LANSFORD, Pa. — If your kiddo ever competed in a pageant, you know it can be nerve-wracking with all of the pressure to perform and “work that runway.”
But for a high school junior from Lansford, a unique competition has transformed her life, giving her and her family a big reason to smile.
For many young women, competing in a pageant really fills their stomachs with butterflies and all sorts of jitters, right?
But for 17-year-old Reilly Bauer of Lansford, these types of events not only help her feel comfortable in her skin but one specific competition she says really changed her life.
What started as a little girl’s dream turned into reality with just a few clicks online.
"When I was little, I always wanted to be in pageants, and I always watched the pageant shows where they got to dress up and go on stage and have all this fun. So I've always been bugging my mom. Can I please do a pageant? So, she was on Facebook one day, and she found an ad for Miss Amazing," said Reilly. "So, she clicked on it, and she saw that it was a pageant for, specifically, people with disabilities."
"We discovered Riley had autism at about age four. I kind of suspected it even as an infant, but I feel like God saved my best for last like she has taught more to me than we will ever teach her," said Colleen Bauer, Reilly's mom.
Colleen says ever since her youngest daughter entered the pageant world at age 12 with the Miss Amazing event, Reilly has really come out of her shell, and the competition filled her with such a sense of purpose.
"My goal this year is to become the face of autism and inclusiveness," Reilly said during one of her competitions.
"When she gets on the stage, forget it, forget it. She owns it," added Colleen. "It makes you feel as though just like any other parent, you want the best for your kid, and you want them to be included in things, but you're fearful for them to be part of something bigger when there are kids that don't have disabilities or don't have difficulties. And there's still that competition part of it which is healthy for kids to understand that there is there is sometimes a winner and there is sometimes a loser. But part of the pageant itself from Miss Amazing is everyone becomes a princess, everyone gets a crown, everyone gets a trophy. But there are girls that are part of the competition that girls become the queens. but Reilly hasn't won every year."
That continues to inspire Reilly to step up her game. She even got her father involved in her dance practices. It’s a support system that has helped this eleventh grader at Panther Valley Junior/Senior High School thrive in pageants and community theater productions. Much in part because of her not so small family.
Reilly said, "I’m the youngest out of six children. I have 10 nieces and nephews and four dogs. Big family, right?”
Ryan asked Colleen, "As the manager, do you get crazy like some of those ‘stage moms?'"
"Oh, my gosh, I am a pageant mom. I think the special needs pageant moms are worse than any regular pageant moms. They don't even know," said Colleen.
"Miss Amazing has made me who I am," added Reilly. "I have my friends in school that actually have told me that the ones that don't have, like, a lot of confidence, just like me. They said I've inspired them because I was shy and we only talk to each other. And after I did the pageant, I started making more friends."
A spotlight in a special pageant that has given Reilly a whole new voice and so many others, a reason to smile.
To date, Reilly has participated in more than 10 pageants, including Miss Amazing! She won last year's Fair Queen pageant for Carbon County.
Reilly’s next adventure is this July in Nashville. She’ll compete in a national Miss Amazing competition against young women from 30 states.
She’s also fundraising to help her get there. Click here if you would like to support her journey.
Reilly’s platform is Autism awareness and that autism doesn't have a “look."
That you have to make people aware of the characteristics that are not any one particular look or mannerism or speech pattern.
Her goal is to do public speaking and social media as a way to educate others.