Two months after being crowned Miss Massachusetts USA 2026, a University of Massachusetts Amherst graduate will compete at the Miss United States pageant on Aug. 27 in Miami — where she’ll represent a look no state titleholder has worn to the crown before hers: braids.
Kayshauna Montaño, 28, a former New England Patriots cheerleader, won her Miss Massachusetts title in June while competing as Miss Hampshire County, a name she chose to honor where she received her education. She had competed in pageants for six years before this year’s win.
“At the Miss Universe level, you actually see a lot of women compete in braids. But I know that for the United States, especially in the Miss USA system, it wasn’t quite done as much,” she said. “I kind of just felt like what makes me feel the most confident? And that was competing in my braids. So because of that, I think I was able to show up as my best self.”
The West Springfield resident became inspired to pursue pageantry during her senior year at UMass in 2020, after flying to Italy to walk in Milan fashion week in the midst of completing her bachelor’s degree in pre-veterinary science and working as a goat management teaching assistant at the UMass Hadley farm.
“I decided, you know what, why don’t I do something else that allows me to further my runway experience, but also enhance other parts of me,” she said. “Like I’m a senior in college, I want something that’s going to help me enhance my professional skills, my interview skills, all of it.”
A large part of pageant competitions involves private interviews and on-stage questions that require strong conversational skills, quick thinking, articulation and the ability to explain personal opinions.
After graduating from UMass two months after the COVID-19 outbreak, she decided to pursue an online master’s in business analytics from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass. She received an additional Master of Science in Public Health from Brown University.
“I knew that I kind of wanted to get a business degree because I thought, if I go back to veterinary medicine or not, I really think eventually I want to have my own business of some sort,” she said.
This led to the start of Fit Your Mold, a workshop Montaño created in 2022 that focuses on uplifting individuals’ confidence and empowerment. She partners with nonprofit organizations by creating workshop activities that cater to their goals and the demographic they focus on.
“I created it because growing up, I didn’t feel like I could be empowered in being myself. I grew up being adopted into a multiracial household, and I always felt like I belonged,” Montaño said. “But society didn’t really understand, especially at the time.”
Montaño said that pageantry pushes anyone to be the best version of themselves, builds confidence in who they are and she encourages all women to try it.
“There is no age limit. You can be a mother, and you can have children. I think that any woman that is considering doing it, do it,” she said. “I would love for more women to know about it in western Massachusetts because it’s such an amazing opportunity.”