Chadron State College graduate Jenita (Qualm) Derga had a once-in-a-lifetime experience in August as she competed for the 2023 Mrs America title in Las Vegas as Mrs South Dakota.
A licensed crop insurance agent for Wild Prairie Solutions, where she is the founder and CEO, Derga claimed the South Dakota title in April – culminating an adventure she’d considered for a few years.
Derga says she reached out on social media to a former Mrs South Dakota to find what was required to run for the title and to serve as Mrs South Dakota because while she was interested, she wouldn’t – and couldn’t – give up her career for it.
She says the former titleholder told her to consider it a hobby and not make it a full-time endeavor, so after thinking about it for a while she decided “this year would be a good time to give it a shot.”
Derga says she found she enjoys the pageant lifestyle, which gave her the opportunity to talk about the things that are important to her – not to mention a lot of chances to get dressed up.
Working in agriculture in rural areas finds her in boots and jeans a lot, so she loves being “a country girl who is comfortable in jeans and boots as well as a woman who enjoys doing full glam hair and makeup and putting on a ballgown.”
Representing rural America was a driving reason for Derga to seek both the state and national titles. She explains that she’s passionate about rural America and feels its stories and people are often not represented on a national platform.
Derga is a native of Ericson, NE, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Chadron State in Rangeland Ecology. She worked for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U-S Forest Service – working in New Mexico and Idaho as well as Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota.
Derga left her career as a grazing specialist for NRCS when the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation introduced new programs geared toward livestock producers and grassland managers
She says she started Wild Prairie Solutions because it would allow her to continue the work she was doing as a grazing specialist on rangelands with ranchers
Although the Mrs. America Pageant is over, Derga looks forward to the remaining 7 months she has left as Mrs South Dakota and intends to continue to positively impact South Dakota and beyond with the time she has left.