Madelynn Hardtke ’24 speaks into a microphone on stage at the Miss Massachusetts competition. She wears a bright red dress and a white sash with “Miss Pioneer Valley,” her current local title, written across in black letters. Photo courtesy of Steve Smith.
By Melanie Duronio ’26
Publisher & Features Editor
It began like any other afternoon for Madelynn Hardtke ’24.
In 2022, Hardtke was scrolling through Instagram until a particular post caught her eye: an advertisement for the Miss Western Massachusetts organization. She thought of her unused high school prom dress, left over from the pandemic, and her memories of watching Miss America as a child and being “a really big fan.” She was immediately drawn in.
Little did Hardtke know, she would go on to win the title of Miss East Longmeadow the following year, and the title of Miss Pioneer Valley this January. Now, as of June 2024, she can also say she was a contestant for Miss Massachusetts, a preliminary to the Miss America competition.
“It had always been a dream of mine as a little girl to be in a pageant,” Hardtke said. “But a lot of people are not there to win. It’s a community, a way to build your skill sets and talk to people.”
The Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to “helping young women recognize their potential,” according to its website. One of the largest sources of scholarships in the United States, its mission is to provide a space for contenders to work on their goals and express themselves. Any woman from the ages of 13 to 27 can compete. There are multiple local organizations per county with individual scholarships and preliminaries to Miss Massachusetts.
Hardtke began competing during her sophomore year at Mount Holyoke College in the Miss Western Massachusetts competition. She finished as the first runner-up which became her “first boost” to keep going. A year later, she entered Miss Hampden County Scholarship Organization’s competition and won as Miss East Longmeadow.
That wasn’t her only motivator. Throughout her first experiences, she “fell in love” with the local pageantry organizations and its people. When she began attending Mount Holyoke in 2020, Hardtke felt a strong urge to connect with not only her fellow students but the surrounding area as a whole. Serving as Miss East Longmeadow, and later Miss Pioneer Valley, allowed her to become “tuned in” to the South Hadley community.
“There are lots of people putting in labor, blood, sweat and tears into the community,” Hardtke said. “It’s important to be connected to the people around you and the town the College is in … We [as students] are people who are part of South Hadley too.”
She also expressed a desire for the College to create more opportunities for community service, and encourage students to participate in the local area. For example, Hardtke mentioned a former sophomore class tradition to take a “service day” and volunteer at the South Hadley Firehouse Museum, the historic churches or another place of their choice.
“I just wish we had more events as a college where we turned services into fun traditions to get involved,” Hardtke said. “I definitely think COVID[-19] had a pretty big impact on it. I feel now that people can get a bit [of] ‘stranger-danger.’ But you shouldn’t treat it like you’re with strangers, you’re [really] helping your neighbors.”
This year, she was crowned as Miss Pioneer Valley with a musical theater vocal performance. Hardtke has sung ever since she was four years old and “[loves] the choir community.” She also studied voice and sang with the Glee Club and the Chamber Singers at Mount Holyoke.
Hardtke also began a Community Service Initiative on water safety as part of the Miss Pioneer Valley competition. As a former lifeguard who taught older children to swim and performed two drowning rescues, she is “passionate about” the subject. With her title, she advocates for accessible swimming lessons across all income levels and communities in western Massachusetts.
The title qualified Hardtke for the Miss Massachusetts competition, which took place June 20-22 at Hanover Theatre in Worcester. Hardtke completed a private interview and competed in the first rounds of competition that Friday. Although she was not selected as a finalist, Hardtke “had a great time” and said “the entire week [was] very fun.”
“I got a lot of practice joining an experience rather than focusing on performance,” Hardtke said. “I think I did better as a result … This year I absolutely mastered the opening number, and that was my goal!”
Photos of Hardtke performing on stage for Miss Massachusetts. She wears her red dress with white heels, a red lifeguard suit for her water safety presentation and a sparkly black dress for her vocal performance. Photos courtesy of Steve Smith.
Hardtke will continue to serve as Miss Pioneer Valley until September, as this year’s competition has moved from January to October.
“I’m much more drawn to being a local title holder,” Hardtke said. “Hopefully I’ll get a different title and keep doing what I love: representing Western Mass.”
In the meantime, Hardtke will spend the remainder of her summer preparing for her new job at a law firm in Westfield, Massachusetts where she looks forward to working “without homework.” She will also continue her work as Miss Pioneer Valley, mentoring the program’s teenage candidates and attending local volunteer events.
“I think people underestimate how hard it is to get up on a stage and be poised and well-spoken while there’s a lot in your head and hundreds of people are watching you,” Hardtke said. “It’s a very big role. … You do a lot of work: going to events almost every weekend, meeting people and fundraising. You have to have a very rigorous skill set to even hold the role.”
Hardtke acknowledges that this is not what comes to most people’s minds when they think of the role of Miss America, Miss Massachusetts or even Miss Pioneer Valley. There is an element of objectification that has existed within pageantry, she said, since it began in the 1920s. But even in a time when women were judged mainly on looks, Hardtke noticed how their abilities were still highlighted. As times have changed, so too have pageantry practices and policies to emphasize the candidates and their empowerment.
For those who compete, including Hardtke, it is the community of women and girls within it that make up the true heart of pageantry.
“I think people would be surprised at how many similarities there are between the ethos of women’s colleges and of pageantry,” Hardtke said. “It’s about empowering people and giving them the confidence to give up space in a room, being surrounded by a community of people who support you.”
Gabby Tonn ‘27 contributed fact-checking.