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On Friday, January 4, 2008, Standard Examiner featured Julia in the article “Deja vu Miss Utah.”
Deja vu Miss Utah
Friday, January 4, 2008

By Rachel J. Trotter
Standard-Examiner correspondent

N. Ogden woman first to win both top state beauty pageants

NORTH OGDEN — Julia Bachison liked being Miss Utah so much the first time that she became Miss Utah again, the first woman to hold the title twice.

The first time, though, the North Ogden woman was in the Miss America competition; Bachison now is Miss Utah in the Miss USA pageant.

When the beauty queen was Miss Utah in the Miss America pageant in 2006, she enjoyed her reign and the scholarship money she received. Last year, she heard she was eligible to compete in the Miss Utah-USA pageant and decided to try. Her pageant experience helped her win the title of Miss Utah-USA and now she’ll compete for the national title in April in Las Vegas.

No other Utah woman has held both titles.

“I was kind of in a lull and I had thought somewhere in the back of my mind that maybe I should do another pageant,” Bachison said. Entering the contest, she had a fear of not finishing on top, but the feeling proved ill-founded.

The Miss USA pageant is owned by Donald Trump, so it’s run a little differently than the Miss America competition.

“It’s a launching pad for a career in the media,” Bachison said, and since she’s interested in a media or modeling career, it’s a good start for her.

“It’s been different (from Miss America) but good,” Bachison said. For the Miss America pageant, she had to have her own platform issue, which was physical fitness. In the Miss USA competition, all contestants work together for the cause of breast cancer awareness.

She has found the Miss Utah-Miss USA title to be a little less time-consuming. She’s allowed to hold down a job or attend college, while holding the Miss Utah-Miss America title meant she was a full-time beauty queen. The 24-year-old has attended Weber State University and now works full-time in the Deseret News marketing department.

She has enjoyed the freedom this title has allowed her and things it has made her discover about herself.

“It has been a good character builder,” she said.

Her parents, Marie and Cliff Bachison, couldn’t be more proud of their daughter.

“We have seen so much growth. It’s been really good for her,” Marie Bachison said.

Julia Bachison credits much of her pageant success and her newest crown to her mom’s encouragement.

“My mom told me I could do it,” she said.

Marie Bachison has also seen the difference in the two pageants.

“For Miss America you are trying to fit a role. With Miss USA you are trying to be your own best self,” Marie Bachison said.

Julia Bachison won’t be doing a talent presentation in the Miss USA pageant, which adds scores from interview, swimsuit and evening gown competitions. The state pageant also gives them money to prepare to compete for Miss USA and other nominal prizes.

Julia Bachison knows that beauty pageants aren’t for everyone, but for her, she’s found her niche. “People have told me that if you have a talent or gift in something, you should do it, and it just felt right.”

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