Semi-finalist 2022, 1st runner-up 2021
A native of Warwick, Carissa Tillinghast was crowned Miss Rhode Island Teen USA on 26 May 2024 and represented Rhode Island at the Miss Teen USA 2024 pageant in Hollywood, California. Carissa is a previous Miss RI Teen USA first runner-up and was Miss Rhode Island Teen Volunteer 2023, representing Rhode Island at the first ever Miss Teen Volunteer America pageant.
Carissa Tillinghast from Warwick, Rhode Island was crowned Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 2024 on May 26, 2024, at the Rhode Island Convention Center in the heart of Providence. She is a 19-year-old rising sophomore at the University of Rhode Island, pursuing a career in Nursing. Carissa is a member of the Student Nurse Association, Service Chair of her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, and has future plans to serve on the executive council.
Carissa has turned her passion for education into her own non-profit mission, Project Let’s Read. To date, Carissa has worked to collect hundreds of books and school supplies items for children across Rhode Island. To start the 2024-2025 school year, Carissa wants to introduce Project Let’s Read into elementary and middle schools across the state with book and school supplies drives. As Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 2024, her mission is to continue to promote childhood literacy and education.
Upon graduating from the University of Rhode Island in May of 2027, Carissa has plans to become a labor and delivery nurse before continuing her education to become a Nurse Practitioner. Her career goal is to open her own Women’s Health Center in the heart of Rhode Island, to ensure women have a safe place to express their medical concerns without face of dismissal.
As the youngest of five siblings, family is everything to Carissa. She enjoys spending time with her older sisters and her nieces. In her free time, Carissa enjoys shopping with her friends, playing tennis with her sister and going on coffee runs. In the coming year, she hopes to travel across the USA, and to countries across the world. Last summer, Carissa traveled to Eastern Europe on a Holocaust Education trip with her high school.
This was Carissa’s third time competing for Miss Rhode Island Teen USA… third time’s a charm! Carissa cannot wait to represent Rhode Island and the Miss Teen USA organization throughout this year. She hopes to expand on her mission and connect with children across Rhode Island! She promises to hold this title with honor and grace.
The on-stage moments, the tension of the final two and the glory of the crowning, here are Carissa’s state pageant photos.
Lights, camera, action! Professional photoshoots are one of the perks that comes from winning a title.
There’s nothing better than watching a contestant progress from year to year! Carissa was first runner-up to Sydney Jaiswal in 2021, a semi-finalist in 2022 and then won the first ever Miss Rhode Island Teen Volunteer pageant, competing at Miss Teen Volunteer America 2024. Here’s a look back at her previous pageant photos.
