Katie Schreckengast

Miss Pennsylvania 2017

Age: 21

Hometown: Palmyra, Pennsylvania

Platform Issue: Building Families Through Adoption

Talent: Alto Saxophone

College Major: Broadcast Journalism

Scholastic Ambition: To obtain a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism with a minor in communication arts and sciences.

Secret Wish or Dream: I would love to talk about my adoption story on The Ellen Degeneres Show.

My Defining Moment: Last summer, I wrote a blog post that described my feelings about my adoption story. After posting it, people from all across the country began sharing their stories with me. I realized that adoption isn’t talked about as openly or as often as it should be and I knew that the Miss America Organization would be the perfect place for me to continue sharing my story and the stories of other adoptive families.

Bio: Katie is a rising senior studying broadcast journalism at the Pennsylvania State University. As a member of the saxophone section in the Penn State Marching Blue Band, Katie spends her weekends leading the band out of the tunnel to a cheering crowd of 107,000 people. She plays her dad’s alto saxophone and attributes her love of music to him. Katie chose her platform, “Building Families Through Adoption,” because she was adopted from South Korea when she was six months old. She hopes to share her adoption story while also highlighting the stories of adoptive families nationwide.