Doris Maricle

KINDER — Julia Claire Williams entered the Miss Louisiana pageant with confidence and left with the crown.

“You have to have a degree of confidence and believe in yourself in whatever you do,” Williams said. 

The 22-year-old Kinder High School graduate was crowned Miss Louisiana on June 19 during the Miss Louisiana competition in Monroe. 

“It has been an absolute whirlwind of excitement,” Williams said of the days following the pageant. “I have been overwhelmed at the outpour of support I have received, not only from people in Monroe, but back home.”

Williams earned the title and $12,500 in scholarships and the opportunity to represent her hometown and state in the Miss America pageant later this year.

“This title kind of puts Kinder on the map,” she said. “We are already known for our excellence in sports, but this puts us on the map in a different way.”

Williams is no stranger to the stage. She has been competing on and off in pageants since a toddler and competitively performing as a dancer since she was six. Those experiences have prepared her for the next level, she said.   

“When you work hard, anything is possible,” she said.

Her titles include the current Miss Heart of Pilot, Miss Allen Parish (2017), Miss Louisiana Outstanding Teen (2015) and Junior Miss Allen Parish (2013).

Williams took a break from pageants to focus on her studies, but says her eyes have always been on Miss Louisiana and Miss America. She has been involved in the Miss Louisiana Organization for the past six years.

“I remember being at my maw maw’s house as a young girl watching the Miss Louisiana and Miss America pageants,” she said. “As I got older, I remember staring at the TV and being mesmerized. When I won Outstanding Teen, my heart just grew fonder.”

As Miss Louisiana, Williams will travel the state and advocate for disabled and disadvantaged youth.

She hopes to use her social impact initiative – “Find Your FREDDY (Fostering Rewarding Engagements with Disadvantaged Youth), to raise awareness and encourage others to interact with those who have special developments or medical needs.

“I want to inspire people to reach out and give more time and of themselves to make these children feel loved,” she said.

The initiative was inspired by an experience she had in second grade caring for a special needs classmate who was bullied.

“The other kids tied his skate laces together during PF and when he stood up, he fell and got hurt,” Williams said. “I remember running to help him and asking the teacher if I could go get him an ice pack. I think that moment sparked my interest to help others. That experience has now become the heart and soul of my social impact initiative.”

Williams says she plans to visit children at the state’s Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. She also wants to create a pen pal system for students to write to children at the Children’s Miracle Network hospitals and start a lunch buddy program in schools

A graduate of the University of Louisiana in Monroe, Williams is an emergency room scribe at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe. She plans to enroll in medical school by next year to pursue a career as a pediatric.

“Depending on how Miss America goes, I may have to push medical school back a year,” she said.

Williams is the daughter of  Angela Palermo LaBuff of Kinder and Jim Williams of Kentucky. Her grandparents are Tony and Tina Palermo and Ruby Palermo of Sulphur and Joella LaBuff of Kinder and the late Jimmy LaBuff Sr.

 

Julia Claire Williams was crowned Miss Louisiana 2021 on Saturday, June 19, at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe.

Steve Palowsky / Special to the American Press