The Miss Maine Scholarship Program helps young women of Maine to pursue their educational and professional goals by awarding scholarship money and providing opportunities for personal growth and achievement.
Partner and donor businesses make our program possible. It is through their generosity and support that we are able to award thousands of dollars of college scholarships to young women in Maine every year and to introduce young women to the kind and committed community and business leaders who make Maine a great place to live and work.
As the official state preliminary to the Miss America competition, the Miss Maine Scholarship Program, Inc. is part of the largest scholarship-providing organization for women in the world. The Miss Maine competition is a launch pad for Miss Candidates aged 18-28, emphasizing academics and communication skills. Phases of competition include Private Interview, Talent/HERStory, Health & Fitness, Eveningwear, and On-stage Question.
Miss Maine’s Teen (MMETeen) is an official preliminary to Miss America’s Teen. MMETeen encourages positive achievement by helping to nurture and build the scholastic achievement, creative accomplishment, healthy living, and community involvement of our nation’s youth. Each candidate is aged 13 to 18 and competes in Private Interview, Talent/HERStory, Health & Fitness, Eveningwear, and On-stage Question.
The first Miss Maine was crowned in 1935. Scholarships became the prize starting in the mid-1940s.
Since we started keeping track in 1980, the Miss Maine Competition has awarded more than $2 million in scholarships to over 600 young women in Maine.
Every candidate who competes for the job of Miss Maine must put forth her own unique social impact initiative. Our candidates have been advocates for mental health, public health, domestic and sexual violence prevention, and many other important social issues that face Mainers every day.
While participating in the Miss Maine Competition, young women gain skills in public speaking, interviewing, resume and essay writing, and making an impact in their communities. Women who compete in the Miss and Teen competitions have gone on to become not only professional musicians and Hollywood actresses, but also doctors, lawyers, firefighters, nurses and leaders in business and service communities in Maine and around the world.
“…Miss Maine has prepared me for the real world and she said that my interview with her really showed that. I'm further in my career than a lot of people my age, and I owe a lot of that to the Miss America program. Even outside my political career, pageantry has contributed to who I am. I keep telling people that running for Miss Maine was one of the best decisions I've made.”
— Stefanie Veneziano, competed in 2009 and 2010. Winner of the Steven Jensen Memorial Scholarship in 2009
The success of the Miss Maine Organization is due to the dedication and involvement of our volunteer Board and volunteers. We acknowledge their enormous contributions with our deepest gratitude.
Are you looking for scholarship money to complete your education? You could be the next Miss Maine or Miss Maine's Teen! Click below to learn more and the opportunities available to you.
The Miss Maine Scholarship Program is a non-profit organization made possible by the efforts of hundreds of volunteers. The Miss America Organization maintains one of the strongest volunteer networks in this country.
Scholarships awarded through the Miss Maine Scholarship Program have an incredibly positive impact in helping young women in our program find success in achieving their goals and donations are tax deductible.
