Jacksonville High School senior and Miss Southern Illinois’ Teen Lauryn Maher is the Journal-Courier’s Community Champion for April.
Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree/Journal-Courier
If you know someone who deserves to be recognized as a Community Champion, submit a nomination at bit.ly/JCChampions.
Journal-Courier
Jacksonville High School senior Lauryn Maher was selected as the Journal-Courier’s April Community Champion for her dedication to promoting the community through her role as Miss Southern Illinois’ Teen.
“To be recognized, not just for the sparkly crown or what sash I’m wearing across my chest, is wonderful,” Maher said. “I feel that by giving back I’m able to show my true self. I enjoy giving back. It’s not an obligation.”
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Maher was nominated “because of the positive reflection of Jacksonville she is sharing across the state, as well as her commitment to both the community and to her education.”
Through her platform, Maher promotes agriculture education for all, with the goal of showing that you don’t have to be a farmer to get into the agriculture field.
“I want to get kids involved in ag,” Maher said. “I didn’t grow up on a farm and there is so much more than farming in agriculture.”
Prior to her role as Miss Southern Illinois’ Teen, Maher was the first Miss Jacksonville in 2023.
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In that role, she found a passion for promoting the community and volunteering.
“Through Miss Jacksonville I was able to learn what community is and I was shown the power of volunteering and what it does for others,” Maher said.
In addition to her role as Miss Southern Illinois’ Teen, Maher dances competitively and teaches at Legacy Dance and Tumbling, as well as at a day care center.
Maher will graduate from Jacksonville High School on May 15 and go on to Lincoln Land Community College, where she plans to study agriculture and agribusiness before transferring to a four-year college.
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She plans to turn her love of agriculture into a career in marketing and sales or in teaching children about agriculture, she said.
Maher loves interacting with children, whether through her role as a pageant queen or through her work in FFA, she said.
“I get so much joy from talking with kids,” Maher said. “I hope to inspire them to follow their passion, no matter what it is. You can do anything, no matter what your background is.”
She will compete in the Miss Illinois’ Teen pageant in June, where she hopes to spread her message and promote both Jacksonville and agriculture education.
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“Something I had always dreamed of doing was a pageant in the Miss America organization,” Maher said. “Through these roles I’ve been able to volunteer at a ton of community events, work with different organizations like Kiwanis and Rotary. But, my favorite thing is to go into local classrooms.”
The Community Champions of the Month program was started to honor those whose actions make a lasting difference in the Jacksonville area.
Readers are being asked to nominate people who embody the best of our community. They might be volunteers, mentors, leaders of groups — anyone striving to improve the lives of others in the community.
Each month, the Journal-Courier will select one Community Champion from the nominations and feature them in a story, sharing their journey, their motivations, and the impact they have made.
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At the end of the year, all Community Champions will be featured together, and readers will have the opportunity to vote for the Journal-Courier’s Citizen of the Year. That person will be honored for their contributions and the difference they have made.
If you know someone who deserves to be recognized, submit a nomination through our online form at bit.ly/JCChampions.