The next contestant featured as part of our series, "The Road to Miss Arkansas," is Darynee Dahlem! Continue reading to learn more about Darynee, her journey to the crown, and so much more!

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Please share with our readers your platform along with a brief description of what it is.
My platform is called “Know Who You Are”! With this platform, I use my own personal experiences to help children and young adults stay true to who they are no matter what pressures they may face.  I work with them to help them understand how their actions have consequences.

How long have you competed in pageants? How do you think you’ve personally grown with all your prior pageant experience?
I have been competing in the Miss America system for 3 years.  I also competed in the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen system for one year.  Competing in this system has shaped me into a confident and self assured woman. I have the ability to voice my passion through my platform as well as carry myself confidently on a stage and throughout my life.

In regards to your platform, why did you choose to go with this particular one?
Growing up I watched a family member struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. Right then I made the choice that I would never drink. My freshman year of college I realized how hard that living up to that decision was going to be. I looked around and I noticed how my peers would make decisions simply because it was what they thought would make them popular or it seemed easy. I then realized that I could make a difference by sharing my story in the hopes of inspiring others to make the choices that they are comfortable with and understand how the decisions they make could have consequences that will last a lifetime. Understanding who you are and where you come from helps you develop a strong moral compass and can help you develop into a happy and healthy member of society.

How has working alongside your platform made you into a stronger person?
Being able to share my story is great. But hearing the stories of the people I’ve spoken to has been the most amazing experience. Knowing that I can make a difference has made me driven to make a change, but actually seeing others become more confident through the use of my platform is what gives me the strength to continue to make good choices and fuels my love of helping others.

What have you learned from your current Miss Arkansas, Savannah, which you hope to carry with you if you were to win the title of  Miss Arkansas?
Don’t follow someone else’s footsteps, create your own. Watching Savannah and Savvy handle their titles with such grace, poise, and passion has inspired me to do the same as Miss University of Arkansas with the hopes that I can one day get the opportunity to fill their shoes and be the same caliber of leader and inspiration that they have been.

As a titleholder, what is one of the single-most important messages, which you think you convey to your followers?
True leaders understand that it is people, not possessions, that matter. As a titleholder, I have been blessed with several sponsorships and multiple opportunities to speak to people. But it isn’t the sponsorship’s I receive, or number of people I speak to that matters. It’s the number of people whose lives I’ve touched that I will cherish forever.

If you were to win the title of Miss Arkansas, what is the one thing which you would strive the hardest to accomplish?
I want to visit all 75 counties in Arkansas! As Miss Arkansas, I want to make sure I have represented the state in its entirety and not just the most populated areas.

Imagine you’re competing for Miss America, and your roommate has never visited Arkansas; how would you describe your state to your roommate?
We are really a unique state. I’ve had the chance to visit several states across our nation and I can find commonalities in all of them except for Arkansas. No other state has a diamond mine. And whereas others may have hot springs, no other state has a town built around them like our very own bath city of Hot Springs. And we have several historic sites as well as history and art museums to celebrate our culture. Not to mention that our people are pretty great too!

If you could place three items in a time capsule, which represent the women of today, what would they be and why?
Play-dough- because today’s women are able to mold into whatever our country needs. We have the incredible ability to be tycoons of business and doctors and still go home at the end of the day and be mothers, daughters, and sisters. That takes flexibility and adaptability just like how Play-dough can take the shape of whatever mold it is put into. Shovel- With all of the advances we have made in politics and in STEM fields, we are paving the way for future generations of women to follow in our footsteps and travel down the path of equality that we have set for them. Binoculars- Today’s women are in the unique position to have the ability to look back nearly 100 years and see how far we have come since being granted the right to vote while still being able to look forward 100 years and see a future with women presidents and CEOs. A future that was, at one point, unfathomable has become very tangible, and I am so proud to be a part of the generation that gets to see that future become reality.

Because of media, many people tend to look at pageant with a very scrutinizing opinion; For you. personally, what have been some of the biggest benefits of being a part of the Miss America Organization. And how would you share the positive nature of pageants with others who may not be familiar?
It is because of this organization that I am able to go to college! The scholarships that I have won while competing has allowed me to pursue my future in a STEM career. The interview skills I have learned will help me get into vet school as well as get me a job with future employers. Not to mention that it is because of this system that I am granted to opportunity to meet some of the most amazing people in the continental U.S all because of the connections made through competing.

The name of this magazine is Bravura.  “Bravura” is an artistic word for exceptional; in your opinion, what makes you “bravura”?
I come from a rural area but I have the ambition to do great things in bigger areas. I hope to one day open a clinic in a big city like D.C or New York that will provide free vaccinations, along with spay and neutering to the pets of the homeless population that live there!

Where can fans follow you on social media?
Twitter: @DarynneDahlem ; Instagram: @darynne_angelique & @missuofarkansas; Facebook: Darynne Dahlem & Miss University of Arkansas

What advice do you have for those who want to take part in pageants?
DO IT. Don’t wait just because you think you aren’t old enough. And don’t think for a second that you aren’t the ‘pageant type’. I grew up riding a horse and never wearing even a little bit of make-up.  But I have quickly learned that there is no such thing as a ‘pageant girl’; there is only amazing young women who happen to also compete in pageants. The Miss America system has changed my life and I guarantee it will change yours too.