Beauty pageants aren’t all about tiaras and perfect hair. Dispelling the myths
Sparkly tiaras, white smiles, perfect hair and empty brains.
Beauty pageants are all about the on-stage presence and being unbelievably tan, right? Wrong!
I recently talked to Montez Roman, volunteer marketing and sponsorship coordinator for the Miss Queen City and Miss Metrolina Scholarship Organization, and three current titleholders:
– Kianna Jasper, 17, Miss Metrolina’s Outstanding Teen 2015 and a senior at Independence High School.
– Cheslie Kryst, 24, Miss Metrolina and a third year law student at Wake Forest.
– Ava Starnes, 13, Miss Queen City’s Outstanding Teen 2015 and a Parkwood Middle School student.
I asked them 5 questions about what they’re doing off-stage in Charlotte.
A photo posted by McKenzie Jade Faggart (@mkenzieejadee) on Apr 25, 2015 at 8:43pm PDT
How is this pageant different?
– Montez Roman: “Not only do they compete for scholarships, competing in the Miss Queen City Miss Metrolina pageant provides life skills through volunteering and community appearances. The girls do a year of service in order to create awareness around the organization and their platforms.”
How did you get started in pageants?
– Kianna Jasper: “My mom stressed the fact that it was a scholarship pageant and I would be doing community service. I just felt like it was something I wanted to try.”
– Cheslie Kryst: “My mom was Mrs. North Carolina 2002. I did the pageants at my high school but I never actually competed in the Miss America system until I graduated from college.”
Is it really like “Miss Congeniality“?
– KJ: “Sort of. We get the crown to stay on with lots of butterfly clips and elastic.”
– CK: “It’s true ‘butt glue’ is a lifesaver. We use it for swimsuits and dresses that need a little extra support.”
Had a great time today reading “Everyone Smiles” with authors Ashley N. Grisham and Gary L. Kersey, Jr.! We read to students at the Marsh Road Boys and Girls Club about dental health and how to keep their smiles beautiful A photo posted by Cheslie (@thelovely_ck) on Mar 9, 2015 at 3:30pm PDT
How does your title empower you, especially in terms of female equality?
– KJ: “I visited Lebanon Road Elementary School and let all the girls in the kindergarten class wear my crown. I saw them pull their shoulders back and stand up straight … The title gives me and everyone who holds the title a voice that we never had before.”
– Ava Starnes: “Whenever I compete, even if I don’t come home with a crown, I want to come home with a lesson. I’m learning about interview skills and how to feel grateful.”
A photo posted by McKenzie Jade Faggart (@mkenzieejadee) on May 19, 2015 at 2:05pm PDT
What’s one thing you want the Charlotte community to know about you and about this scholarship program?
– CK: “I would emphasize the diversity involved in this program … There are so many accomplished women in the Miss America system.”
– AS: “I shared a platform on Cherubs Disease, a birth defect that children are born with and I was born with. I’m a survivor. I go on stage hoping they ask me about that.”
The qualifier competition June 17-20 will decide who will be on TV competing for Miss America representing North Carolina. Qualifiers will also be aired on TWC Channel 323.
Photo courtesy of www.missqueencitymetrolina.org.
This story was originally published June 3, 2015 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Beauty pageants aren’t all about tiaras and perfect hair. Dispelling the myths."