Despite losing 13 pageants, Paris Matthews refused to surrender. The Brighton High School grad persisted, eventually winning the titles of Miss North Ogden, Miss Panoramaland, and last June, she was crowned Miss Utah 2024. 

Matthews spent nearly a decade competing in pageants before she had any success, but said the experience of losing time and again was an intense professional development opportunity where she emerged confident and powerful.

“My interview skills grew exponentially. I was such a nervous public speaker,” she said. “By my fifth pageant, I could confidently talk for about a minute on stage, and then I just kept becoming more and more confident. I thought this is fun. I’m getting better. Might as well keep trying. So I never was defeated. I just loved how much I was growing.”

Before winning the title of Miss Utah, Matthews was well on her way to becoming who she wanted to be. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and will graduate from Colorado Technical University with a master’s in health administration this fall.

Matthews works as a child life specialist at Primary Children’s Hospital, where she helps kids cope with hospitalization, scary medical procedures, grief, loss and death. She also published a children’s book in March 2024 titled “Mabel’s Hospital Adventure.” 

“If a child loses their life at the hospital, I help siblings say goodbye,” she said. “We do memory making with mementos like handprints, footprints and hand molds. It’s really beautiful work. It’s tough, but it’s also what I was meant to do.”

Her pageant social impact initiative is also her nonprofit organization, “Power of Play: Advocating for Hospitalized Children.” She started Power of Play to help children adjust to life at a hospital and to bring a sense of joy through toys and play items. Her nonprofit accepts monetary or toy donations at powerofhospitalplay.com.

Matthews spent a lot of time during her Miss Utah experience visiting children’s hospitals, reading her book to elementary school kids, volunteering at numerous events and mentoring youth across the state. 

As she looked back on her Miss Utah reign, Matthews felt incredibly lucky for the opportunity to meet with families, serve the community and enhance the voices of young women. She also realized her life was pretty great, even before she won a pageant title. 

“I learned that I already had this within me. I didn’t need a crown to give me permission to chase my dreams or become who I already was. I have a licensed charity. I wrote a book. I’m in my dream career and these things all happened before I even had a crown. The crown has just given me opportunities to connect with more people.”

Matthews competed at the Miss America 2025 pageant in January. While she didn’t win, she cherished every moment of the event and was excited to cheer on her friend Miss Alabama Abbie Stockard, who won the event. 

She will help crown a new Miss Utah on June 12-14 at the Miss Utah 2025 competition held at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City. At 27, Matthews is ready to move into the next phase of her life, but credits her hometown of Cottonwood Heights for giving her a strong foundation.

“It was such a great place to have a childhood and it started my passion for pursuing higher education because of the education I received in Cottonwood Heights,” she said. “I owe a lot of my success to growing up here, and I still live here.” λ