This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond.
Holly Huber is the first Miss Alaska USA from Juneau. After being crowned this summer, she’s currently competing on a national stage in Miami. The Miss USA competition is running this week, and Miss USA 2026 will be crowned Thursday evening.
This was her 8th year doing the Miss Alaska USA pageant. She was crowned Miss Alaska Volunteer in 2024. Huber came to KTOO earlier this month to talk about what it takes to compete on the national level.
Listen:
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Holly Huber: My name is Holly Huber, and I am your new Miss Alaska USA 2026.
Whenever I compete for a pageant, at the soul of my mission, of course, is suicide prevention and mental health awareness. Most people who know me know my story, and so getting suicide prevention on a national stage for the second time is my biggest goal. And I hope I really just show people that suicide is not something that we need to be ashamed of, something that we can’t talk about. It’s not taboo like it used to be, and the more that we can talk about it, the more that we can really abolish that stigma around the topic.
Preparing for a state competition definitely looks different than preparing for a national competition. At the state level, my biggest focus was absolutely my interview skills because that’s half of the score, and sort of fortifying myself mentally and emotionally, and knowing that I wanted to walk off that stage with the Miss Alaska USA title. And now getting ready for this national pageant, I think that it’s a lot more mental, physical, and emotional fortification.
I mean, I’m going to Miami for 10 days of just straight competition events and prepping for this massive pageant. So of course, there’s still you know going to the gym, eating right, interview practice, and things like that, figuring out my wardrobe. But it’s a lot of fortification and getting myself ready for these crazy long days, being with 50 other also super incredible women, and knowing that one of us will walk out as the 75th Miss USA.
Everybody assumes that pageantry is so catty and girl eat girl, and it is totally the opposite.
Pageant girls are the kindest, most supportive women because oftentimes people underestimate — They say, “Oh, they’re just a pretty face who know how to walk in heels.” But I mean, these girls are college graduates. They have insane careers. They’re so successful on top of being beautiful inside and out.
It’s really funny. My roommate [at the pageant] was texting me, and she’s like, “Hey, who do you have for hair and makeup? I have so and so. My call time’s 3:30 a.m.” and I was like, “Oh, my call time’s 7 a.m.” So it just it looks a little bit different for every girl.
Monday is our first day of real competition, and that is our state costume competition. I’m really excited to reveal mine. I’m actually hand making my state competition costume, and I’m really excited because it is different. It’s not a topic that any previous Miss Alaska USA has touched.
I’m the first Miss Alaska USA from Southeast, so I really wanted to honor that and the people who live here, our industries that are here, which I’m super excited about.
I’m gonna have a great time. You know, there’s 51 women who are competing, and only one person is gonna walk away with a new title. So I’m just gonna take each day as it comes, not worry about the what ifs, and just be grateful for the experience that I get each and every single day.
