Although she will always be a "Southern End girl," Kathryn Davis is excited to extend her reach to Berks County.

Kathryn was crowned Miss Greater Reading's Teen 2025 at Governor Mifflin High School, Shillington, on Feb. 15.

A 2024 graduate of Lampeter-Strasburg High School, Kathryn recently completed her reign as Miss Lancaster County's Teen 2024. In the Miss America system, residents of Pennsylvania are eligible to take part in any competition in the state.

Kathryn has fond memories of attending the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum's World War II Weekend in Reading, where her father, Tim, was a re-enactor. "I loved going to the Reading airshow," she said. "Berks was the closest option. It was the next-best thing that wasn't my hometown."

When Kathryn's name was announced as the winner, her fellow competitors reacted with the same joy as if they had prevailed. "It was a sigh of relief," said Kathryn. "When I won Lancaster, it was my first pageant ever. I wasn't expecting it, and I was in shock. For this one it was like, 'Oh my gosh! I did it!' I was just so grateful."

In her role as Miss Greater Reading's Teen, Kathryn will spend the year attending several events in Berks County, including the airshow.

Kathryn earned the opportunity to participate in the Miss Pennsylvania's Teen competition, which will be held Sunday, June 15, to Saturday, June 21, at Appell Center for the Performing Arts, York.

"Miss America has gone through some rebranding in recent years where looks are no longer the focus of what your score compilation is," said Kathryn's mother, Jozlyn Grodski. "The main part of your score is made up of your judges' interview. While evening gown is still a portion of it, it's not as big a part of your score as how well you speak and present yourself."

Kathryn added, "It's about who you are and not how you look."

Miss Greater Reading's Teen was Kathryn's third competition of the year. After participating in Miss Philadelphia, she was a last-minute entrant in the Miss Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Competition because that contest needed one more person to qualify as an official event. Kathryn brought home the People's Choice award from the Miss Central Pennsylvania competition.

Jozlyn said before Kathryn started her scholarship competition journey, they "were not a 'pageant family.'" They certainly are now.

Kathryn is grateful for the support of her "pageant family": her mom and stepdad, Jozlyn and Reid Grodski; dad, Tim Davis; younger brothers, Mace Davis and TJ Davis; and older sister, Audrey Davis.

"It's a family thing," Kathryn said. "Even though I'm the one in the sash and crown and I'm the one the public sees, it's all of us working together to make this happen."

Kathryn first became interested in participating in scholarship competitions when she and some friends attended the Miss Solanco scholarship pageant in 2023. "I saw the girls on stage, and I was in awe of them," she said.

Kathryn had an ideal community service initiative (CSI) with Phlebotomy Fam, an organization that she co-founded with Jozlyn to bring attention to blood donation events.

The idea for Phlebotomy Fam came about in part because of her family's tradition of donating blood and because of a first-hand experience in 2021. Kathryn suffered a concussion and 30 friends in a Lives Changed by Christ (LCBC) youth group also sustained injuries in a bus crash on the way home from a retreat.

A nurse later told Kathryn and Jozlyn that blood drives are happening all the time, but seats go unfilled because people don't know where to go. "We decided we wanted to be an amplifier for those existing blood drives so people would know where and what time blood drives were happening," Jozlyn said. Kathryn said she cried tears of joy when the Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania partnered with Phlebotomy Fam.

Kathryn, who is working as a day care teacher, has studied at Debbie's School of Dance since she was 2 and will pursue a career as a professional dancer. Kathryn plans to attend either DeSales University, Penn State (main campus), or Temple University in the fall. "The goal is to become a Radio City Rockette," she said.

Miss Pennsylvania's Teen competitors are tasked with attracting business sponsors. Kathryn has set a goal of raising $5,000. The woman who raises the most money is recognized at the state level. All the money goes directly to scholarships for women in Pennsylvania.

For more information about local scholarship competitions and Phlebotomy Fam, go to https://MissKathrynDavis.com.

"It's really great to see what a community can do when they have something to rally around," Kathryn said. "Being able to represent them not only as Miss Lancaster County's Teen, but now as Miss Greater Reading's Teen expands my reach in how I can help others and how others can help and support me. It's so heartwarming, and it gives me so much hope. The power of that hope has transformed me as a person, and I see how much that hope has affected my community."