What petite USA really strives to do is level that playing field, but also help women find their confidence who are on the shorter side know that, hey, you might be short, or you might be petite, but that doesn't define your worth that doesn't define the impact you're going to make as a title holder, and it's all about a sisterhood and kind of building each other up. It has been one of the most amazing experiences ever.”

Rachel Betterly, Mrs. Petite USA

What is Petite USA?

Petite USA was founded in 2009 to be a platform for women who are five feet, six inches tall or less in the pageant industry.

Hastings native Rachel (Latuff) Betterley has been a part of the pageant industry since 2012 when she competed in her first pageant at the age of 21. She competed in several pageants between 2012 and 2015 when she won Miss Minnesota. She moved on to try for Miss USA in 2016 but finished outside the top 15. After the Miss USA pageant, she took some time off to get married and build a family. 

“I competed at Miss America, and I took a little bit of a break,” explained Betterley. “I had two sons; they are two and four now. And I got married, and I didn't compete for a little while. I took about, I want to say a six-year break, and I didn't think I was going to do it anymore. But then I kind of felt like my Miss America experience back then didn't showcase all of the potential of who I am, what I want to do and the impact that I want to make. I just felt like the story wasn't written yet and I wanted to kind of take back some of my identity of who I am and push myself. So, that's when I started competing in Mrs. pageants in the Mrs. Division. Ultimately, that's what led me to compete for the title of Mrs. Petite USA.” 

Petite USA was founded in 2009 to be a platform for women who are five feet, six inches tall or less in the pageant industry. Petite USA offers titles across five different divisions: Teen, Miss, Ms., Mrs., and Elite Ms. Each division has a simple set of standards. Teen is for ages 13-18, never married, never had children. Miss is for ages 19-26, never married, never had children. Ms. is for ages 18-44, unmarried, may have children, may have been previously married. Mrs. is for 18 plus, must be married and Elite is for 45 plus. 

“Petite USA is a very diverse pageant system. Even though it's for women who are five six and under, you're going to find these women are coming from all different walks of life. We have women who are competing in wheelchairs, I think we had two this year. We had a winner last year, a national title holder who had a birth defect in her arm. Even though it's for women who are five six, and under it is one of the most diverse systems that celebrates our uniqueness,” added Betterley. 

Betterley competed in the Mrs. division, the one that requires competitors to be married. One of the aspects that really drew her to Petite USA is the support for women who are not normally deemed to be on the taller side of society. 

“They really focus on empowering women who are five, six and under. Because if we think about it, there can be that underlying bias in the world of pageantry and modeling, where sometimes height does define that success. Even if people don't think about it, it can be subconscious. What petite USA really strives to do is level that playing field, but also help women find their confidence who are on the shorter side know that, hey, you might be short, or you might be petite, but that doesn't define your worth that doesn't define the impact you're going to make as a title holder, and it's all about a sisterhood and kind of building each other up. It has been one of the most amazing experiences ever. When I was there, I felt nothing but support, I thought there was a true sisterhood. I've never experienced anything like it in all my years of pageantry,” Betterley said. 

Betterley, who moved to Cook MN for her teaching career, has been an art teacher for nearly a decade now and art plays a huge role in her service aspect of pageantry. 

“A lot of my service work involves helping students and youth find healing from their traumas through art. What I want to do with my year is really focused on that, inspiring people to tap into their creative side and to know whatever kind of struggles they're going through, whatever it may be, they can find healing in expression through art. It really is just about inspiring and uplifting at the same time, and focusing on that philanthropy aspect as well is really important to me. I knew I wanted to become an art teacher ultimately because I wanted to help kids heal. I have a lot of my own personal childhood trauma where I found a lot of healing through art. I just didn't know it as a kid. I was constantly drawing, but it really is the root of why I became an art teacher in the first place, and ultimately what led me to express myself through the art of pageantry.” 

Betterley is working hard to expand her grassroots fundraising efforts to help supply sketchbooks for kids. She currently fundraises to purchase and donate sketchbooks and art supplies through a variety of channels: public schools, counsellors, foster care facilities, etcetera.  

“A lot of kids who suffer from trauma are also very creative, and to not have a sketchbook in my opinion is unthinkable because I know how much it impacted me for better as a kid,” she added. 

Her donations have exceeded 500 sketchbooks with a goal to break 2,000, and Petite USA is helping with that largely due to the connections she has been able to make and the importance of philanthropy to the Petite USA organization. 

The next pageant step for Betterley will happen aboard the Carnival Paradise Cruise June 6-10, 2024. 

“It is super cool,” laughed Betterley. “I have never done a pageant like this before, on a cruise ship on our way to Mexico.” 

Betterley ended the interview mixing the business side of discussing head shots for the article with her appreciation of her hometown of Hastings. It was discussed how she should be addressed in the article because everyone knows her as Rachel Latuff, not Rachel Betterley.  Her kindness and Hastings charm really shined through in the last part of the interview, which leads us to believe, this is not the last you will hear about Rachel (Latuff) Betterley in the Hastings Journal. 

If you wish to contribute to her campaign to get sketchbooks for kids and see more of her journey, visit rachelbetterley.weebly.com. Good luck on the high seas in June Rachel!