Inner Beauty Makes For Instant Winner: Miss North Dakota Teen USA

Beauty on the inside as well as the outside.

“Beauty is as beauty does” may sound like old-fashioned advice our grandmas gave us. But in the case of the newly crowned Miss North Dakota Teen USA, it’s advice she’s taking to heart.

Kilyn Parisien-Hill, a college freshman from Belcourt, ND, visited with the Morning Show’s Emily Welker live in-studio to talk about her recent win, which will see her headed to Phoenix later this month to compete for the Miss Teen USA crown.

Parisien-Hill didn’t start out in life with a dream of being a beauty queen. Instead, she’s an aspiring surgeon who rescues dogs in her spare time. Parisien-Hill said she’s had as many as 18 dogs at once at her home waiting to be united with their forever owners, since people dump them near the lakeside property and she doesn’t like to turn them away.

That impulse is also part of what led her to pursue an education in medicine, specifically pro bono plastic surgery for cleft palate and burn patients. Parisien-Hill worked at a rural operating clinic where patients often don’t get the opportunity to see many different types of medical specialists.

“I got to work in rotation in surgery, loved it, got invited back. I even got certified as a CNA. [But] we only had a foot specialist and one who did babies… I was really impressed we [Miss Teen USA] work with Smile Train.” Smile Train is an organization dedicated to helping children with cleft lip and palate problems in developing countries.

Unlike many pageant winners, who find it takes a lot of practice and numerous regional pageants before they get to get the chance to compete on the national stage, Parisien-Hill only competed one time before her win in November of the Miss North Dakota Teen USA title. We’re wishing her luck, and that the judges see her inner beauty shining through, as she heads to Phoenix for the big show on July 29th.