Kortnie Koebel

Kortnie Koebel is currently a master’s degree student in forensic science at Texas Tech University. She is also an intern at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Willed Body Donation Program and works part-time at the university's Study Abroad Office. During her undergraduate studies, she participated in a study abroad program, Semester at Sea, where she traveled to 16 countries and had the opportunity to grow as a global citizen. While studying abroad, she developed a love for tourism and climate change and conducted independent research on the effects of tourism in local tourist hotspots. Upon returning home, she connected her international travel with college life, and that is where her platform formed: tourism pollution in college towns, which focuses on the role of recycling on campuses around Texas. She began her pageant career in the summer of 2023. She is the current title holder, Miss Mission Texas. The majority of her community service is based on collecting cans from the home games for the Texas Tech University men’s and women’s basketball teams! However, she began
designing clothing from the tabs collected to serve as a visual representaAon of the importance of maintaining pollution within college towns. She has had the opportunity to showcase these designs in fashion shows, and they are a popular conversation starter on her platform. She actively engages in community service and strives to make her college town a happier and healthier place through recycling and teaching the youth about our planet.