Miss Indiana USA is 3 months away, and Lena Pringle is taking her community along for the win

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the dress by Indy-based designer Langston Christopher for Lena Pringle aims to showcase her resilient spirit.

Pringle, a journalist turned beauty queen, is the current crowned Miss Circle City USA, but the dream she is carrying is far bigger than just winning her next pageant. While Pringle is preparing to compete for Miss Indiana USA in less than three months, she’s also building a new platform following a huge career setback in 2023.

“I’m grateful that there are a bunch of other community initiatives that I get to do, and I don’t have to wait on the official sash or crown to make an impact,” Pringle told the Recorder during a conversation at Tea’s Me. “Outside that, (I’m) living my Black life and trying to continue to make a difference in a way that is intentional, authentic and everlasting.”

Pringle knew she wanted a career in journalism at eight years old, and she pursued it with everything she had. Having spent more than a decade in the industry, she made a name for herself at various news stations across the country, eventually landing in Indianapolis.

READ MORE: Meet the Artists 2025: Celebrating 37 years of Black art

However, just 13 months in, Pringle’s three-year contract with a local media outlet unexpectedly came to an end, and she was faced with the decision to either leave Indianapolis — a city she was quickly falling in love with — or stay and find a new career.

That choice was a scary one. Afterall, Pringle underwent several years of extensive speech therapy to even be able to navigate the profession. Journalism was a large part of Pringle’s identity, and now it was gone.

“It was a choice of either surround and cry or create a new dream,” Pringle said. “Journalism was my identity, and I realized that I had to be free from that and released into a season where I got to see my identity flourish in a bunch of different ways.”

So, Pringle got to work.

As a journalist, Pringle spent a lot of time covering the Miss USA pageants, and though her friends encouraged her to enter Miss South Carolina USA and Miss Florida USA, she refused.

“Every year that she tried to get me to do it, I was like, ‘No, I’m a journalist. I’m not a pageant queen,’” Pringle said. “A lot of that was rooted in fear because I never saw anybody that looks like me, and I didn’t have any interest in conforming who I was to be a part of pageantry.”

However, in 2019, Pringle would watch the Miss Universe, Miss USA, Miss America and Miss Teen USA crowns all go to women of color.

God had cleared her path to be reborn as an artist, she said. Pringle’s new goal was clear.

And when she told one of her best friends, Andrea Butler, Butler’s response was along the lines of “Well, you’ve always done that.”

“To me, she always kind of carried what a queen would carry in terms of her authenticity, her love for the community, and then her love for just being a good person,” Butler said.

Butler, chief creative strategist of Uncut Gems Agency, met Pringle in 2016 when they both worked for WATCH Fox 57 and said Pringle always prioritized her community, health and wellness. She spoke life into Butler and uplifted those around her.

For 16 months, Pringle built her new platform around community. Pringle’s Powerhouse Pageantry will eventually be the launching pad for philanthropy as she develops the idea that art is within everybody, and the way people use their gifts to uplift others and better the world is art in and of itself.

Pringle boldly went out into her new community with the goal of being seen, whether it was “here, there, your mama house or your grandma house,” she said. She didn’t have to be hosting the news, but she would be hosting events and walking runways.

Since November of 2023, Pringle has walked in Paris Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Midwest Fashion week and six other runway shows. She judged Miss Indiana State Fair Queen and Miss Indiana USA in 2024, and this year, Pringle will be the first judge to contestant for Miss Indiana USA.

However, Pringle is not blind to the irony in competing for the Miss Indiana USA crown as a transplant Hoosier.

“Because this is the crossroads of my life, and I’m in the crossroads of America,” she explained. “I’m going to do something that hasn’t ever been done here as a person that wasn’t birthed here.”

Pringle understands her purpose to inspire others through her passion, according to Bryson Davis-Johnson, CEO of Ajani Sportswear and Paradigm by Ajani.

“Because she does that so unapologetically, opportunities have just been popping up for her,” Davis-Johnson said. “She’s very intentional with her time. She’s very intentional with her connections. She knows how to get in the right rooms and when all she needs is an opportunity. If you give her five to 10 minutes to talk to you, you will be locked in.”

The first designer Pringle ever walked for, the aforementioned Langston Christopher, now designs her evening gown for Miss Indiana USA pageant. She’s enlisted the help of Paige Robinson, Miss Teen Indiana USA 2017, to design her interview outfit. She’s also worked with a local media company for a documentary set to premier Feb. 7 and will be the host for Indy Ignite.

“Because I know that I am going to have a reign that’s unlike any other, I wanted to start custom and work with people who are a part of the ecosystem that I want to help elevate and give them their flowers as well,” Pringle said.

The 2025 Miss Indiana USA pageant takes place April 3-5 at Noblesville High School. Tickets go on sale March 5 and online fan voting opens March 1. For more information visit missindianateenusa.com/pageant25event.

To follow along on Lena Pringle’s journey, follow her at @lenapringle_ on Instagram and TikTok, @LenaPringleTV on Facebook or visit thelenapringle.com.

Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.