Before Alexis Maxine Fuetsch steps onto the Miss USA stage in Miami next month as the youngest competitor this year, she’ll return to campus as the first University of Texas student to hold the title of Miss Texas USA.

The public relations senior found pageantry at 18 while searching for a platform to advocate for the Children’s Rehabilitation Institute TeletonUSA, a nonprofit center for children with disabilities. The Daily Texan spoke with Fuetsch about her journey to Miss USA, CRIT and representing UT.

The Daily Texan: Can you talk to me about when you first started pageants and when they first became a part of your life?

Alexis Maxine Fuetsh: I am not a typical pageant girl. … I started when I was 18 years old. … I was looking for a way to spread the message about CRIT … I signed up for Miss San Antonio Teen USA out of the blue, a week before the pageant happened … To my surprise, I ended up winning … and the bug bit me. I was totally hooked.

DT: Did you have a big misconception about (pageantry) that has changed now that you have been a part of it?

AF: The biggest misconception I heard is that the girls are all beauty and no brains. … That couldn’t be further from the truth. Every girl I’ve competed with in a competition has been smart, educated, is into volunteer work, service, has her own ambitions and goals. … They all have things they are advocating for … no one is just surface level.

DT: You are representing Texas nationally, and potentially could be representing the nation. What excites you most about that fact?

AF: It still feels like a dream. … It’s really cool because I am the first student at UT Austin to ever be crowned Miss Texas … I am representing … the number one public university in the state on one of the biggest stages in the world. Not only does it bring another level of pressure, but it brings another level of excitement.

DT: Talk to me about how you first became involved with CRIT and what it means to you.

AF: When I was eight years old, I was super into painting, and I had an art show at Neiman Marcus San Antonio. I knew that I wanted to donate this money to a cause in San Antonio. … When I visited CRIT and I saw these kids my age who were just like me, but couldn’t walk or couldn’t talk, … that really hit me. From then on, I had been hooked on dedicating myself to CRIT. … They made me an international hero ambassador where I had the opportunity to travel between the U.S. and Mexico … and then … they named me their next generation gala chair.

DT: So you are planning the (It Takes a Village) Gala, is that correct?

AF: (Yes,) I planned that Gala! CRIT has given me a purpose in life beyond anything else I’ve experienced. I’m hoping to go to law school to be a disability rights attorney. … While having the title of Miss Texas USA … gives me the microphone to talk about these issues, being a lawyer will actually give me a seat at the table to fix the issues.

DT: What is one thing you want people to know before they watch you compete?

AF: I’m just like them. I’m just a normal girl from Texas who’s trying to pursue my education and who’s trying to create change.

DT: You keep talking about change. Can you talk me through what change means to you and when change started becoming such a central part of your life?

AF: Change has always been important. … I am not into being comfortable, which I know sounds really weird, but I don’t like the idea of being comfortable. I think being uncomfortable is where … true positive change happens because if you’re willing to be uncomfortable, then that means you can stand on a bigger stage to help others who maybe can’t help themselves. … If I were lucky enough to be Miss USA, and even as Miss Texas USA, I want to hear from my peers the issues that matter to them and how I can use the platform … to advocate for them, because what is the point of having the microphone if you’re not going to talk into it?