How Susan DeLano Building Confidence Beyond the Stage

How Susan DeLano Is Building Confidence Beyond the Stage

In modern pageantry, visibility alone is no longer enough. Susan DeLano, the 2025 Elite USA Queen of the World, represents a new model—one defined by strategy, service, and substance.

Susan’s journey began long before national titles. Raised on the values of hard work and responsibility learned on her grandparents’ farms, she developed resilience early. While she often felt different growing up, pageantry offered structure, discipline, and a place to grow.

As a teenager, she competed in the Miss Michigan Teen USA Pageant and later earned the title of Miss Bay County Bean Queen, traveling across the state and earning a scholarship for college. Those early experiences laid the foundation for leadership, communication, and service.

Years later, pageantry re-entered her life through mentorship.

When her daughter asked her to compete in a local scholarship pageant, she stepped back onto the stage with a different perspective—one shaped by life experience, personal struggle, and a long battle with weight that had quietly eroded her confidence.

This struggle shaped the platform and mission that would follow.

The “Girl You Got This” Platform

At the center of her work is Girl You Got This, a confidence-building mentorship platform for women and girls focused on developing self-belief, leadership skills, and resilience. Designed to address the confidence gap many women experience, the platform emphasizes mentorship, education, and service-driven leadership.

Through workshops, volunteer service, and partnerships with local organizations, Girl You Got This operates as a long-term initiative rather than a seasonal platform. Its impact is rooted in action—supporting young girls, empowering women, and modeling leadership through service.

In 2025, she contributed more than 550 volunteer hours to organizations including cancer research foundations, disaster relief efforts, and scholarship pageant systems. Her commitment to service has earned national recognition and positioned her as a leader beyond pageantry.

She approaches visibility with intention—utilizing media, appearances, and partnerships to amplify her platform while honoring the mission of the pageant system she represents.

“A crown is not just recognition,” she says. “It’s responsibility.”

As her reign concludes in January 2026, she is entering a season of reflection, allowing the next chapter to unfold with clarity and purpose. Titles may change, but her mission remains: to build confidence, empower women and girls, and create lasting impact beyond the crown.