The reigning Miss Wyoming 2011, Alyssa Lane was raised in Casper, Wyoming. An honors graduate from Natrona County High School, her time was spent as captain of the cheerleading squad, student body vice president, an all state choir member, and supporting leading roles in school musicals such as “Footloose” and “High School Musical”. At 17, Alyssa was honored with winning her first pageant title, Miss Teen of Wyoming. She went on to be crowned homecoming queen at Natrona as well as Wyoming’s Homecoming Queen. Alyssa has spent the last few years at the University of Wyoming in pursuit of her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and Psychology. There, she has actively been involved on campus as a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the Equestrian team, a Wyoming Cheerleader, and also in the UW choirs as a vocal scholarship recipient. Alyssa is also proud to be on the Dean’s List. She will be starting nursing school in the fall in Casper again, with plans to finish both Bachelor Degrees at the University of Wyoming after her focus on nursing classes. Although always very involved in the community and in school, she has never lost sight of her long term professional goals of attending graduate school to become a pediatric nurse practitioner.
Throughout her high school and college years, Alyssa has been an intricate part of community service efforts, participating in non-profit organization efforts for Make a Wish Foundation, St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, the Albany County Red Cross, Reading is Fundamental and the Children’s Miracle Network, to name a few. The inspiration for her personal platform, “Cowboy Up! Taking a Stand Against Bullying” and her initiative to work with STOMP Out Bullying, came from an interview in which she was asked about the most important event that has happened in her life. Being bullied at a young age taught her the importance of being true to herself, and going after goals despite the views of peers. Her will to overcome the cruel bullying she faced during her elementary and junior high allowed her to be later involved in what she loved to do, without the fear of “what everyone would think”. She hopes that her story will inspire others to focus on their dreams and aspirations, rather than fall to the damage that peer pressure can cause. Alyssa refers to her platform statement as a campaign of equal rights. With the dark stigma of high teen suicide rates following the state of Wyoming, she hopes to shed light on a topic that haunts the hallways of our schools and give hope to the youth of Wyoming by inspiring a goal driven attitude. “Our teens that face the daily struggles of fitting in, have no idea how much potential they have. I hope to inspire them to believe in themselves and to make their strides as leaders. The bully conflict in schools starts and ends with peer pressure. When we decide to take a stand against bullying, we in turn take a step toward our goals and away from the fear of being ourselves.”
