As students grow up and start deciding which of the countless activities they would like to pursue, many feel obligated to stick to only one. They feel the pressure to devote their entire schedules to only one hobby as opposed to pursuing their diverse interests. However, junior EKL champion and Miss Kansas High School America Shae Dougan defies this stereotype and has chosen to follow both her passions despite their differences: wrestling and pageantry.

Dougan said her passion for pageants comes from her family while her love for wrestling began as an excuse to hang out with friends.

“I started pageants when I was only 4 years old. My grandma and my mom both did them so they wanted me to get into it because it builds a lot of life skills,” Dougan said. “I started wrestling my sophomore year because two of my best friends did it and I wanted to try it out and I ended up loving it.”

Because Dougan has done pageants since she was young, she said the skills she learned through them has helped her in all aspects of life, including wrestling.

“The skills you get from pageants help you in all areas of your life,” Dougan said. “I used to be really shy and I would have a lot of social anxiety, but [pageants have] helped me a lot because it’s easier for me to talk to people and not be as scared as I was before.”

Dougan said both wrestling and pageantry have deeply impacted her life for the better, despite their differences.

“They’re very different communities. Whenever I tell people I’m a wrestler and I do pageants they are always very surprised,” Dougan said. “But I use this as a platform in pageants to show girls that you can be anything and everything you want to be. You don’t need to be boxed in by stereotypes put on by society; you can do whatever you want.”