Jessica Tilton is a former Bradley University biology lecturer, future medical school student and current Miss Illinois 2023.
WCBU reporter Collin Schopp spoke with the Washington resident to learn more about her pageant experience.
This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Just to start, tell me about your experience at the Miss Illinois 2023 competition.
Jessica Tilton: It's surreal to think about it. And I actually started in the Miss America organization only a year and a half ago, I had never done any pageant prior. So for me, it was still really new. And last year when I competed at state for the very first time, I didn't make the top 10. I didn't have any finalist awards, non-finalist awards, nothing. I heard my name called for the STEM award once. And that's a separate judging panel altogether. So I could have been last for all we know. And I knew in the last year, I wanted to work really hard, and I wanted to make finals at least. And it paid off, obviously. But it was so surreal being there surrounded by all these intelligent women. I mean, I competed against a lawyer, a pharmacist and girls getting their doctorate in French. It's insane the amount of educational paths that are on that stage. And people don't realize that. People don't realize all the aspirations that these girls have and everything that they've accomplished so far. And that's what I think is really unique about the Miss America organization.
A lot of times you’ll hear people say pageants are something they’ve done since childhood. You said, for you, that started a year and a half ago. What made you want to start doing pageants?
Tilton: I'd always wanted to try out Miss America, but I never had the confidence. I never saw myself on that stage. And when I was growing up, I had a friend who competed in the Wisconsin organization. And she would post about it, it looked like so much fun. But I still needed that extra push. And I was on social media one day, and I saw this video by this girl named Dr. Cole. And it started with her walking up the steps of the capitol building in a beautiful dress. She turned around the corner and she had this white coat on and said “I paid for medical school using scholarships for Miss America.” I was like, wow, okay, I'll do it. That sold me. It was 10:30 at night. I signed up right then and there because I knew if I didn't, then I never would. So it just gave me a little extra push. And I haven't regretted it. I've loved every second of the organization.
What goes into practicing, training and improving for a pageant?
Tilton: Yeah, it's a little different than you think. So you have to look at how it's scored. The Miss America now opportunity is divided into three different categories. 30% of your score is a private interview. 20% is lifestyle and fitness. 20% is an evening gown. 20% is talent and the last 10% is your community service initiative, which is your platform. Mine is organ donation. So when I was prepping, I watched back what I did last year at state, almost like basketball players watch tape. And I looked to see what I did wrong, what I wanted to improve on and how I could grow. And I knew my interview skills were subpar. And this was something that would carry over into all aspects of my life with job interviews, and interviews for med school, which the interview skills I acquired helped me get into med school. But when I was prepping, I also reached out to different coaches. And the one that really clicked and resonated with me was Powerhouse Pageantry with Meghan Rhodes and Allie Mancuso, and I actually ended up becoming really close friends with them through this, but it's been such a journey to have these coaches push me along the way and also want the same things for me and my talents. I pushed myself to do even greater things than I had last year. I coached color guard for almost eight years. And I was on the team for four years. So my talent is a flag performance from color guard. And I'm the first ever woman to ever be competing in a flag performance on the Miss America stage. So I'm really proud of that.
What are some of the duties of Miss Illinois 2023? What kind of events do you have to attend this year?
Tilton: It really is up to the title holder and whoever wins. So one of the things I said in my interview is I'm going to med school in the fall no matter what. I'm going whether I win or not, take it or leave it and, you know, they wanted me. So that's my biggest priority, obviously, as a medical student. The Miss America Opportunity is a scholarship-based program. So it kind of goes hand in hand. But besides that, it's really what can I handle with med school? And a lot of it can be stuff on the weekends, but I also have a lot of stuff for my community service initiative Donate Life already prepared, like online modules and educational posts. So I knew I was going to have a title whether it be a local title in the Miss Illinois organization or be Miss Illinois for the next year. So I was prepped regardless.
You mentioned your platform is organ donation, why is that issue important to you?
Tilton: My platform or CSI is called Donate Life, and Donate Life is much more than just a platform to me. I only met my grandpa because of an organ donor. And he was the first in our family to need a kidney transplant because he has a gene, the PKD gene, polycystic kidney disease. He passed that down to both his kids, my aunt and my dad. And my grandpa's kidney lasted for a few days shy of 23 years, which is fantastic. My aunt got a transplant two years ago, my dad got one last February. And the only reason they're here today is because someone checked yes on their donor registry. And that's so important to me. So I travel across the Midwest, I've done online seminars, I have five national partners that I work with to tell people that yes, it takes 30 seconds to decide to be an organ donor, and you can save eight lives someday.
How is the preparation for Miss America going?
Tilton: It's crazy. And I’m taking it day by day, I'm still going through what I want for my evening gown. I'm working through my talent prep with one of my dance coaches, Ciara from Under the Spotlight Dance Studio in Washington. She is kind of a grounding force for me, because once again, I'm very narrow minded tunnel vision when it comes to color guard. I'm like “Okay, this is technically advanced, this should look good.” But she's like “actually, this move that took two brain cells looked really good.” So she helps me along with that. But it's a long process. And I'm glad I have a whole team with me.
What’s your message to the kids who may see you in your pageant or advocacy work and picture themselves as the next Miss Illinois?
Tilton: You can do anything if you work hard enough. And last year at State, I was devastated when I didn't even make finals. And I thought: “what was wrong with me? What did I do wrong? What did the judges not like?” And I wasn't thinking about “was I proud of what I put out there?” I was thinking about what others thought of me. And don't ever let that get to you, don't let some mean comment on the internet bring you down. You do whatever you want to do, and you push yourself and you can achieve these dreams. That's one of the things I'm trying to do as Miss Illinois. I've already started a YouTube series teaching girls how to learn color guard, how to twirl a flag, because it's not something you typically learn on your own. It's only if you try out for the team, you'd ever really get the opportunity. And I learned at my public high school. And it's not like I paid for violin lessons for 20 years. And I want to show girls that it doesn't take a million dollars to do this. And even one of the dresses I'm gonna be wearing at Miss America, I will make myself.
Tilton says the exact date and location of the Miss America 2023 Pageant hasn’t been determined yet. But, you can follow her preparation for the event here.
