Four months ago Cassidy McNew found a new dream, and it has completely changed her life.
McNew is a junior majoring in social studies secondary education with a concentration in history, and minoring in music. She won the Tom Baker Person of the Year award in spring 2025, and is heavily involved across campus. While she is a busy woman, this has not stopped her from pursuing a newly found dream.
McNew first learned about pageants and the Miss America organization over the summer while working at Dutch Wonderland. She was uncertain until she learned about the community service aspect of competing.
“They were just talking about their community service and just how they are able to get so many positive community outreaches, but then also growing themselves through the organization,” said McNew. “I’m like, okay, I’ll start with Miss Lancaster County, and I did it.”
Miss Lancaster County took place on Sept. 27, 2025, and was McNew’s first time competing where she won Miss Congeniality, an award decided by her fellow contestants. Since Miss Lancaster County she has also competed in Miss Central Pennsylvania, Miss York County (where she won Miss Overall Talent), and most recently Miss Berks County, where she won her title as Miss Pretzel City 2026.
“I’m staring down, just hoping maybe they will call my name, but then I just had something click in my head like it’s going to be me, but then I was like no I don’t want to get my hopes up,” said McNew. “Then my name was called, and I just instantly dropped to the floor sobbing. It was just so surreal, because I’m like, I just started this four months ago.”
One thing that sets McNew apart from other contestants is her mindset, one that comes from being so new to the Miss America Organization, and to competing.
“I just started this on a whim, because my friends said that they think I would enjoy it,” she shared. “This is such a new chapter in my life where I won’t get upset if I don’t get anything because I still get the experience.”
Competing has not always been easy for McNew, though, especially when she first started sharing that she planned to start participating in pageants.
“At the beginning I struggled most with explaining to people that it is not just your stereotypical swimsuit pageant,” she said. “You have to have a community service initiative, like how you will work with local communities.”
The Rhythm of Recovery community service initiative McNew has dedicated herself to is a deeply personal cause where she focuses on music’s impact for teen and adolescent mental health recovery.
Along with her commitment to her community service initiative, McNew also had a deep love for Millersville University, and attributes a lot to her success within the pageants she has competed in.
“Millersville has really nurtured myself as a student in both academics and cocurricular activities,” said McNew. “I don’t even know if I would be Miss Pretzel City had it not been for the experiences that I have gained so far in college, and I am incredibly thankful and grateful for all of it.”
One thing that has helped McNew’s experience thus far has been the connections she made with the other women while competing.
“You just walk into the dressing room and you feel like you’ve known all of the other competitors your entire life,” she said. “Everyone is just so friendly and willing to help. It’s an experience that you don’t know exists until you experience it. It’s the sisterhood that people in pageantry talk about all the time.”
It may be a new dream for McNew, but it is only just the start for her, as she is set to compete in the Miss Pennsylvania contest in July 2026. She also has a year to enjoy being Miss Pretzel City and serve her surrounding community.
“I wake up and I see the sash and the crown on top of my mirror and I’m like oh those are mine, I’m not holding on to them for anybody, they are mine,” shared McNew. “It’s a new dream that I’m thankful is coming true, because I never would have believed I’d be in this position.”
