Andrea Johnson/MDN Sidni Kast from Minot will be continuing her studies in a physical therapy doctoral program at the University of North Dakota while making appearances this year as Miss North Dakota.

Minot High and Minot State University graduate Sidni Kast said she wants to take a holistic approach to health that focuses on mind, body and soul during her tenure as Miss North Dakota.

The importance of health was her “social impact initiative,” the current term for the more old-school platform. Kast will be traveling across the state and will give presentations on how to get more healthy to school children and business groups.

With elementary children, she will focus on the importance of being kind to others, getting outside and away from devices and focusing on just being a kid. With teens, she will focus on being authentic and caring more about how they perceive themselves than about the image others have of them. That message particularly resonates with Kast, who said she didn’t feel she was really her authentic self when she ran the first time for Miss North Dakota and placed in the top 10. When she decided to run a second time, she was determined to just be herself and decided “the rest would shine through.”

Kast took two years off to work and earn money after she graduated from Minot State before she enrolled in a physical therapy doctoral program at the University of North Dakota.

Kast plans to continue her studies in the doctoral program over the next year while she is also making appearances as Miss North Dakota. She said she is aware that it will be a challenging year but she will benefit from the strong support of the Miss North Dakota governing board as well as the professors in her doctoral program at UND. The officials with Miss North Dakota are supportive of her continuing her studies, and the professors at UND are supportive of her work as Miss North Dakota.

Kast said she has already met some amazing people and enjoys talking to groups and meeting people all over the state.

She had never thought of competing in a pageant until she was crowned Miss Norsk Hostfest in 2019. She started competing for scholarship opportunities and said she is glad she did because of all the people she has met and the opportunities she has been given.

During the Miss North Dakota pageant, she also was able to combine her mother’s love for classical music with her dad’s love of rock and roll when she performed “Somebody to Love” by Queen. Her dad, Scott, and mom, Brenda, were in the audience to cheer her on.

Kast said she still has another year of classroom work before she will do her physical therapy clinicals and is not yet sure where she wants to specialize. She was attracted to the field by her interest in sports rehabilitation — she was a swimmer and softball player in high school — and women’s health.

Kast is available to make appearances at schools, businesses and other events over the next year. She will be competing in the Miss America pageant in Connecticut this December. She said sponsors to help pay for the associated expenses also would be helpful. Those who are interested in being sponsors or in having her present at a school or an event can learn more by accessing the Miss North Dakota website.