By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
Mollie Parr
Mollie Parr of Geneseo recently was chosen second runner-up in the week-long Miss Illinois Teen Pageant competition held in Marion, IL. She is the daughter of Tanahya Parr and Brett Parr, Geneseo, and she will be a junior at Geneseo High School.
Miss Parr is the 2026 Miss Black Hawk Valley Teen which made her eligible to compete in the Miss Illinois Teen Pageant, in which she was awarded $750 as second runner-up.
She refers to her journey of having captured a spot in the Miss Illinois Teen court as “nothing short of a dream,” as she had spent eight months preparing herself for the responsibilities of Miss Illinois Teen, and she said, “I reached well over 1,500 students within 12 school districts in four states (Tennessee, Oregon, Iowa and Illinois)) in spreading awareness with my Community Service Initiative (CSI) – ‘The Pinky Promise Project: Inspiring Today’s Youth to Lead with Kindness.’ So, I knew I had accomplished something that was bigger than myself and I should be proud of how far I’ve come since last year.”
The recent pageant was the second year Miss Parr had competed,
and she said, “It was a blast! All the girls are still so close. Between backstage pep talks and laughing until we cried…I felt like it was a vacation. But most of all, I felt a sense of peace come over me. Every morning and night before competition, I gave the outcome to God. That’s what truly made the week so wholesome and stress-free.”
Miss Illinois Teen competition included interviews with an “on stage” question revolving around Miss Parr’s Community Service Initiative, the Pinky Promise Project,
For the talent segment, she performed a contemporary dance to a song, “I Was Here,” by Beyonce, and which Miss Parr dedicated to all of the students she had met during her travels to other schools, and she also shared that she had only been dancing for two years.
Another challenge of the pageant is asking them how they stay Miss America Fit and Mollie Parr said, “I stay Miss America Fit by staying active in volleyball and dance.”
As a student at GHS, Miss Par was part of a student workshop, involved in volleyball and was nominated as Student of the Month.
For the Miss Illinois Teen Pageant evening gown competition, she chose a dress in a shade of baby blue from Simply Elegant by Cheri…and she said, “I was going for a Cinderella look and I even had the clear glass slippers.”
As the competition narrows to the top 10 girls and then the top five, they are asked a question chosen from a fish bowl.
“After I had been called into the top 10 girls, which was my goal, and to be quite honest that’s all I really needed. But then I was called into the top five! Now, as I sit back and look at the bigger picture, I realize I’m capable of doing hard things, no matter where I start from.”
Mollie Parr
“The one thing that stood out to me the most was that I was able to worship God in front of so many people, whether that was in the audience or on live television. Truly, this whole year has been a gift from God, and the least I could do was worship Him in honor of how far He had taken me. I stated scripture from Philippians 1:6, ‘he who started a work in me, will finish to completion’…, and that is exactly what happened and He is continuing to work on a beautiful outcome in the future.”
“When I was called as second runner-up, I didn’t feel defeated, I felt just a small fraction of what it would be like when the work He has done for me is complete.”
When asked if she would be competing in pageants again, she answered, “Yes, I am looking into competing again! So, stay tuned please on my socials!”
