in 2012, she knew she wanted to compete in the Champaign County Queen Pageant.
As a contest in each pageant Wallace has learned how to be a more outgoing person. The interview sessions have helped Wallace prepare for a job interview in the Medical Assistance field last week.
Wallace is a sophomore at Parkland College, working towards her Medical Assistant certificate.
Each Champaign County Queen contestant attends weekly practices where they practice their speech, interviews and work on walking.
Wallace said her parents helped her prepare for the pageant too.
“I couldn’t have done it without them,” she said. “During the week, they’d ask me random questions, and my mom would listen to my speech.”
Feeling comfortable with her speech on “luck”, and after receiving positive feedback during practices, Wallace felt prepared going into the event Saturday.
“My speech was about luck because I think it’s something that pertains to everyone,” Wallace said. “You make your own luck. You’re not just a lucky person. It can’t just come to you, but if you’re a more outgoing person, you have more experiences to become a lucky person.”
Wallace said she didn’t expect to form friendships with the contests or pageant workers, but she is glad she became close to many of them. Former Champaign County Queen Chandler Bruns of Gifford and Pageant Director Melanie Deem also encouraged Wallace through the pageant.
Although Wallace felt confident in her speech going into the competition, she was still shocked when she heard her name announced as the winner.
“I was overwhelmed, but a good overwhelmed,” she said. “I am excited to get started on everything.”
Wallace will spend the summer traveling to other county fairs to congratulate other queens on their wins. She will present ribbons to livestock winners at the Champaign County Fair and introduce people on the Grand Stand during the fair.
In preparation for Illinois State Queen Pageant in Springfield in January, Wallace plans to learn more about agriculture, work on suggestions from her score sheet at the Champaign County Fair and tweak her speech.
