Bailey Nguyen said she never saw herself as the beautiful girl on the float waving down at the crowd below her. She never saw herself as the girl with the princess wave, gliding across a pageant stage. Despite this, Nguyen has found herself as the winner of the Miss UL Lafayette 2026 pageant and made history as the first Asian American winner of the competition.
Last year was her first pageant, entering it on a whim. Nguyen said she didn’t know anything about it, only that she wanted to compete for fun, make new friends and get a confidence boost. She ended up winning third runner-up, surprising herself.
The senior majoring in kinesiology said initially she didn’t know if she was going to compete again, but after encouragement from friends, she ultimately decided to…