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by Emily Hemphill Jan 23, 2018 Updated Jan 23, 2018 0
Miss Nebraska Allison Tietjen speaks about her pageant experience and her platform of veteran appreciation to the Milford Kiwanis Club Jan. 19 at Pizza Kitchen in Milford. Tietjen competed in the Miss America pageant in 2017.
Photo by Emily Hemphill
Holding the title “Miss Nebraska” means more than glitz, glamor and being on TV. For Allison Tietjen, it means community service.
A LOT of community service.
Tietjen, a Chester native, spoke to the Milford Kiwanis Club Jan. 19 about her journey to the crown and what she is doing to recognize military veterans across the country.
“If you would have known me in high school, this is not something that would have been in my future,” Tietjen said.
In fact, she was far from the stereotypical pageant type, rarely wearing make up and playing four sports each year.
“That’s what led me to win Miss Nebraska,” Tietjen said, because she was easily coachable and had a competitive edge.
When her small hometown didn’t have a contestant for the Miss Milo Days pageant in Carlton in 2012, they approached her about entering.
“This was completely out of my comfort zone,” she said.
But she tried it, and she kind of liked it.
Tietjen went on to take first runner-up at Miss Kool-Aid Days, an official preliminary contest for the Miss Nebraska pageant.
From there, she won the Miss Heartland title and competed for Miss Nebraska as a senior in high school in 2014 and again in 2015, earning a place in the top five both years.
“For two years, I ate, slept and breathed Miss Nebraska,” Tietjen said.
She said she got cocky, thinking she would win, and was disappointed when she didn’t.
“Never think you’re entitled to anything, because you’re not,” she said.
By now, she was into college and decided to take a year off from the pressure of competition to reconnect with friends. She studied in West Africa and trained for a half marathon.
Then, she thought long and hard about her pageant platform and decided to give Miss Nebraska one more shot.
“I wanted to have why we honor veterans as my platform for Miss Nebraska,” she said.
Tietjen had spent a few years fundraising for Honor Flights to recognize military veterans after her grandfather, a Korean War veteran, died.
She traveled with veterans on several flights and had the chance to hear their experiences and what they fought for.
“I read about it in a textbook when I was growing up, but to hear those real life stories and what really happened made me realize that we really need to thank them,” Tietjen said. “I honestly believe we live in the greatest country in the world.”
She makes Bracelets for the Brave and gives them to the women supporting those in the military—mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, sisters and aunts of veterans.
Tietjen received a Facebook message from one bracelet recipient who was especially grateful.
“I thought maybe there’s another person who needs one of these bracelets,” Tietjen said. “I wanted to spread that message across Nebraska.”
She won Miss Nebraska before going on to the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City last September. She didn’t win, but that’s OK with her.
“I was out there just to show what good ole’ Nebraska is all about, and I had a blast,” she said.
As Miss Nebraska, she spends her time traveling the state, talking to and about veterans and leadership at schools and with civic groups.
Tietjen participates in a letter-writing campaign where people can send notes of encouragement to veterans and active duty military men and women (www.amillionthanks.org).
Her involvement in pageants has paid for two and a half years of college, as the winners receive scholarships on local, state and national levels for each category they win.
“Very rarely do I get paid for going out to events,” she said.
Tietjen hopes to finish college at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln next year and then attend school to become an occupational therapist.
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