Miss Chain of Lakes is the founding title of this scholarship program and was named for the regional park in the northern part of the Twin Cities. The Rice Creek Chain of Lakes runs through several communities including Lino Lakes, Centerville, Lexington, Circle Pines, and Blaine. Lakes included are Peltier, George Watch, Centerville, Rice, Reshaunau and Baldwin Lake. The scholarship program focuses on interconnections between people and organizations. Our mission is to connect our participants with people who can help them pursue big audacious goals. A legacy has started with Chain of Lakes with a traveling charm bracelet that is passed from titleholder to titleholder to mark the connections between alumni of the Chain of Lakes title.
Miss Capital City represents the Saint Paul and surrounding area. This title was re-started in 2020 as our organization expanded to provide more opportunities for the exemplary young women who take part in our program.
Miss Monarch is a new title started in 2023, expanding to provide opportunities for young women who are new to the organization and have not yet won a local title for their category. It is way to encourage young women who are new to the organization to succeed.
Miss Capital City represents the Saint Paul and surrounding area. This title was re-started in 2020 as our organization expanded to provide more opportunities for the exemplary young women who take part in our program.
Miss Monarch is a new title started in 2023, expanding to provide opportunities for young women who are new to the organization and have not yet won a local title for their category. It is way to encourage young women who are new to the organization to succeed.
Executive Director, Miss: Katherine Majkrzak, whose hobbies include gardening and wine making, is a big fan of transformation. Her involvement with the Miss America Organization started when her daughter competed for the first time in 2007. Together, they have shared this journey of growth and transformation. Katherine leads a team of volunteers for the Rice Creek Watershed Stream Health Evaluation Program through the Friends of the Mississippi. Now retired, Katherine was an analyst in the medical device industry for over 30 years, teaching quality processes and problem solving. She has served on executive boards for Sigma Alpha Iota and YMCA. Prior to entering the corporate world, she freelanced as a composer, vocalist and choral conductor in the Twin Cities. During that time, she wrote music and produced numerous concerts with a consortium of composers. She has written commissioned works for Twin Cities ensembles and collaborated with poets and choreographers to stage works at Landmark Center, Minneapolis Institute of Arts and other venues in the metro area. She served as composer in residence through the Faith Partners program, through the American Composers Forum. Her undergraduate and graduate degrees are in Music Theory/Composition from the University of Minnesota. She performed in a six week USO tour in Germany and was an exchange student in Brazil. Katherine and her husband, Darrell, live by one of the Chain of Lakes and enjoy seeing the wildlife who visit their yard from time to time. They love to travel and have visited all 50 states as well as far off places such as Galapagos, Cuba, Chile, Peru, Morocco, and many countries in Europe.
Executive Director, Teen: Rachel Eron has held the titles of Miss River Valley, Miss Chain of Lakes and Miss Heartland. During her time with those titles, she demonstrated her leadership in mentoring other candidates. She has volunteered with Girls Inc, InSciEd Out, and more, teaching science concepts to young people in the Twin Cities area. Rachel created science content for Public Access TV and hosts Science Parties, reaching people across the state of Minnesota and exciting an interest in STEM everywhere she goes. She works as an engineer in the medical device industry. A 2020 graduate from the University of Minnesota: Twin Cities, she completed a double major Engineering and Computer Science. During college, she was involved in Collegiate Synchronized Skating, 3-D printing and Solidworks labs, and was a teaching assistant for python and project management courses. She worked with a team at the Institute for Engineering in Medicine to 3-D print a young boy a workable prosthetic arm, confirming her desire to change the world with innovation. Rachel was co-president of Minnovate, a student group based on innovation and connecting students to industry faster. She created the Minnovate Industry Readiness Program; a semester-long weekly course teaching students prototyping and project skills, for which Rachel returns often as an industry mentor. In her free time, Rachel loves to play with her dog Pepper, garden, and work on DIY house projects. She stays active by playing volleyball, rock climbing, and swimming with the Minnesota Loons, an underwater hockey team.
