WILLISTON, N.D. - Jurni Holte, a freshman at Williston State College, will represent the College as the next Miss WSC.

Nominated by Vivian Kalmik, Holte met with WSC's Karissa Kjos, Student Life Coordinator, and Jenny Wolf, Director for Creative Services in early September to express her interest in the title.  

A Williston native and a recent graduate of Williston High School, Holte comes from a dancing family. Her mother was a dancer in high school and her three sisters dance. Even Holte's brother has danced some hip hop.  

"It's a family thing," explained Holte, the second youngest sister in the family. "I've been dancing for about 10 years. I began with ballet and branched out to other genres: lyrical, jazz, pointe, musical theatre. Jazz is my favorite."  

Holte is an instructor at Kay Michael Lee Studio in Williston and teaches 3- to 6-year-olds ballet and tap. She works with the Emerald Competition line, the studio's youngest competitors.  

"I really like teaching. It's something I would like to go into," explained Holte. "I'm leaning toward teaching preschool and kindergarten right now."  

As a freshman, Holte is taking a lot of general education classes but also has two classes focused on early childhood education. While unsure of her future college goals, Holte mentioned that after completing two years at WSC, she would likely transfer and complete her last two years at a 4-year institution.  

"Everyone is so friendly here," explained Holte. "It's easy to make new friends. I live off campus, but I still feel like I'm part of the WSC community."  

Holte's pageant experience stems from her participation in the Little Sister program, an organization where young girls participate in the Miss North Dakota pageant by being paired with an older Miss.  

"I did the Little Sister program when I was young and from there to dance and competitions," stated Holte. "After high school, I knew I wanted to be a Miss and compete to become Miss ND."  

As Miss WSC, Holte will represent the College at various on and off-campus events and have a platform.  

"I'm excited to be Miss WSC because I want to be an example to others that they can do this," said Holte. "Pageants aren't as popular, but I want to show others that it can be fun, and I get to be involved more with the school."  

Holte's platform is "It is not a disability, it is a different ability." Holte's niece is her inspiration as she has epilepsy and is often looked at and treated differently than her peers.  

"She's scared sometimes to do things," said Holte. "I think it's important for people to realize that she and others don't need to be treated differently just because they are 'different.'"  

Holte will be crowned as the next Miss WSC on Thursday, September 27th. A social with light refreshments will begin at 7 p.m. followed by Holte's crowing and entertainment at 7:15 p.m. The event will be held in the Teton Lounge at WSC.  

The crowing event is free and open to the public.  

For more information on Miss WSC, please contact Caitlin Pallai, Communication Specialist, at 701.774.4222 or caitlin.pallai@willistonstate.edu.  

For more information on WSC please visit www.willistonstate.edu, call 1.888.863.9455, or stop by 1410 University Avenue, Williston, ND.