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QuickTake:
Cash, 24, a student at New Hope Christian College in Eugene, wins more than $17,000 in scholarships and qualifies for the Miss America pageant in September
Mya Cash started competing at pageants only a few months ago. The first one went well: She was crowned Miss Lane County on Feb. 22.
That qualified her for the Miss Oregon pageant, a four-day event in Seaside that ended June 28. And Cash won that one, too, against 44 other contestants.
“I completely blacked out, like I heard my name and it was just ringing in my ears,” Cash said. “And you’re really thinking to yourself, ‘This can’t be real.’”
The next step for Cash will be the Miss America 2026 competition in Orlando, Florida, in September. Cash said preparation is going to be a lot different than it was for Miss Oregon.
“It’s a lot of interview prep,” Cash said. “Just being able to articulate myself in a way that I really feel genuine, but also getting across everything that you want the judges to know.”
The Miss Oregon pageant is for young women, ages 18 to 25, that provides scholarships for participants. Cash is currently a senior at New Hope Christian College in Eugene, studying ministry with a concentration in pastoral studies. The pageant awarded her with more than $17,000 in scholarships.
All contestants competed in interviews, on-stage questions, fitness and talent during the pageant. For the talent portion, Cash performed a jazz dance.
Cash was born and raised in Eugene and went to Sheldon High School. She said her mother initially signed her up for Miss Lane County, thinking her daughter would enjoy it.
Around Eugene, Cash likes to hike Mount Pisgah and Spencer Butte and watch her black cat, Larry.
Although she competes wearing a formal dress, she does have five pairs of Birkenstocks in her closet. But socks with the Birkenstocks are “just a no” for her. “That can’t happen,” Cash said.
What separated Cash from other contestants was the fact that she had such limited experience competing in pageants.
“This is her first year of competing, and there is something about someone who has never competed before, who comes in like a breath of fresh air,” said Elizabeth McShane, executive director of the program. “She just had no prior conceivable idea of what this was about, and she was just true to herself on stage.”
Cash’s community service initiative is for lupus awareness after watching her mother battle the disease for the past three years. Cash has started her own nonprofit, Leaps for Lupus.
She is now a national advocate for the Lupus Foundation of America and holds dance classes to raise awareness. She also wants people to know they’re not alone.
“We’re going to start making little care kits to give to those that are recently diagnosed with autoimmune diseases,” Cash said, “because it can be super overwhelming.”
