Miss Lafayette is Queen of the Fair

Miss Lafayette Sophie Schaeffner was crowned Queen of the Fair on Saturday evening, Aug. 2 at the New Jersey State Fair-Sussex County Farm & Horse Show.

She is the second Miss Lafayette in a row to win the title after Chaya Ortega in 2024.

Miss Newton Danielle Penny was first runner-up, and Miss Sandyston Aubrey White was second runner-up.

Miss Montague Mina Lin received the People’s Choice award.

Twenty-one of the county’s 24 towns were represented in the contest.

Champion equestrian

Schaeffner is an honor-roll student at Glen Ridge High School, where she is a member of Spanish Honor Society, and competed in the Chemistry Olympics.

She also is involved in the Technology Student Association, where she placed first in New Jersey and ranked seventh nationally for promotional marketing.

A two-time local day champion at the Sussex County Farm & Horse Show, she volunteers at Newton Medical Center and teaches students about computer science.

In her free time, she enjoys training and caring for competitive show horses and assisting on her family’s farm.

She also organizes horseless horse show events to make equestrian sports accessible to those who cannot financially afford horses.

Her goal is to ride on an NCAA equestrian team.

Drew University student

Penny is a summa cum laude graduate from Newton High School who attends Drew University in Madison.

She plans to earn a doctorate and hopes to pursue a career in museum curation.

In high school, she created an after-school reading program, collected book donations and hosted a free “Book Adoption” event during Children’s Day at the fair last year. She also brought the Safe-Comm Sensory Bag Program to the Newton Police Department.

Plans to be engineer

White is a student at both Sussex County Technical School and Sussex County Community College.

She plans to become a material science engineer so her work can advance space technology and exploration.

At Sussex Tech, she started the Mu Alpha Theta Chapter, which allows students to explore advanced mathematics. She also established and led a county-wide STEM program for young people.

In her free time, she enjoys hiking, running, kayaking and camping.

Studying finance

Lin graduated from Sussex County Tech and now attends the University of Michigan, where she is working toward a career in finance.

She hopes to use her education to grow small businesses one day.

She volunteers with local food banks and has organized a fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.