Master of Ceremonies: Aja Majkrzak has performed with many regional orchestras and is currently concertmaster of the East Metro Symphony Orchestra and section violin in the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. Her orchestral experiences have given her the opportunity to share the stage with many fine soloists, including Leila Josefowicz, Gil Shaham, Harry Connick Jr. and Audra McDonald. While orchestral playing is the focus of her career, Aja also performs with the Cuban jazz group, Charanga Tropical. In June 2015 she traveled to Havana, Cuba with the group to become the first band from the US to participate in the International Danzon Festival. She is a faculty member at the Saint Paul Conservatory of Music, and an Artist Member of Thursday Musical. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2011 with a Bachelor's of Music and Louisiana State University in 2013 with a Master's of Music. While in Louisiana, Aja performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Louisiane. Aja competed for the title of Miss Minnesota twice, and the title of Miss Louisiana twice, finishing as a non-finalist, top ten semi-finalist, and 4th runner-up and winning preliminary talent. Though she did not achieve the ultimate goal of performing on the Miss America stage, Aja was able to make an impact on her community through her platform of Music Education. This platform work prompted her to pursue a teaching career in conjunction with her performing career. Keep up with her career on Instagram @violiningaja and at www.violiningaja.com.
Executive Director, Teen: Rachel Eron has held the titles of Miss River Valley, Miss Chain of Lakes and Miss Heartland. During her time with those titles, she demonstrated her leadership in mentoring other candidates. She has volunteered with Girls Inc, InSciEd Out, and more, teaching science concepts to young people in the Twin Cities area. Rachel created science content for Public Access TV and hosts Science Parties, reaching people across the state of Minnesota and exciting an interest in STEM everywhere she goes. She works as an engineer in the medical device industry. A 2020 graduate from the University of Minnesota: Twin Cities, she completed a double major Engineering and Computer Science. During college, she was involved in Collegiate Synchronized Skating, 3-D printing and Solidworks labs, and was a teaching assistant for python and project management courses. She worked with a team at the Institute for Engineering in Medicine to 3-D print a young boy a workable prosthetic arm, confirming her desire to change the world with innovation. Rachel was co-president of Minnovate, a student group based on innovation and connecting students to industry faster. She created the Minnovate Industry Readiness Program; a semester-long weekly course teaching students prototyping and project skills, for which Rachel returns often as an industry mentor. In her free time, Rachel loves to play with her dog Pepper, garden, and work on DIY house projects. She stays active by playing volleyball, rock climbing, and swimming with the Minnesota Loons, an underwater hockey team.
Master of Ceremonies: Aja Majkrzak has performed with many regional orchestras and is currently concertmaster of the East Metro Symphony Orchestra and section violin in the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. Her orchestral experiences have given her the opportunity to share the stage with many fine soloists, including Leila Josefowicz, Gil Shaham, Harry Connick Jr. and Audra McDonald. While orchestral playing is the focus of her career, Aja also performs with the Cuban jazz group, Charanga Tropical. In June 2015 she traveled to Havana, Cuba with the group to become the first band from the US to participate in the International Danzon Festival. She is a faculty member at the Saint Paul Conservatory of Music, and an Artist Member of Thursday Musical. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2011 with a Bachelor's of Music and Louisiana State University in 2013 with a Master's of Music. While in Louisiana, Aja performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Louisiane. Aja competed for the title of Miss Minnesota twice, and the title of Miss Louisiana twice, finishing as a non-finalist, top ten semi-finalist, and 4th runner-up and winning preliminary talent. Though she did not achieve the ultimate goal of performing on the Miss America stage, Aja was able to make an impact on her community through her platform of Music Education. This platform work prompted her to pursue a teaching career in conjunction with her performing career. Keep up with her career on Instagram @violiningaja and at www.violiningaja.com.