Roadrunner London Keiler pushes the envelope as Fiesta’s Queen of Soul

"Queen of Soul is about helping African American girls," she said. "But I had a specific goal in mind, to increase our representation far beyond where it is now. I want to make sure we're pushing the envelope."

It's hard to believe that just a few years ago London's older brothers were advising her to meet others.

"Before I came to college, they were telling me, 'Londy, you gotta get out of your shell. You have to network,'" Keiler recalled.

Girls vying for the Queen of Soul crown start preparing in mid-November. The next eight weeks include training in various areas, including personal etiquette and money-management courses. After winning the Queen of Soul Scholarship pageant in January, Keiler was officially crowned Miss Queen of Soul.

"I'm definitely going to take advantage of this opportunity."

Keiler, a biology major with a pre-med concentration, said she was in eighth grade when she became interested in health care - thanks, in part, to learning about Health Careers High School. She graduated from the North Side magnet school in 2022.

Once enrolled in the biology program at the UTSA College of Sciences, her next step was finding a specialty.

A doctor's appointment set her on the path to become an orthopedic surgeon.

"It was perfect timing, I had gone to my doctor's office, and they told me I had scoliosis," recalled Keiler, adding that with ensuing appointments in this section of the hospital, she grew to love the environment. "Being in that area of the hospital, it caught my eye. It seemed really fun and interesting to me."

Keiler's scoliosis is mild. She does not have pain on a day-to-day basis. Seeing the pain of others who suffer from the condition, however, is what drives her professional ambitions.

"Seeing other patients who have it worse than me," she said, "I want to be able to help them get their lives back and ease that pain."

As Keiler reflects on her platform, she's also enjoying the revelry of Fiesta.

"This is my first actual Fiesta, so I'm looking forward to everything," said Keiler, who recalled the Texas Cavaliers River Parade that took part at the beginning of Fiesta. "That was really, really fun, kind of like the opening ceremony. Anything that's about being out there with the community I like the most."

So what about her shoes? Heels are part of Keiler's attire as Queen. She also has a pair of cowboy boots and a pair of "blinged out" white Converse.

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