Sophia Kellstrom, formerly Miss Gastonia, was recently crowned Miss North Carolina.
Now, she is preparing to represent the Tar Heel State on stage while competing for the title of Miss America.
According to Kellstrom, she initially got into pageantry as a way to expand her network as a non-profit organizer.
At just 6 years old, Kellstrom began collecting change anywhere she could find it. With the help of some friends, she said she was quickly collecting enough change to feed an entire orphanage for a weekend.
In 2008, her organization, Pennies for Heaven, became an official 501c3, sparking her love for community service.
Sophia Kellstrom stocks a “blessing box,” with food and goods in Cleavland County, North Carolina.
“The way that I got started, I was picking up all of the change that I could find in couch cushions, passing things on the sidewalk. People would not even look at a penny on the sidewalk twice because it was socially deemed insignificant, but I knew that in large quantity, that would amount to so much more and be able to change somebody’s life,” she said. “In three months time of us collecting all of the change we could find, we were able to feed an entire orphanage for a weekend. Spurred on by that success, 19 years later, here we are.”
As a teen, Kellstrom learned about Miss America and how other young community organizers were using the platform to further their community service initiatives. She thought if she could get to the national stage, she could play an even larger role in ending child hunger, she said.
Kellstrom started in pageants at 17 years old. After graduating from Kings Mountain High School in 2017, she continued competing for Miss North Carolina while working toward a bachelors degree in theater and communications at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
She has competed for the title of Miss North Carolina a total of five times and won titles like Miss Gastonia, Miss Asheville, Miss Metrolina, Miss Mecklenburg County and most recently, Miss Davidson County.
Sophia Kellstrom poses in her sash after being crowned Miss North Carolina at a competition on June 28, 2025.
In June, Kellstrom competed again for Miss North Carolina and was officially crowned on June 28.
Winning the title after many years of work and preparation felt, “completely surreal,” she said.
From Sept. 2-7, Kellstrom will represent North Carolina at the Miss America 2026 competition in Orlando, Florida. The event will stream on YouTube.
In the meantime, Kellstrom said her schedule is packed with opportunities to assist with volunteer efforts in North Carolina and she plans to continue her work in the community.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Miss North Carolina to compete in Miss America Pageant
