Iakwe & Hello to all. My name is Bathsheba Laraya, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Laraya and baby sister to Walton Laraya.

One of my biggest accomplishments this year was entering the National American Miss (NAM) pageant representing Arkansas. I am proud to announce that I will be attending the NAM pageant as a contestant this year. This is something that I have been working hard for and I am blessed that I get to pursue one of my lifelong dreams.

As my journey begins, I hope to meet new people from different backgrounds, gain knowledge, build self-confidence, poise, and have fun. I realize that there will be obstacles down the road, and I am blessed to know that I have a whole village standing behind me. With the help of my family, friends, community members, leaders, and sponsors, I KNOW I can achieve great things. This will be my first-time attending NAM and I will challenge myself with anything I put my mind to.

I am excited to see where this journey takes me, and I hope you all can join along with me and wish me the best of luck. Thank you all for your continuous support. We are all in this together!

Staying in school is cool!

School: Bayyari Elementary School. Grade: 2nd Hobbies: Reading, designing clothes for dolls, I love to sing, and I love dogs.