4 minute read
Miss Idaho’s Mission to Create a Kinder World
PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAITLYN WIDMYER
BY CHRIS LANGRILL
Kaitlyn Widmyer has packed a lot of life experiences into her 29 years. Now, she wants to use those life experiences to give back to others.
Widmyer, who you may recognize as the current Miss Idaho, competed in volleyball, triple jump, and gymnastics while attending Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene. She went on to graduate as the school’s covaledictorian.
She later attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., where she played volleyball and graduated with degrees in French and finance.
“I went off to college…and then moved back to Coeur d’Alene and really started contributing to my mom’s store,” Widmyer said.
That store is Marmalade, which sells women’s clothing and accessories.
“I’ve always done charity fashion shows, and I’ve always tried to find ways to give back,” Widmyer said. “Philanthropy is a very big part of my life, and it’s a part of my life that my parents instilled in me.”
In the years after returning from college, Widmyer found another way to give back.
“I did this little fashion internship program through the University of Idaho, and that’s when I interviewed and employed Maddie (Madison) Mogen,” Widmyer said. “Reflecting back on that time, I realize how much she helped me grow as a woman and in my role as her boss.”
Unfortunately, their relationship was cut short when Mogen was one of four University of Idaho students who were killed in their off-campus home in the early-morning hours of November 13, 2022.
“When the tragedy happened, we were still texting back and forth, and I was asking her: ‘What are your plans after graduation?’” Widmyer said. “She didn’t really have an older sister…and I just loved Maddie.”
Philanthropy is a very big part of my life, and it’s a part of my life that my parents instilled in me.
That love helped make Widmyer an even more determined young woman. She’s continued to be an overachiever in her own life while also being driven to improve the lives of others.
Widmyer, a veteran of several pageants through the years, was crowned Miss Idaho this past June. Through her years of being in pageants, she learned how to deal with being in the limelight and working with the media.
She realized her background could be useful to the family members of the University of Idaho victims as they dealt with the aftermath of the tragedy.
“There is just so much media surrounding this case, and I feel like in some ways I was divinely positioned to help them navigate the media and everything surrounding it,” Widmyer said.
To do so, Widmyer has joined forces with the Made With Kindness Foundation, which was started by a group of women to honor the three young women who lost their lives in the U of I tragedy.
Perhaps the most high-profile work by Widmyer and Made With Kindness resulted in a December 18 interview on “The Today Show.”
“I’ve been pretty close with Karen Laramie, who is Maddie’s mom,” Widmyer said. “And we’ve really tried to surround her during this time. At one point we asked her, ‘Karen, what do you want?’ And she said, ‘I want to spend the rest of my life talking about my daughter. And I know it’s not going to happen, but I want to talk to Hoda Kotb.’”
Initially, Widmyer was taken aback by the suggestion.
But then Widmyer said, “We’re going to make that happen.”
It took months, but Widmyer and other members of Made With Kindness did make it happen.
It’s that kind of determination that will drive Widmyer as she works with Made With Kindness going forward. Among other projects, the foundation plans to start a scholarship fund for young women.
“Made With Kindness is just a heart project for me,” Widmyer said. “Our goal is to make sure women in Idaho feel safe enough to pursue a higher education.”
