Kelsie Patrick, of Buchanan, will be one of more than 75 young women from across the state competing for the title of Miss Michigan USA this weekend.

The pageant, scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Port Huron, will determine who moves on to the Miss USA Pageant in June in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

A local pageant veteran, Patrick has several titles to her name including Miss Teen Blossomtime 2009, Miss Buchanan 2012 and Miss Apple Festival 2013.

Patrick is looking forward to competing on the big stage.

“I am extremely excited because I think it will be a great experience,” she said. “I’ve never participated in a pageant like it before. I feel like I will learn a lot and meet a lot of great girls.”

The daughter of Cory and Tammy Patrick, Kelsie is a junior at Michigan State University where she is studying to become a sports journalist.

She is currently working as a sideline reporter for the Big Ten Network and has an internship with WKAR television. She’s also an associate producer for a radio program called Living Full Out.

Her biggest thrill was covering a press conference with MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio.

“I almost passed out,” Patrick said. “I love him as a coach and was so excited to be in that press

conference with him and to meet him. It was such an amazing feeling.

“Being in front of the camera and reporting is such a thrill because that is my goal — to be a sideline reporter. The fact that I get to do it now is an amazing feeling.”

Patrick said she is surprised by the amount of professional opportunities she has gotten so far, including being the youngest person with the Big Ten Network.

She attributes a lot of her success to her mother’s influence and the experience she has had competing in pageants.

“Being in pageantry really has helped my public speaking and interviewing skills tremendously,” she said. “I’ve been in so many interviews because of pageants and if it weren’t for those I wouldn’t know how to properly conduct myself in an interview. I am so comfortable with myself and speaking in front of other people now. Pageantry has given me that confidence.”

Miss Michigan USA is not televised. For more information, visit the pageant’s website at missmichiganusa.com.