Lakyn Campbell poses in her official portrait as Miss West Virginia Teen USA. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — Parkersburg High School graduate Lakyn Campbell was crowned as Miss West Virginia Teen USA on June 4.

The competition took place at Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts in Buckhannon. Campbell, 18, was selected out of 12 contestants.

The event started with check-in and an orientation on June 2. On the morning of June 3, each contestant was interviewed by pageant judges. That evening, a preliminary round was held where contestants sported both an activewear outfit and evening gown. On June 4, the top six contestants were announced. Those contestants competed again in active wear and evening gowns. The field was then narrowed down to three. They each reached into a glass bowl of questions that the contestant answered on the spot. The winner was chosen afterwards.

This was Campbell’s third year competing in the pageant, her mom Rita Campbell said.

“She was comfortable knowing what the expectations are,” Rita said. “She was confident. She has a lot of speaking skills.”

Rita said the pageant judges have expectations of the contestants.

“They want a girl who can speak well. They want someone who is involved with community service. They also ask the girls for their social media pages and watch what they post,” she said.

Rita said Campbell has been involved in giving back to her community since elementary school.

“When she was at Greenmont, she organized a book drive for the Children’s Home Society. She went to her teacher, who agreed to help. We collected books and donated them later,” she said.

Her current project is with West Virginia Rhododendron Girls State, a government and leadership camp for girls through the American Legion held at Davis and Elkins College. She was elected President of the camp in 2022.

“She is collecting personal care products such as pads and tampons. She is asking attendees to bring donations and she will take them to Parkersburg, Parkersburg South, and Williamstown,” Rita said.

Rita said Campbell had read statistics about girls missing school due to lack of access to period products.

Campbell graduated from Parkersburg High School in May with a 4.625 GPA. She will attend West Virginia University in the fall as a member of the Honors College and will study broadcast journalism with a minor in pre-law.

Campbell will compete at the national Miss Teen USA pageant in Reno, Nevada. The date has not yet been determined.

Kristen Hainkel can be reached at khainkel@newsandsentinel.com.