Passionate about Inclusion
Abigail Vogeler, Miss Moorhead, gets cozy with Snowlaf, the Frostival mascot of the Moorhead Business Association.
Abigail Vogeler dances. She sings. She loves being involved in theatre.
But what’s even closer to the heart of the 21-year-old Concordia College senior, who was crowned Miss Moorhead last fall, is her personal passion to open doors for young people with disabilities, both visible and invisible … people, she says, like herself.
Competing in the Miss Moorhead Pageant during Greater Moorhead Days has given the 17th Miss Moorhead both a stage and a platform for her social concerns. Since then, she has spent time away from her studies in biology and theatre as an ambassador for the city. From wearing her crown in the Cobber homecoming parade to helping kick off the Christmas season at Moorhead’s Holiday Bash last week, Abigail has made the most of her moment as royalty.
The Buffalo, Minnesota, native was one of two young women crowned during the event, which Amber Nelson of Moorhead has directed since its inception in 2007. Abigail competed in the local affiliate of the Miss Minnesota and Miss America pageants, open to women ages 19 to 26. Jillian Bain was named winner in the younger category, Miss Moorhead Outstanding Teen, for girls 13 through 18.
Both will represent the city in upcoming state pageants — Jillian in Chaska, Minnesota, in March, and Abigail in Eden Prairie in June.
For Abigail, the pageant world was a revelation: “This was my first Miss America affiliate competition — my first pageant of any kind,” she says, “and I won it! I was so excited.” But taking the stage was nothing new. In a way, she has been preparing for this all her life.
“I loved watching ballerinas when I was little,” she remembers. That led to eight years of ballet lessons, starting when she was six. She took part in competitive dance for several years in high school, then was drawn into musicals, plays and mock trials as she grew older. “That’s when I discovered my love for theatre,” she says. Her favorite role to date was in Concordia’s fall musical, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” in which she served as co-choreographer as well as part of the dance ensemble.
Singing has always been part of her life. She is a lead soprano in the 12-member ensemble Harmonia. As a contestant, she sang “In My Dreams” from the musical “Anastasia.”
But performing isn’t Abigail’s only talent. As Miss Moorhead, she has gained a platform from which she can share the cause about which she is passionate — advocating for inclusion, opportunities and social access for people with disabilities, both visible and invisible. She adds, “People like me.”
Abigail is profoundly deaf. Her hearing slowly disappeared, starting at the age of 3; today she wears hearing aids. She was also diagnosed two years ago with autism.
Those invisible disabilities have made her identify deeply with others who share physical, sensory, developmental and mental health challenges. That led her to co-found Sonder, a student organization at Concordia that offers students with (and without) disabilities a place to connect and discuss what matters most. “What you see on the outside is not always a reflection of what’s inside,” she emphasizes. “People come out of our group knowing they are not alone.”
As pageant director, Amber Nelson relishes the opportunity to meet and mentor young women like Abigail and Jillian. A social worker by day, she works with her mother, Shelley Bunkowske, and sister Melissa Kroetsch to pull together the annual competition, which is held at Horizons Middle School.
Unlike many similar competitions, Miss Moorhead and Miss Moorhead Outstanding Teen are what’s called “open pageants.” Neither is limited to Moorhead residents: “Any girl who lives, works or goes to school in Minnesota can compete here,” Amber explains. That decision dates back to the pageant’s beginning, based in part on the presence of thousands of college students raised in other communities.
Running pageants has always been a passion and a pastime in Amber’s family. She and her sister grew up watching their mother stage local festival pageants in Vergas, where she still lives; they watched many of her winners go on to compete in Miss Minnesota. After accompanying her to countless events, Amber and Melissa have carried on the family tradition ever since.
“I’ve never been a contestant myself. I like working behind the scenes,” Amber emphasizes. In that role, she not only works to recruit and prepare contestants but to find sponsors like Brutus Brickhouse, Cash Wise, Buffalo Wild Wings, Gateway Chevrolet, Erbert and Gerbert’s, Bell Bank and Morton Buildings. She is also involved in a mentorship program for younger girls from 3 to 12 called Moorhead Princesses. Its motto: “All little girls are princesses in Moorhead.”
To some degree, the local directors are carrying on against the tide, with the 2023 contest drawing the smallest number of contestants that she can remember. The numbers of entrants are diminishing all across the state, she says. It’s an issue that perplexes her and her counterparts in the 23 cities or regions expected to send contestants to the state pageant next summer. She suspects that the decision to move the Miss America pageant last year from broadcast television to streaming on Peacock may be at the root of the trend.
But when the next Miss America is crowned on Dec. 15, she predicts that legions of girls will be mesmerized by the extravaganza, as little girls have been for 101 years. They’ll be watching Rachel Evangelisto, the first Indigenous woman crowned Miss Minnesota, compete on one of the nation’s best-known stages. And when they reach the age for spreading their wings and testing their own talents, the Miss Moorhead and Miss Moorhead Outstanding Teen pageant will welcome them to the spotlight.
For more information on the local pageant program as well as Moorhead Princesses, go to www.moorheadpageants.com.