My Road to Miss Virginia

It's here. The Miss Virginia 2019 pageant is happening this week. It seems like forever ago when I got the request asking if I was interested in cohosting Miss Virginia. In reality, it's only been a few months but it took almost that long for the reality to truly set in. 

I admit I shared the news with only my immediate family because I was so sure it couldn't actually be happening. Surely they picked the wrong person, right?! Then the emails started coming, song selection was taking place, discussions on wardrobe and schedules...and then came the full script. The moment I opened the envelope to reveal my name under the Miss Virginia 2019 title printed on my binder, I knew this was really happening. 

Before we move forward, allow me to take a step back in time. Some of you have no idea this was ever a part of my life. Let's take a trip down memory lane several decades ago...

I was a junior in high school when I received a notification I had been nominated for a scholarship contest called Miss Teen of America. Having no pageant experience whatsoever, I wasn't even sure what it was but with some encouragement, I submitted the application and necessary supporting essays and documents. Much to my surprise, I was selected as a representative to compete as Miss Teen of Lynchburg in the Miss Teen of America scholarship contest in San Diego, California. Mom and I traveled to California for a week full of activity and competition. I won talent and placed in the top 18 out of 133 girls. I won scholarships and awards and had an absolute BLAST! I hadn't been a pageant girl or grown up in this world AT ALL but I was learning quickly.

Shortly after in my senior year of high school, I found my way to Junior Miss where I earned my first of many "First Runner Up" titles (more on that later). It was in the spring of my senior year of high school when some pageant directors heard me sing at church and approached me afterwards to be in their pageant, Miss Bedford, in two weeks. This was a preliminary to Miss Virginia in the Miss America organization and very different than the two previous experiences I'd had. Enter swimsuit competition and intense interviewing. This was going to take some training. 

Remarkably, I placed first runner up at the age of 18 and it felt like I was onto something. With the help of some friends and pageant coaches, I started to prepare for what was next. A series of preliminary pageants over the next few months during my freshman year of college landed me at First Runner Up every single time. Four, to be exact. As my dad affectionately reminded me, I was "first loser" but each and every time I won scholarship money and began to enhance my skills. Along the way, I found the most amazing coach and trainer who helped me learn stage presence and interviewing skills that have served me even now in my career. The experience I was gaining was invaluable.

Then it happened. The last preliminary of the season, Miss Chesterfield, and I won. WHAT?! I wasn't even sure what was next but with only six weeks until Miss Virginia, things flew into action. Dresses, wardrobe, song choice, applications, platform initiatives, and opportunities to now speak and be invited to appearances as a title holder were a new reality. My platform was a self esteem program for young people called "Who I Am Makes a Difference." One of the things I love about the Miss America organization is the way it empowers women to find their confidence and inner strength and beauty. It also supports and encourages community involvement and a platform where each young woman advocates for a cause of her choosing or creating. What an opportunity to develop skills and passion!

My experience at Miss Virginia was truly one of the highlights of my life! Seriously! It was a week full of activities, rehearsals, appearances, and getting to know a sisterhood of people who still hold a special place in my heart. I didn't place, didn't win, didn't walk away with a single "award" but I can most assuredly say that the week I was there was such a defining and shaping part of my life, skills, and abilities that I now credit much of these experiences to who I have become and what I've been able to do. Everything from interview skills to public speaking, being able to be poised under pressure and learning how to carry myself professionally are things I gained from this experience. I can also say that I was (indirectly) first runner up to Miss America because after being first runner up to Miss Lynchburg who won Miss Virginia and went on to win Miss America! ;) See, first loser isn't so bad!

I went back one more time the following year to compete in Miss Lynchburg again. It was a devastating First Runner Up situation where I was also faced with a decision of continuing on in the pageant world or pursuing other options. I was able to fund the rest of my college career with full time traveling singing teams instead and that was the end of my pageant "career."

And here we are at this amazing week of Miss Virginia rehearsals and a collision of worlds reminiscent of memories and people from decades ago. A dear friend, someone who had supported and encouraged me in my early competitions, reached out with the invitation. She had a vision to bring a few people along her own hosting journey and I couldn't be more grateful. It's been an opportunity to remember with gratitude how much these experiences have meant to me but also how they shaped me. When I became the Career Center Director and took on the job of coaching and training for interviews, I would credit Miss Virginia and my experiences for helping me. When I took on the challenge of co-owner and publisher of Central Virginia Bridal Guide & Events, many of the community involvement and partnerships had already been established from some of my community connections as a title-holder. As a speaker and presenter, I owe much of my poise under pressure to those early on-stage interviews and all the preparation that went into them. 

By no means is this the only thing I can attribute to shaping me and all the Lord has blessed me to be able to do, but in many ways it served as the launching pad and foundational cornerstone for my professional career and development. I've had amazing mentors invest in me from the youth group to my college years and throughout my career, alongside my incredibly godly and supportive parents. I also know the Lord's provisional and Sovereign hand has been a part of all of this - the successes and failures and everything in between.

What I've also been reminded of is the way these young women are empowered to find, embrace, and develop their strengths, talents, and passions. It's giving them a platform to share their voice and be shaped into women who will no doubt look back at this week and these experiences as formative for them as they were for me. 

That's the story of my road to Miss Virginia and the road that has led me back to this cohosting opportunity. I know the pageant world isn't for everyone. I'm not here to argue or advocate. I'm simply here to share my story and how this amazing opportunity helped shape me.