Colleen Ward

Colleen Ward is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Wolcott, Connecticut, who was crowned Miss Connecticut 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015.

Colleen Ward
Born	1992/1993 (age 27–28)
Education	Central Connecticut State University
Title	Miss Greater Waterbury 2012 Miss Windham County 2015 Miss Connecticut 2015
Beauty pageant titleholder
Major competition(s)	Miss America 2016

Pageant career

Early pageants

Entering her hometown pageant, Ward vied for the Miss Wolcott 2011 title in November 2010 and for the Miss Wolcott 2012 title in November 2011 but failed to claim the crown both times.[1][2]

On December 3, 2011, Ward won the Miss Greater Waterbury 2012 title.[3][4] She competed in the 2012 Miss Connecticut pageant with the platform "Promoting Childhood Literacy: Encouraging a Healthy Mind for a Healthy Body" and a dance performance in the talent portion of the competition.[5] She was not a finalist for the state title.[6][7] She did not participate in the 2013 or 2014 Miss Connecticut pageants.[8][9]

Miss Connecticut 2015

On January 17, 2015, Ward was crowned Miss Windham County 2015.[10] She earned a $250 scholarship prize plus a package of prizes designed to help her prepare for the state pageant at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.[11] She entered the Miss Connecticut pageant in June 2015 as one of 13 qualifiers for the state title.[4][12] Ward's competition talent was traditional Irish stepdance.[13][14] Her platform is "Promoting Childhood Literacy: Encouraging a Healthy Mind for a Healthy Life".[15][16]

Ward won the competition on Saturday, June 27, 2015, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Connecticut titleholder Acacia Courtney.[17][14] She earned more than $8,500 in scholarship money and other prizes from the state pageant.[13] As Miss Connecticut, her activities include public appearances across the state of Connecticut.[16]

Vying for Miss America 2016

Ward was Connecticut's representative at the Miss America 2016 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2015.[18][12] In the televised finale on September 13, 2015, she placed outside the Top 15 semi-finalists and was eliminated from competition. She was awarded a $3,000 scholarship prize as her state's representative.[19][20]

Early life and education

Ward is a native of Connecticut, and a 2010 graduate of Wolcott High School. Ward is a May 2015 graduate of Central Connecticut State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education.[21][22]

References

1. "Miss Wolcott 2012 and Wolcott's Outstanding Teen 2012 Pageant". Wolcott, CT: Town of Wolcott. October 27, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
2. MacMillan, Carrie (November 2, 2010). "Teens compete for Miss Wolcott crowns". Republican-American. Waterbury, CT. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
3. "Pageant crowns local ladies". Republican-American. Waterbury, CT. December 6, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
4. Coffey, Denise (June 8, 2015). "Miss Windham County prepares for Miss Connecticut competition". Hartford Courant. Hartford, CT: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
5. "State Contestants: Connecticut - 2012". Miss America. 2012. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
6. DeMatteo, Ann (June 30, 2012). "Miss Wolcott becomes Miss Connecticut, area competitors in runners-up". New Haven Register. New Haven, CT: 21st Century Media. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
7. "Former Miss Wolcott is crowned Miss Connecticut". Republican-American. Waterbury, CT. July 1, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
8. "State Contestants: Connecticut - 2013". Miss America. 2013. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
9. "State Contestants: Connecticut - 2014". Miss America. 2014. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
10. Coffey, Denise (January 21, 2015). "Wolcott's Colleen Ward crowned Miss Windham County 2015". Hartford Courant. Hartford, CT: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
11. Kefalas, Francesca (January 18, 2015). "Wolcott woman named Miss Windham County". The Bulletin. Norwich, CT: GateHouse Media. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
12. Barry, John (June 28, 2015). "Miss Windham County crowned Miss Connecticut". The Bulletin. Norwich, CT: GateHouse Media. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
13. Harun, Marcus (June 28, 2015). "Wolcott's Colleen Ward selected as Miss Connecticut". Hartford, CT: WTIC-TV. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
14. Rooney, Rachel (June 29, 2015). "New Miss Connecticut crowned". Hartford, CT: WFSB. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
15. Quinlan, Erin (July 1, 2015). "Vernon School Employee Named Miss Connecticut". Vernon Patch. Vernon, CT: Patch Media. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
16. Smith, Steve (June 29, 2015). "Miss Windham County upgrades head gear to Miss Connecticut crown". Hartford Courant. Hartford, CT: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
17. "Congratulations to Colleen Ward!". Miss America. July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
18. "State Contestants: Connecticut - 2015". Miss America. 2015. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
19. "Miss America Show Scholarships 2016". Miss America. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
20. "The 2016 Miss America Competition Scholarships & Awards" (Press release). Miss America. September 16, 2015. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
21. "Miss Connecticut 2015 Colleen Ward". Miss Connecticut. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
22. Kefalas, Francesca (June 26, 2015). "2 Windham County women will compete for Miss Connecticut title". The Bulletin. Norwich, CT: GateHouse Media. Retrieved July 10, 2015.

External links

• Miss Connecticut official website

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Acacia Courtney	Miss Connecticut 2015	Succeeded by Incumbent