Two South Dakota State University students were named Princess Kay finalists. And the catch is–they’re sisters.
Allison and McKenna Wright, who were recently named as two of the finalists in the program hosted by the Midwest Dairy Association, grew up on a family-owned dairy farm near Hutchinson, Minnesota.
The program’s purpose is to select a goodwill ambassador for Minnesota dairy families.
In their year of service, the reigning Princess Kay travels around Minnesota to attend upward of 100 events a year promoting the Minnesota Dairy industry. She will connect with dairy consumers who may not have firsthand experience in agriculture and teach them about the dairy industry and how it works.
Allison was a finalist in the Princess Kay contest in 2022, while McKenna was a finalist this summer. Both Allison and McKenna have similar experiences in the Princess Kay contest, and it started when they were young.
They heard about Princess Kay through their family. Their aunt was also a finalist, and some of their cousins were, too. Two of their cousins actually held the Princess Kay title, which was really an inspiration for McKenna and Allison.
Although there were many inspirations, one of the biggest for McKenna was Allison. McKenna said watching Allison compete and seeing her love the ambassador program made her even more excited about the chance to participate.
Becoming a finalist starts at the county level. Contestants are chosen as county representatives in March or April. The representatives then get together for the May Leadership Event.
There, they compete in a few different judging rounds. The rounds consist of a personal interview, a sit-down interview with the judges, speed dating and a mock media situation. McKenna had one more round to her interview and that was a roundtable discussion.
At the end, the points from the May Leadership Event are tallied up and the top 10 girls that have the highest points are selected for the Princess Kay contest- they then move on to the coronation in August.
Once the contestants reach August they do more rounds of interviewing. They complete another mock media situation, a personal interview, extemporaneous speaking, speed dating and the contestants are also judged on etiquette during meals and how they carry themselves.
Allison and McKenna said they loved every minute of the Princess Kay program and even attributed some of their success to SDSU.
“When I was a freshman, I joined the dairy club and hearing past PK finalists’ stories they shared stories and mentored me,” Allison said. “Additionally, I had the dairy foods class with Howard Bonnemann and learned many specifics about the dairy industry. That was all knowledge that I could use when competing.”
McKenna said SDSU has helped her to get out of her shell and branch out.
“You are forced to get out of your comfort zone and talk to people you wouldn’t have normally talked to before.” She said.
McKenna also commented on how she felt the introduction to dairy class, also taught by Howard Bonnemann, helped build her knowledge of the dairy industry and answer consumer questions clearly.
