By Mark Ambrogi
Lauren Boswell understands being an athlete and pageant contestant can be viewed differently.
“I can be a tomboy and a girly-girl because I love to dress up,” said Boswell, who played volleyball at Hamilton Southeastern High School. “But I love to do crazy, adventurous things. I’m not afraid to get dirty. I love having the best of both worlds.”
The 2016 HSE graduate captured the Miss Indiana Teen USA title in November and will compete for the Miss Teen USA title July 30 in Las Vegas.
“I’ve been doing a lot of exercise and trying to eat healthy, a lot of cardio and weight-lifting,” she said.
The pageant recently announced it is switching from a swimsuit portion to athletic wear competition.
That suits Boswell fine.
“I always feel more comfortable in athletic wear because I am an athlete,” she said. “It’s cool that we’re the first class of teens to have the switch. I’m excited.”
Boswell, 18, began competing in pageants when she was 14. Boswell, who plans to major in elementary education and minor in special education at Butler, was active in Best Buddies in high school. A National Honor Society member, she also performed in the school musicals and served in student council.
“It is a little hard to juggle, but I’m really passionate about a lot of things,” Boswell said.
Boswell has been making appearances as Miss Indiana Teen around the state, including at the Fishers Freedom Festival parade. She recently went to New Jersey for an Operation That’s My Dress experience, where the United Services Organization provides gowns and dresses to teenage girls, female service members and spouses from Sherri Hill, an international fashion designer.
In addition to being knowledgeable on current events for pageant interview questions, Boswell also has worked on her platform.
“My platform is encouraging young ladies to have emotional and physical well-being through the Girls on the Run 5K organization,” said Boswell, a volunteer for three years. “Working with that has been awesome, just helping the girls build confidence. At the end of their journey, it’s cool running the 5K with them and seeing how much they’ve accomplished. Now that I’m 18, I’m able to be a leader and have my own group of girls, so I’d like to do that in the future.”
