As Kylie Hallett reviewed her time as Miss Riverton 2024, she described the experience as a “baptism by fire.” As someone new to pageants, Hallett discovered the only way to handle the responsibility was to go all in. 

“It’s been scary to fully delve into everything,” she said. “But I thought, here we go. We’re doing all of the things… Honestly, it’s been more impactful than I could have imagined. I genuinely loved serving the community and getting to know the people of Riverton.”

Last year, the Riverton High grad competed for the title with the “More Than Your Dress Size: Inspiring Inclusivity Through Body Positivity” campaign. Growing up as a plus-sized girl, she didn’t see pageant queens that represented a full-figured beauty ideal. 

Hallett received what she called “a good amount of backlash” from community members who didn’t think someone her size should be Miss Riverton. She was discouraged that people took the time to post mean comments on her social media pages or in her messages.

She’s also received positivity and encouragement. Hallet recalls a time when a young girl told her she wanted to start competing in pageants because of her example.

“I never imagined I could have that impact on people,” she said. “When they see somebody do it, then they realize that they can…When you break that barrier, the floodgates open. I wish I could have seen someone like me do it, but at the same time, I’m so grateful to be that person for other people.”

Hallett’s reign was filled with community events like Riverton’s Day of Service, the Olympics kick-off party at Riverton Park, Friday Fun Nights, storytime at the city’s library and riding in parades, something she’d wanted to do since she was a little girl. Hallett even completed the Riverton Police Department Citizen’s Academy.

Her Miss Riverton’s Regency Ball fundraising event raised more than $600 for pageant scholarships and donations to the American Heart Association. Mayor Trent Staggs said Hallett has done an amazing job serving the community as Miss Riverton.

“We are incredibly grateful for her dedication and hard work,” he said. “The city wishes her the very best of luck as she prepares to compete at the Miss Utah competition in June and we look forward to her continued success in the future.”

The Miss Utah competition will be held June 12-14 at the Capitol Theatre and Hallett, a classically trained singer, is working with a pageant coach to help gear up for the event. 

“[My coach] has been awesome in helping me do mock interviews and I’ve been trying on so many dresses. It’s kind of insane,” Hallett said. “I feel like I’m relearning how to walk from scratch. Pageant walking on a stage is so specific.”

The 21-year-old, enrolled at Salt Lake Community College, hopes her body positivity message will resonate with those watching the state competition. She wants to change how women talk about themselves, moving from “mean girl” self-loathing to finding love and self-acceptance. 

Hallett aspires to combat the normalization of hate speech that women and girls tend to learn from a young age and wants to break the taboo around dress size.

“One of the things I hope to implement, hopefully as Miss Utah, will be self-love and body positivity groups…A lot of people think it’s the norm to hate your body and it goes under the radar for a lot of people because it’s normal to say you hate the way you look.”

She wants the new Miss Riverton to enjoy the experience, love the community and to get involved with as many groups and activities as possible. Hallett said the year has flown by but it will be a memory she treasures forever. 

“It’s gonna be really hard to put an end to the coolest thing that I’ve ever done,” she said. “It sounds cheesy but it’s something that I will have with me for the rest of my life. I will always be a Miss Riverton.”

Follow Hallett’s Miss Utah journey on Instagram @kylie.hallett. λ