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Miss Iowa USA reminds WACO students “anything is possible”
Miss Iowa Hayley Buettell shared a message of hope in endless possibilities with WACO Elementary students in a recent visit
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
CRAWFORDSVILLE — WACO Elementary students received a royal reminder to dream big on Thursday, Sept. 18, when newly crowned Miss Iowa USA, Hayley Buettell, stepped into their classrooms with a message she once wished someone had shared with her.
“I had the pleasure of visiting WACO Elementary,” Buettell said. “As a child, I so desperately needed a message of hope, so that’s exactly what was delivered today. We read my favorite children’s book, Maybe, and chatted about what makes each of us uniquely special, what our dreams are and how to overcome life’s challenges to achieve them.”
The book, Maybe: A Story About the Endless Potential in All of Us by Kobi Yamada, offered words that seemed to capture the spirit of Buettell’s visit:
“Your life is yours. Try as many things as you can try. See as much as you can see. Wherever you go, take your hopes, pack your dreams, and never forget — it is on journeys that discoveries are made.”
Students eagerly responded, sharing ambitions of becoming football players, taxidermists and beauty queens. Buettell said their confidence and imagination energized her.
“I loved watching their faces light up as they explained their big dreams,” she said. “We have so much to learn from children and their zest for life and confidence. It was exactly what I needed in this crazy time of preparing for Miss USA.”
She also left a handwritten message in one student’s notebook: ““Stop asking yourself what you should do and start asking what was I made for.”
Her encouragement carried even more weight in light of her own story.
“My childhood was far from fairytales and rainbows,” Buettell said. “I grew up in poverty, emotionally neglected, with little opportunity. I always knew I was destined for more and was determined to make it happen. Thinking about that little girl enduring things I wouldn’t wish upon anyone makes me incredibly emotional. If she could see what we became, if she could see that her pain had purpose, if she knew we would stand as representative of women and girls just like her on the Miss USA stage, I know she would be over the moon.”
Buettell said she carries that perspective with her every time she speaks.
“I’m walking the Miss USA stage for all the little girls and women fighting through their trauma, breaking generational patterns and creating their own destiny,” Buettell said. “I stand as living proof that your past does not have to determine your potential. You are more than capable of your wildest dreams, so let’s go chase them together.”
Hayley Buettell’s mother, Teran Buettell — who works for Great Prairie AEA and supports WACO students — said her daughter’s persistence has been a defining trait.
“It takes courage to pursue your dreams,” she said. “Hayley has always been willing to take risks and pursue what she wanted with a vengeance … She has always been tenacious when she sets her sights on something.”
That determination surfaced early.
Hayley’s mother told a story of one winter afternoon when Hayley joined her older siblings in building a snow ramp that launched off the family’s tree fort.
They packed the snow tight, creating a slick runway with a jump at the end. Hayley begged to join in the fun, and her siblings obliged. But when she hit the ramp, she soared farther than anyone expected — high enough to clear the fence and land in the neighbor’s yard.
“She was eager to be a part of their antics, and they were happy to let her participate,” her mother, Teran, recalled. “Before long, I heard calls from the yard for me to come and help. I came around the tree, following her voice, to discover her standing in the neighbor’s fully fenced yard, crying because she could not figure out how to get back to ours.”
When Teran asked how she had ended up there, Hayley’s brother sheepishly admitted they hadn’t expected her to fly so high that she cleared the fence. After being rescued, Hayley’s tears dried quickly, and she made her case to try again. The answer was no, but the moment captured a truth about her: she was fearless, persistent and unwilling to back down from a challenge.
That same spirit carried into her teenage years. Hayley chose to leave behind a winning track team to help launch a brand-new soccer program at Mediapolis High School, knowing the season would likely come with more losses than victories.
It wasn’t about the guarantee of success but about building something from the ground up.
She also earned her associate degree before finishing high school, a milestone that reflected her drive to push herself further. When she tried out for cheer, she impressed the older girls with her enthusiasm and commitment, landing a varsity spot as a freshman while most of her peers were assigned to junior varsity.
Through each step, Hayley built a reputation for resilience and passion — a young woman who refused to let fear of failure stop her from taking risks, whether it was soaring over a snowbank, stepping onto a new playing field, or chasing academic goals.
Crowned Miss Iowa USA on Aug. 10, Buettell is a lifelong Iowan who grew up in Waterloo before moving to Morning Sun. She graduated from Mediapolis High School and studied art at the University of Iowa.
Today she lives in Tiffin with her corgi, Aspen. Fitness is one of her passions — she manages and teaches at Pure Barre — and she channels her creativity into Forget Me Not, an online thrift store she founded to promote sustainability and personal style through vintage finds.
She also volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and in quieter moments, enjoys reading, cooking new recipes and spending time with loved ones.
In everything she does, Yamada’s words from Maybe continue to ring true, “You are the only you there ever has been or ever will be,” the book reads. “You are unique in all the universe … and maybe you are just getting started.”
For Buettell, sharing those words with WACO students was deeply personal.
“We read about what makes us unique and how to overcome life’s challenges. We dreamed big together,” she said.
As the WACO Warriors headed back to class, they carried more than a storybook and an autograph from Miss Iowa USA. They carried a reminder that “because you are here, anything is possible.”
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
