DANVILLE, Ky. - Centre College has a lot of student-athletes that not only juggle athletics and academics but also community service and other extracurricular activities. However, sophomore Riley Snowden recently took advantage of an off weekend for the Centre volleyball team to do something a bit different.

The West Jessamine High School graduate wants to eventually compete for Miss Kentucky USA but had not competed in any pageants recently. She found one in Berea and was named both Miss Spoonbread Grand Supreme and Miss Bluegrass South East Kentucky.

"I only competed once, but they awarded certain people with different titles," Snowden, 19, said. "I haven't competed since I was 15, so it has been a hot minute for sure."

Snowden shared her thoughts on her pageant wins and more during a recent break before volleyball practice.

Question: What led you to ever start competing in pageants?

Snowden: "My parents never let me compete when I was younger because they knew that I really only wanted to do it for the crown and to say I won a pageant and wore the pretty dresses. Finally I found a bigger purpose for doing pageants. I started with raising awareness for animal shelters. I volunteered at the neuter clinic and also would walk, feed and play with dogs. I was in the veterinary program in high school but then I kind of switched over to where I wanted to do pharmaceutical sales so I didn't volunteer as much.

"I found a bigger purpose for what I want to do. I am changing my platform into raising awareness for moms who can't afford stuff for their kids. I want to kind of work with the Salvation Army in Danville, or family services. I'm still working on it because I'm still changing it up a little bit  but I figured that's something where I can make a difference.

"I always saw the big girls in crowns, and I always wanted to be like them. I feel like if people see me do something with a purpose and see how passionate I am, then they'll follow in my footsteps as well and hopefully do the same and help my platform."

Question: Is the ultimate goal to be Miss Kentucky USA?

Snowden: "I would hope to compete my senior year. I'm going to try to graduate from Centre a full semester early right now. That semester is the time that I want to fully devote to competing for that title. I've worked hard for it. I've done pageant coaching and stuff like that. I think with more practice and hopefully competing for this title, then the Miss Kentucky Festivals title can qualify me for Miss Kentucky Bluegrass in April. So I'll compete for that but the ultimate goal is to be Miss Kentucky USA."

Question: Do you enjoy being active on social media in part to promote your platform where you have over 20,000 followers on TikTok and 5,000 on Instagram?

Snowden: "That's definitely a huge way that I can promote what I want to do when I finally get everything sorted out. Social media is one of the ways that we communicate with the world. A lot of my friends that I don't see from high school have moved away. I get to communicate with them through that. I think social media is a big part of communicating in the world today. It's very important, and I think hopefully when I get everything situated, that I can spread that message about my platform and gain even more followers so that they can see what matters."

Question: Do you also find time to do modeling, take care of your academic work and play volleyball along with other extracurricular activities?

Snowden: "I started my senior year. Jim Tincher is my photographer and he kind of got me into the modeling thing. We worked on some photo shoots every now and then, and we just did some fun stuff. And then I walked into Vivis, a pageant, prom and bridal dress store in Richmond  where I model today. They were  so welcoming. And so Kentucky group or no, it's a pageant, prom, bridal dress store in Richmond. Sometimes I'll model for them. The owners are Krystin Arnold and Sandy Cyrus. Krystin started this modeling agency, so I signed with her. She's working with me to hopefully go to the Atlanta fall and spring markets to model for a bunch of big dress designers. I hope I get to go. I was going to try a couple of years ago but didn't get to because of volleyball."

Question: Did being a kid who liked pretty dresses and crowns lead to your interest in modeling?

Snowden: "That was right up my alley. As soon as I found out what modeling entails. I was obsessed with it. That's definitely a really big part of the whole pageant thing. I get to do what I love when it comes to modeling, but I think that's just a portion of what's so great about it."

Question: Would you like to eventually be a professional model?

Snowden: "It crosses my mind every now and then. One of my biggest ambitions is to be a great wife and mother, so I think getting a stable income while doing modeling on the side is something that I would definitely be interested in pursuing full time. If it comes where I am a big-time model and get a lot of my income from that, then I would definitely do it. I think it's important to provide for your family and stuff."

Question: What are you majoring in now?

Snowden: "I'm doing business to go along with the pharmaceutical sales I want to do. I made that switch before my senior year in high school. My boyfriend's mom explained how the process works to me. I love to travel. My boyfriend's mom gets to go to New York for work and she recently went to New Orleans. I am obsessed with traveling. I am going to study abroad in Mexico in January and then next year I am going to try to go to Italy. Traveling is big with me, so hopefully with my job I can travel everywhere. That will make me happy and let me do what I love.

"So my plan is to do pharmaceutical sales until I have a family and then maybe go into  full time modeling if that does work out for me. Or maybe I could do something like being a realtor where I could set my own schedule. I'm still trying to iron it out. No one knows what they want to do for the rest of their lives at my age."

Question: Did being a Las Vegas native influence your love for pageants and modeling?

Snowden: "We moved to Nicholasville when I was around five. My sister was only four weeks old. I don't remember a lot about Las Vegas. I do remember certain things about our house and  the dogs that we had when we lived there. But other than that, I don't remember the flight over here (to Kentucky) or anything like that. My dad went to Vegas for his job but they just decided it was better to be closer to home and came back to Kentucky. My mom is from eastern Kentucky and my dad's mom is from Jessamine County but lives in North Carolina now. But it was a lot easier to make the drive there from Nicholasville than flying home from Las Vegas."

Question: So with all you have going on, is volleyball a priority or just a fun activity?

Snowden: "I have played sports all my life, so the competitive drive that I have you can read it off my face. I don't hide my emotions. I love it. It's kind of hard to believe that I was iffy about coming here and playing volleyball. I kind of wanted to go to Clemson and just do my education. And then my best friend Delia (Long of West Jessamine High School) came here. I was iffy about coming because it's such a small school. I'm a very social person, and talking to people is my thing. When I came here, I was just in awe because the athletics were so good, the academics were so prestigious, and I knew that coming out of college I could really do whatever I wanted with a job. It helps that I'm with my best friend.  We've played volleyball together since seventh grade. We played together in high school (and got West Jessamine to the Final Four for the first time).

"The team here has a culture like what West Jessamine had. The way the two programs resemble each other is kind of crazy but was also a big part of why I committed here. The season we had last year when we made the NCAA Tournament was unbelievable. This year we have traveled so much that it has been a little hard to keep up with school and not worry about that while you are at practice because practice is my favorite part of every day. I always look forward to getting on the court and touching the ball. On our off days I'll ask our manager to go get reps. I can't get enough of the gym."

Question: Was volleyball always your sport?

Snowden: I did dance for a really, really long time. I think I danced for six years, and then I played softball for around four years. I never played middle school or high school softball, though, because I fell in love with volleyball as soon as I started playing and that love has never gone away."

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Centre (12-9, 5-6 SAA) plays at Sewanee on Friday before facing Piedmont and Covenant in Lookout Mountain, Ga., on Saturday.