MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Midlander Regina Stock is the reigning Mrs. Texas after she was crowned back in May of this year. She is hoping to use her platform to teach others to believe in themselves.

“I actually started competing in pageants like eight years ago, I did it for four or five years, as a miss, and then I had kids, got married and stopped,” she said.

Born in Andrews, raised in Odessa and currently living in Midland, Stock is a West Texasn through and through.

She’s been competing in local and state pageants for nearly a decade.

“Getting to leave Corsicana with the title of Texas across my chest, just like really honored to be here, it’s a huge deal, it’s not a responsibility I take lightly.”

She said she took a few years off when she got married and had her children, then realized she could compete in the Mrs. Texas pageant as a married woman with children and took her shot, not expecting to win the whole thing in her first year.

“Honestly, going into it, I thought that this would be a year that I would just learn the system, and I really just took this year to learn and maybe go back next year. And then when they called my name, honestly, I like grabbed the girls next to me, and I just like cried, because I was not expecting it at all,” she laughed.

She said this was an opportunity to find herself.

“To be honest with you, for me it felt like such a selfish reason, and for some people it might, I did it for me. Getting to step outside of my roll as a mom and as a wife, and trying to find who I was as a person,” she said. “It helped me gain my confidence back and really look into my why. Like, why am I here, what am I doing with myself? This has really helped me do that and it helps me, puts me in a position to help other people, to find their confidence, to find their why.”

Now, during her reign as Mrs. Texas, Stock is choosing to use her platform for good, inspiring others to find the confidence in themselves.

“For me, it’s life changing and it’s very fulfilling to be able to go to these people and teach them to be an unwatered down version of themselves, to 100% genuinely be yourself, which is something that I’m still learning throughout this process. So it’s great to be able to help other people with that.”

She said being able to represent West Texas, has been a blessing.

“I was really proud to represent Midland in general, because pageants aren’t a big thing here, to be able to go to Vegas, compete at the west gate and be on stage to represent Texas, it’s such, I’m just so honored to be here.”

She hoped that others see her story and want to some day follow in her footsteps.

“I would say to 100% be yourself, you don’t have to be a dieted version of yourself, it allows other people around you to then be themselves, they don’t feel like they have to tone it down or anything if you’re able to step into that role.”

If you’d like to reach out to Stock, check out her Instagram.