‘A Fantastic Experience’

Leuthold Reflects on Her Memorable Week at the Laurel Festival

LOCK HAVEN – Rebecca Leuthold may be the 2015 Laurel Queen, but it wasn’t an accomplishment made overnight.

Leuthold said, “Central Mountain high school selected me to represent the school this year. I was approached by a bunch of teachers last May who pushed me to enter.”

Leuthold explained, “They were looking for good public speakers and people who represented the school on a deeper level than just academics.” She continues, “We ended up presenting our speeches to the entire school. The voting was done by a panel of teachers and I ended up winning second place meaning I would compete in the PA state Laurel Festival.

With the festival finished and competition finally coming to an end Rebecca said, “I feel incredibly honored. It was a fantastic experience. I met 29 other girls from all over the state. I am attending Lock Haven University in the Fall as an athletic training major, and I ended up meeting a bunch of girls who would also be attending LHU for their freshman year in the fall, so it was really cool to already have established some of those relationships.”

Rebecca was also not the first in her family to compete in the Laurel Queen pageant. She explained, “My great grandmother, Mary Young, also competed in the competition, representing Lock Haven high school in the 40’s. Unfortunately she didn’t win the year she competed, but I ended up being able to take the family legacy further and win the pageant.”

Rebecca explained, “Although, winning the pageant isn’t as easy as it looks. The contestants don’t know who, when, or how they will be judged. We pretty much just had to put our best foot forward and interact with each other and the public. How we react to stressful situations and that was essentially it.”

Leuthold continued, “It wasn’t until first and second place was selected that we found out how we were judged. It was pretty stressful but I feel grateful for having won the competition.”

Asside from receiving a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a crown, and a scepter passed down from previous pageant winners, Rebecca will also receive a $1,500 educational scholarship to go towards her studies at Lock Haven University.

Other than living in the moment, Rebecca plans to continue working at the Roxy movie theater and attending soccer camp in preparation for playing women’s soccer this fall at Lock Haven University. Leuthold also plans to participate in the women’s track team next spring.