See video as Lou Schieffelin is crowned Miss Florida USA 2025
Lou Schieffelin was crowned Miss Florida USA on May 25 in Orlando
Provided By Melissa Hornung
- Lou Schieffelin is a two-time winner on the Miss USA circuit, claiming the Miss Florida Teen USA crown in 2017.
- Schieffelin, 24, grew up in Orlando and moved to Palm Beach a year ago.
- A longtime model and aspiring pilot, Schieffelin, also works in luxury real estate.
A Palm Beach resident juggling three challenging careers has been crowned Miss Florida USA.
Lou Schieffelin, a 24-year-old aspiring pilot and model who works with prominent Palm Beach luxury real estate agent Margit Brandt, edged out 70 other competitors at the state pageant held May 24-25 in Orlando.
The title marks her second on the Miss USA circuit, following her 2017 reign as Miss Florida Teen USA.
Schieffelin’s pageant experience this year, however, was very different from the first time she competed.
Schieffelin lost her father, David, just a month before the pageant got underway, which significantly influenced her outlook, prompting her to place greater importance on service and generosity.
“It was a lot about friendship and creating memories and working with all of these amazing nonprofits,” she told the Daily News of her pageant experience. “This year, our organization we partnered with was Food for the Hungry. When I arrived on pageant weekend, I picked two little girls to sponsor. I think just the perspective on this year was very different for me after losing my dad.”
Although Schieffelin aimed to perform well at the pageant, winning wasn’t her main objective.
“I was just grateful to be there and be able to make my family proud, and that resulted in a victory,” she said. “It was very unexpected and humbling.”
Schieffelin is set to represent Florida at the Miss USA 2025 competition this fall, though a date and location have not been set. The Miss USA winner represents the United States at the Miss Universe competition, which will be held in November in Thailand.
In the meantime, Schieffelin will continue her reign at Miss Florida USA for the next year. During that time, she will act as an ambassador for both Florida and the Miss USA organization, attending events and promoting civic involvement.
“This whole year is about representing Florida, no matter what happens at Miss USA,” said Schieffelin, who grew up in Connecticut and Orlando and briefly lived in Miami during her modeling career. “That’s kind of how I went into competing for Miss Florida. I’m excited.”
Schieffelin said she has long prioritized community service, and she is eager to continue making a difference as the newly crowned Miss Florida USA.
“Getting out into the community, speaking with people, meeting with children — a lot of that is about giving back,” she said. “I remember when I was younger, seeing a girl in a crown was such an exciting thing for me. I thought that was like a real-life princess. And so we want to marry that with giving back and community involvement and community enrichment, and I think Palm Beach is an amazing place for that because there are so many charity events, and it’s such a hub for philanthropy.”
Schieffelin, who has been modeling professionally for 16 years, relocated to Palm Beach a year ago “on a whim.”
She moved in with a friend and joined Margit Brandt’s real estate office team as a director of marketing and licensed executive assistant, a role she says she really enjoys.
“She’s obviously been very successful on the island,” Schieffelin said of Brandt, who is affiliated with Premier Estate Properties. “I feel very honored to even be on the team and been granted the support they’ve given me this year to pursue pageants alongside my responsibilities with them.”
Schieffelin also is pursuing her private pilot’s license, and she hopes to complete her training by the end of the year.
Both of her grandfathers were involved in aviation, and she looks forward to following in their footsteps.
“One was a B-17 fighter pilot in World War II, and the other was an Army paratrooper,” Schieffelin said. “Planes are kind of in my family, and I’m grateful to be able to continue the legacy on.”
Though the remainder of her year will be filled with professional and pageant commitments, Schieffelin’s focus remains on leading with purpose and honoring her late father.
“This year is really about leading with heart, making my dad proud and doing things that I know he would be excited for me to do, and just proud of me to do within the Florida community and with young people,” she said. “I’m just trying to give them a role model.”
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com.
