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Being Neighborly | Meet Miss Gig Harbor, on a mission to remove barriers to learning

Being Neighborly

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With a sash, a tiara, and a heart full of concern for the youth of the community, Alyse Yeaman is showing up at local events or any place she can spread her message. She wants to remove the barriers that hinder learning for area K-12 students.

The regalia — the sash, tiara, etc. — is part of her title as Miss Gig Harbor for the America Strong Pageant System. She said the title has given her a platform to spread awareness of those barriers.

For 22 years she’s been sharing her love of art with students, teaching at Gig Harbor High School, Life Christian School and to some local homeschooled students. She’s been the organizer of Tide Fest at GHHS for 10 years, and has seen the power of community through that event.

She said Tide Fest, which showcases local artists and vendors during the pre-holiday shopping season, raises about $50,000 for the clubs at the school.

Alyse Yeaman pursued the title of Miss Gig Harbor in the America Strong Pageant System to highlight barriers that hinder learning for K-12 students. Photo by Marsha Hart

Food inequality

First on her list of barriers to student learning is food inequality. When her students began showing up to her classroom hungry, she looked for a way to provide snacks. Then she decided that more hands make less work, so to speak.

She hopes to get as many businesses as possible on board with her mission to provide food to students.

“What I’ve noticed is that students can’t learn if they’re hungry, and they’re less likely to progress,” said Yeaman, a 1997 Gig Harbor grad. “Having food available changes the outcome. No matter how much money you have, being hungry is being hungry. I feel that there is a gap there.”

She set up a food pantry for students, one of the ways that she began to address the problem. But she wants to do more.

Twice a year Yeaman creates an Amazon wishlist to fill the pantries. She has given lectures to other educators on how to create food pantries and solicit donations through wishlists.

“I envision doing this for all 13 schools in our district,” she said. “I’ve made videos and lectures on how to do it, so the more people I can get in front of, the better.”

Yeaman she said that Morso and Revitalize Metabolic Health Specialities have been the biggest supporters. But she said anyone can help.

“Drop something off at any school,” she said. “Anything would help, whether it’s a box of granola bars, or other snacks, and another big need is hygiene items. It all goes directly to the kids.”

What is the America Strong Pageant?

Yeaman hopes that once she has tackled this barrier to learning, she can continue on to other issues as Miss Washington for America Strong. The pageant will be held in Olympia, and then will move on to Las Vegas in August, she said.

The America Strong Pageant started in 2019. It is for single, divorced or widowed women over the age of 18, and its motto is “Making a Difference.”

Yeaman said her sister inspired her to pursue the Miss Gig Harbor title.

“I needed to figure out a way to feed kids at school as a teacher, and I witnessed my sister (Jane Beeson) as Miss Washington America get awareness out about suicide prevention,” Yeaman said. “Her crown and title helped open doors, so I wanted to talk about removing barriers to learning.”

If Yeaman wins the Miss Washington for America Strong title in March 2025, she will join 50 other contestants in competing to be Miss America Strong.

Alyse Yeaman, an art teacher at Gig Harbor High School, organizes a food pantry for students there. Food insecurity is at the top of her list of barriers to learning.

What’s next

Her care and concern for students doesn’t stop there. Yeaman has been working tirelessly through her involvement with the Black Student Union, Interact Club, which partners with the local Rotary to participate in community service, and Circle of Friends Club, which focuses on suicide prevention.

Once she has successfully addressed the issue of food inequality as Miss Gig Harbor, Yeaman said that she wants to engage in conversations around social and emotional issues, with an emphasis on suicide prevention.

“I want to focus on how students emotionally handle education, and listen to kids and help them,” she said.