Thursday, October 1, 2026
As applause erupted on the steps of Beech Street Elementary School following Wantagh's annual Fourth of July Parade, 16-year-old Lilah Diaz looked toward her mother before hearing the words that would change the next year of her life.
"I looked at my mom and I saw how happy she was," Diaz recalled. "It was just such an amazing moment. It was also a lot of shock and just pure excitement."
Moments later, Diaz was crowned Miss Wantagh 2026, becoming the newest ambassador of a community tradition now entering its eighth decade.
This year's ceremony carried extra significance. The Miss Wantagh Pageant celebrated its 70th anniversary while coinciding with America's 250th birthday, linking two milestones rooted in community pride and civic service.
Unlike traditional beauty pageants, Miss Wantagh emphasizes leadership, volunteerism and academic achievement. Finalists are judged on community involvement, school activities, public speaking and poise while presenting service initiatives they hope to lead during the coming year.
"It started off really as a beauty pageant," Executive Director Ella Stevens said. "But it evolved into community service."
Stevens, who has overseen the program since 2007, said the organization has expanded far beyond its original mission. Today, girls from third grade through high school participate in leadership activities, volunteer projects and educational programs throughout Nassau County.
This year the organization featured 67 girls across all age groups and regularly partners with schools, elected officials, law enforcement agencies and local nonprofits.
"We work with these girls," Stevens said. "Really, the judges' jobs are to judge them as if they were going for a job interview. What qualifies you to be Miss Wantagh? What are you bringing to the table?"
For Diaz, the answer centered on helping others. The incoming Wantagh High School senior first joined the organization as a seventh-grader after learning it wasn't a beauty pageant but a service organization.
"I just joined for the community service aspect because I love helping people," she said.
That passion shaped the project she presented to judges.
Diaz hopes to create "de-stress kits" filled with fidget toys, coloring books, affirmation cards and other calming materials for elementary school students throughout the district.
"Mental health advocacy," she said, "is absolutely" the cause most important to her.
She also plans to expand the organization's Unity Day initiative by focusing on cyberbullying awareness after the girls attended an online safety seminar led by the Nassau County Police Department earlier this year.
"I think social media is such a big thing nowadays," Diaz said. "It's very important that students know how to be safe on it and understand the depths that social media can lead to in your life. You need to be kind to people, especially online, because you never know what someone's going through."
Her interest in mental health isn't simply academic.
According to her mother, Jackie Diaz, Lilah has lived with Tourette syndrome since she was 7 years old. Rather than allowing the condition to define her, she has become an advocate for greater awareness, speaking publicly about Tourette syndrome, earning certification in Mental Health First Aid and traveling to Albany to advocate for educator training that helps identify students in crisis.
"She knows what it's like to struggle," Jackie Diaz said. "She picks up on it so quickly because she knows what it's like, and she always wants to help."
Jackie said watching her daughter grow through the Miss Wantagh program has been one of the family's greatest joys.
"She always had a very giving heart," she said. "What she didn't have was the confidence."
Over the years, she watched her daughter develop into a poised public speaker capable of addressing county officials, mentoring younger children and advocating for causes she believes in.
"The Miss Wantagh organization directly helped her build her leadership skills, communication skills and her confidence," Jackie said.
For Stevens, that transformation is exactly why the organization has endured while similar hometown pageants have faded away.
Last year, the program expanded into Wantagh's elementary schools. Previous Miss Wantagh winners launched initiatives that continue today, including Unity Day, an anti-bullying campaign, and the Women of Wantagh recognition program.
"The differences come from the girls themselves," Stevens said. "How do you want to mark your legacy?"
That willingness to evolve, she believes, explains the program's longevity.
"Because it keeps evolving with the community," Stevens said.
Now, Diaz hopes her own legacy will encourage young people to seek help, show kindness and use their voices for others.
"I want everyone to know how much each of these girls really put into this organization," she said. "We all want to make the Wantagh community feel like a family."
As Miss Wantagh 2026, Diaz will spend the coming year representing the community at civic events while leading projects focused on mental health awareness, cyberbullying prevention and supporting younger students.
For the teenager who once watched the Miss Wantagh court ride through town in the Fourth of July parade and dreamed of wearing the crown herself, that journey has now come full circle.
