BYU takes the crown in Miss Provo pageant

The 2025 Miss Provo pageant was a crowning day for two Brigham Young University students on Aug. 9.

Jaylynn Lindley, named Miss Provo 2025, and Elle Miller, the first Miss Liberty Belle in decades, share more than pageant titles and a passion for service they also share the BYU campus.

Lindley, a premedical student from Salem, Utah, is a former Cougarette and the 2023 Miss Utahs Teen. She went on to place in the top 10 at Miss Americas Teen 2024.

You are a part of something that is greater than yourself, Lindley said. You are constantly doing things for other people to give back, so your life isnt about just you.

Through her pageant experience, Lindley developed "Win Within," an athlete advocacy nonprofit she hopes to expand in Provo.

Miller, a pre-nursing student from southern Utah, revived a historic title by being crowned Miss Liberty Belle. Provo first introduced the Liberty Belle title decades ago to highlight the citys Freedom Festival and Fourth of July celebrations before shifting to Miss Provo.

This year, organizers reinstated the Liberty Belle crown, awarding both Lindley and Miller the chance to represent the city at Miss Utah.

The more you get into it, everything falls under one umbrella, Miller said, reflecting on balancing full-time studies, work and pageant duties.

Miller was inspired by the education she has received thus far at BYU to share this knowledge and resources with other women to help them gain better access to healthcare.

BYU has made my service initiative real and actionable, Miller said.

Lindley has also attributed the culmination of the skills and lessons learned at BYU to helping her in the pageant world, and vice versa.

Its time management, public speaking, and service, Lindley said. You enter this for a year, but the skills and connections you make are something that continues for the rest of your life.

This years pageant was historic, crowning two titleholders who both happen to be BYU Cougars. Both women credit God for their success and said they feel grateful to serve the city of Provo.

If someone wins, its for a reason, Lindley said. We are here for a reason.