Meet Taya

My name is Taya Ritterbush, and I am 18 years old. I am originally from Hot Springs, and my parents are Nate and Alison Ritterbush.  I am so excited to get the chance to serve as Miss South Dakota’s Teen! I cannot wait to get to meet other like-minded and career oriented young women at Miss America.

I have been a competitive swimmer for 13 years. As my competitive career comes to an end, I plan to teach swim lessons and acquire my USA Swim Coaching License, so I can one day coach my own team. This all leads back into my CSI: Swimming in Inclusion; Floating in Diversity. My platform is all about promoting para-swimmers, such as my younger brother in my home state and beyond.

I graduated with the class of 2025 as a homeschool student. I am an avid creative, I participated in choir, band, and theater while in high school. and I plan to continue to peruse all of these at The University of South Dakota this fall. I’m a Music Education and Performance major, with a concentration on brass and opera. My plan is to eventually get a PHD in Wind conducting, but not before using my teaching degree to teach middle school and high school!

As someone pursuing high education to the PHD level, scholarships are essential to help me achieve my dreams. With the help of the Miss South Dakota program, I will be going into my degree with my first year paid for. I could not be more grateful for the opportunity, and I am going to make my state proud!