Snow Queen Macie Luce and Junior Snow Queen Amelia Currington hope to be role models for youth

Miss Wolsey-Wessington Macie Luce has been crowned the 2022 South Dakota Snow Queen. It's the fourth time in the franchise's history that a former Junior Snow Queen has won the title.

Luce, who is a senior at Wolsey-Wessington High School, was previously crowned Junior Snow Queen in 2019.

But it didn't come easy: Saturday evening's competition was tough, said Luce.

"It's just really exciting, you know, to end up being crowned. But also I'm super honored," said Luce.

Over the next year, Luce will travel to different areas in South Dakota and Minnesota and with 2022 South Dakota Junior Snow Queen Miss Faulkton Amelia Currington, who is a freshman at Faulkton Area High School, to fulfill their duties as titleholders. Most of the festivals will take place in Minnesota, said Luce.

Related: Miss Wolsey-Wessington is 2022 Snow Queen

The first Snow Queen was crowned in 1947. Winners are selected based on different factors, such as answers to interview and on-stage questions. The titleholders then serve as ambassadors to various festivals and events at the local and state level.

During the competition, Currington said her favorite question was what she would pick if she had to choose between a heart, a brain or courage, à la "Wizard of Oz." Her answer?

"Courage, because you need to have courage to show your heart and you need to have courage to show your brain," said Currington.

Luce's favorite was her on-stage question, where she was asked about her favorite vacation. The first thing that came to mind was a trip she took with her dad to see the University of Kansas Jayhawks basketball team when she was in the fifth grade. The Jayhawks are her and her dad's favorite basketball team, and they were able to score courtside tickets to a sold out show.

Luce and Currington hope to be role models

Aside from being titleholders, Luce and Currington are both busy:

Luce enjoys spending her free time playing on her school's basketball, volleyball, cheer and track teams. She is also her school's student body president. She will begin her first year as a freshman at Northern State University in the fall where she pursue a double major in elementary education and special education. After that, she hopes to get a master's degree in speech pathology and possibly become a teacher.

"If I'm working with children, that's all that matters," said Luce.

Luce has always known that she wanted to work with kids, and spends her summers counseling at different day camps.

Similarly, Currington has considered a career that involves working with kids.

"I don't know if I could see myself being a teacher, but maybe something to do with how kids grow and learn," said Currington.

Related: Miss Faulkton crowned Junior Snow Queen

Currington's favorite class that she has taken is a human development class, which gave her the opportunity to work with kindergarteners at the school. She is also interested in music and plays clarinet in her school's band. Currington works as a waitress at a local steakhouse as well.

They'll have a few more events to add to their rosters this year as titleholders, with Currington being most excited about the Minneapolis Aquatennial. That event takes place during the third week of July. They will also have several events throughout the year in Aberdeen, such as the Brown County Fair.

Luce and Currington both said they are looking forward to representing South Dakota throughout the next year and experiencing personal growth. Some of their main responsibilities include holding each other accountable, being present and being good role models.

"Empowering young women is huge for this program," said Luce. "That's what it's all about."

"Our little phrase is a really good one," added Currington. "'Be the light,' like be the role model. Be the person that someone can look up to."

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Snow Queen, Junior Snow Queen hope to be role models for children