Miss Kentucky Made History This Year At Miss America
A really special story came out of the recent Miss America pageant and that is the backstory of Miss Kentucky. Ariana Rodriguez is a 20-year-old from Bardstown, student at the University of Kentucky, who made history as the first contestant to finish in the top 11 from the foster care system.
Her mother had been homeless at 16 and turned to drugs, which led to Ariana and her siblings living briefly with her grandparents. But after her mother got clean, they were back living with her, but in an abandoned house. She could not afford to support them so Ariana started living in her car her junior year in high school, parking in the Nelson County Fairgrounds. And because she exited the foster care system 26 days too soon, she could not get financial aid to attend college. That led her to the Miss Kentucky pageant, which she entered thinking it was a talent competition!
She started “The Lucky Ones” foundation which provides suitcases full of essential items to give foster kids as they transition homes. Typically they are giving garbage bags for their belongings. She also has a podcast highlighting other foster kids’ stories.