Plum alumna crowned Miss Duquesne

Plum Senior High School alumna Cassie Wiles didn’t plan on being a pageant winner. In fact, she signed up for the Miss Duquesne pageant expecting to lose, but her friends encouraged her to compete.

Those expectations proved to be unfounded as Wiles was awarded the crown by a panel of four judges on Nov. 11.

“My friends were all talking about how much fun the event was,” said Wiles. “They said whenever we do it, we can all just hang out together and it’ll be fun.”

The competition was the 19th annual pageant run by Alpha Sigma Tau to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, generating $19,339.71 this year. Wiles was one of 13 contestants.

In addition to Miss Duquesne, contestants could win another award such as Miss Congeniality, Top Fundraiser or the People’s Choice.

Contestants each represented a different club on campus, with Wiles representing Delight Ministries, part of a nationwide organization of women’s ministries.

The judges were Anthony Kane, Duquesne University’s assistant vice president of student affairs; Ashley Kane, assistant director for student programming and freshman development; Linda Donovan, campus minister and spiritual adviser for multiple Duquesne student organizations; and Miss Pennsylvania 2020, Victoria Piekut-Bobak, co-founder and CEO of Wight Elephant Boutique in Greensburg.

For her talent, Wiles showcased her skills as a baton twirler. Wiles twirls for the University of Pittsburgh marching band, despite her attending Duquesne, which doesn’t have its own marching band.

The talent category was one of three for the pageant contestants, along with the standard gown round and a line of questioning from the judges. After the scores were tallied, Wiles was declared the winner.

“I didn’t really expect to win,” said Wiles. “I only went into this for the fun of it and to raise money for Make-A-Wish. I knew a couple of the other girls, so I knew I’d be doing this with friends.

“We all just went in to support each other and raise money. That was our only goal. Whenever they announced I won, it was a shock.”

As a baton twirler, she follows in the footsteps of her mother, Suellen, who also excelled when she was in college. She is executive director of ministries at Unity Church in Plum and works extensively with youth, including running an annual camp, Summer Blast, that she started two decades ago.

Cassie Wiles also plans to work with youth, as she is attending Duquesne to become a teacher, majoring in early childhood development with a minor in Spanish. She has expressed a desire to get into school counseling with a focus on second and third grades.

“I love the little kids,” she said. “But I don’t have the patience to deal with preschoolers. So I prefer the older little kids.”