The newest member of Dowagiac’s royal sisterhood will be crowned later this month, as the Miss Dowagiac Scholarship Pageant hosts its 76th ceremony on Jan. 24.

Over the next several weeks, the Dowagiac Daily News will feature the profiles of the 12 ladies vying for the crown.

This year’s pageant will begin at 7 p.m. inside the Dowagiac Middle School Performing Arts Center.

Tickets for the event are available inside the office of the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce, inside the Dowagiac train depot.

Next up is contestant number three:

Name: Riley Saylor

Contestant Number: 3

Age: 17

Height: 5’4

Eye Color: Blue

Parents/Guardians: John and Lisa Saylor

Brothers/Sisters: Bryce, age 14, and Erick, age 10

School Attending: Dowagiac Union High School

Grade: 12

School Activities: Choir

Outside Activities: Church choir, Relay for Life, nursing home, youth ministry at church

Interests and Hobbies: Singing, Horses

Awards and Honors: Honor roll, Choir awards

Three words to describe you: Caring, fun, honest

What are your ambitions and plans after graduation? My ambitions and plans after graduation are to go to school to become a dental hygienist, and then work my way up to become an orthodontist.

What is your greatest accomplishment(s)? My greatest accomplishment, I believe, is yet to be accomplished.

Why did you decide to compete for the title of Miss Dowagiac? I decided to compete for the title of Miss Dowagiac 2015 because I felt it’d be a good learning experience and also a good way to build stronger friendships with girls I don’t always talk to at school.