After she graduated from Cabot High School, Bailey Moses said she was ready to pack her bags and move to Jonesboro to attend Arkansas State University. She knew who she was going to live with on campus and had already put down her housing deposit. Still, with all of that set up and move-in day approaching, Moses did not feel right about the move, and the unsettling feeling came from her experience in the pageant world.
“Being in the Miss Arkansas system, they are constantly telling us to pay for your education with this scholarship money,” she said. “I’ve always been real conscious about the financial-aid part of college. I thought it was crazy for me to go somewhere and have student loans when ASU-Beebe is extremely affordable, and they truly care about the students.”
Moses is a sophomore at ASU-Beebe this year and plans to graduate in May with an Associate of Science degree in business. She then plans to go on to ASU in Jonesboro to get a bachelor’s degree in strategic communications with an emphasis in public relations.
Like many students, Moses has a lot more on her plate than just her classes. She teaches several dance classes in west Little Rock, serves as a student leader at ASU-Beebe and remains in the running for Miss Arkansas.
At school, Moses spends her time investing in the student life at ASU-Beebe. She is on the Leadership Council, guiding other student leaders to promote on-campus student activities.
“It’s been a journey,” she said. “Our meetings have grown. We try to get every organization to have a representative at our meetings. We kind of call it the motherboard because we get our thoughts together and try to make sure we don’t have events scheduled at the same time so students don’t have to choose where to go. We also have a lot of student activities.”
Outside of school, Moses stays busy with dance and pageants. She has been dancing since she was 2 years old, and she said she caught the entertainment bug early on when her family took a trip to Branson, Missouri.
“I danced on The Andy Williams Show,” she said of the trip her family took when she was 3. “It was his Christmas show and called for all the kids to come up on stage. I went up there, and Andy said we could all go sit back down, but I wouldn’t leave. He had one of his elves take me to the side, and we danced for two hours straight during the whole show.”
Jazz is Moses’ favorite form of dancing, and she has continued studying dance throughout her life. In high school, she was involved in theater, and she was often given roles that displayed her talent.
“I always had the little parts, like the tornado in The Wizard of Oz,” she said. “Pretty much they made up a part so I could be in the play. My senior year, we did Thoroughly Modern Millie, and I tried out for Miss Dorothy. She sings, and she’s one of the leads. I auditioned and somehow got the part. It was definitely a step out of my comfort zone.”
In addition to teaching tap, jazz and hip-hop, Moses utilizes her dancing in the talent portion of the Miss Arkansas pageant. She has performed a jazz dance to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” something she’ll do again this year.
“We have a remix to the song, so it has a modern touch,” she said. “Everyone my age loves it because it’s a remix, so it captures all different ages in the audience. I get tired at the end, but it’s so much fun.”
Moses has been competing in pageants since she was 15 years old. She competed in the Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen system for three years. The first year she did not win anything, the second year she was first runner-up, and the third year, she was third runner-up.
“Having that experience now going into Miss Arkansas has been invaluable,” she said. “I got first runner-up [in the Miss Arkansas pageant] at 19 years old. I have until I’m 24 to compete in Miss Arkansas. Even though I lost Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen, I’ve gotten a lot of scholarship money, and having that experience as a teen has made my experience as a ‘Miss’ smoother.”
Last year, Moses was crowned Miss Metro before she went on to win first runner-up at Miss Arkansas. She said from that experience, she won a total of $20,000 in scholarships.
“It’s amazing how they have it set up,” she said. “Basically, if you enter the pageant and you apply for scholarships or you do well in a certain area, you’re likely to get an award in scholarship money.”
Two weeks after the Miss Arkansas competition last summer, Moses was crowned Miss Ouachita River. Then a few weeks after that, she participated in the Miss America’s National Sweetheart pageant.
“That’s where all the first runners-up of each state pageant go to Hoopeston, Illinois, and I placed fourth runner-up there,” she said. “It was just a great national experience.”
After meeting contestants from around the country, Moses said she is thankful to be participating in the Miss Arkansas competition.
“In Arkansas, we really are lucky to give out over $80,000 in scholarships,” she said. “Our former Miss Arkansas [winners] who have gone on to Miss America have said that girls are constantly talking about their organizations, and Miss Arkansas stays quiet because she feels bad for the other contestants. They don’t have wardrobe allowances, and they don’t have corporate sponsorships. They don’t have an executive board that is constantly helping them. They don’t have that support Miss Arkansas has.”
Moses will compete in the Miss Arkansas pageant for a second time this July in Hot Springs.
Pageants have given Moses a way to promote a cause that is dear to her heart: Suitcases for Kids.
“To compete in the Miss America organization, you need to have a platform and a critical issue,” she said. “My critical issue is Suitcases for Kids. My cousin was found in rural Mississippi in the back of an abandoned school bus. She was given three weeks to live. She was put in immediate foster care with my aunt and uncle. They adopted her, and she’s now 19 years old. That success story led me at age 14 to start Suitcases for Kids.”
Moses grew up seeing foster children go in and out of her aunt and uncle’s home on a regular basis, and she noticed many of them would arrive with their few belongings in a grocery bag.
“I wanted to do something, but I was 14,” she said. “I found the national organization that was started by Aubyn Burnside. She was 12 when she started collecting bags for foster children.”
Since she was 14 years old, Moses has collected 2,000 bags, and with donated money, she’s able to purchase new bags for foster kids from Handbags Express for a discounted rate.
“It’s cool because there is no age limit,” she said. “You can be 4 or you can be 82, and you can be a part of this organization.”
With the Miss Arkansas organization, Moses also promotes the Children’s Miracle Network.
“I’m a representative for Miss Arkansas, Miss America, Suitcases for Kids and the Children’s Miracle Network,” she said. “They keep us busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
For more information on the Children’s Miracle Network, visit www.missamericaforkids.org. Moses’ goal to raise $1,000 this year for the organization is nearly met. To contribute, search for “Bailey Moses” on the website.