As the reigning Miss New Jersey Teen USA, Makenna Wayman is already representing the Garden Sate on a national stage. But attending the New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony gave the Chatham teen a chance to reflect on the New Jerseyans who came before her—and the legacy she hopes to leave behind.
“It’s crazy to even be here,” Wayman says of the event, hosted by Danny DeVito and honoring inductees like Grammy winner SZA. “There’s so many impactful people that have come out of New Jersey, and to be now part of the next generation becoming one of those people is wild.”
Wayman, a junior at the Academy of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, was crowned Miss New Jersey Teen USA on July 26. A month later, she represented the Garden State at the Miss Teen USA competition in Florida, where Georgia’s Kiran Reddy ultimately took home the crown.
“All of the [Miss] New Jerseys that came before me left such a powerful legacy, and that’s what I want to do for the ones after me,” Wayman says.
She’s already working toward that goal. Wayman, a member of St. Elizabeth’s all-girls a cappella group, established Vision of Music, a $1,500 music education scholarship aimed at helping young women pursue their musical passions and future careers.
She also self-published the Fuel Your Purpose Journal, a four-week wellness journal designed to help young women between 12 and 18 build positive daily food habits: practicing consistency and self-discipline, setting meaningful goals and reflecting on personal growth.
Wayman may represent the whole state, but she isn’t staying neutral in the Taylor ham vs. pork roll debate.
“I’m from North Jersey, so I’m Team Taylor Ham,” she says, laughing about a frequent disagreement with Miss New Jersey USA, Katarina Lengyel of Middletown, who’s proudly Team Pork Roll. “That’s okay. We’re still friends.”
