I still remember my mother telling me she had signed me up. At first, I was speechless, something that never happened. I was nervous and scared, but most of all, I was excited for the opportunity. She wanted me to have a chance at the best education possible, and this organization was the first step in that direction. My mother could not afford to send me to school on her own. She explained that if I did well, it would relieve a huge financial burden for our family. With college fast approaching the following year I knew that it was up to me. I wanted to attend school in the fall like many of my peers and decided that I was going to work very hard to make this happen.
The more I learned about the Miss East Longmeadow Scholarship pageant, and The Miss America Organization as a whole, the more in love I fell. I had no idea that the MAO was the leading provider of scholarships to young women. The Miss East Longmeadow pageant alone awarded over $10,000 to the winner and participating contestants. This was the answer, and I had my eyes on the prize, a college education.
Along with the scholarship opportunities, another big part of being a titleholder was having a platform. Your personal platform was the main focus during the year of reign. I had adopted a platform that promoted the importance of health and fitness to children. This was a very important cause that was dear to my heart. I was grateful to have had such amazing health education and role models growing up. My goal was to give back and help spread this message. Although the title has changed, this has continued to be my platform each and every time I compete. It has been amazing working with children, and providing them with the information needed to make their own healthy lifestyle decisions. There is no better feeling than seeing the face of a young child who realizes that they are in control of their health.
Today with the rising rates of childhood obesity, my platform is more important than ever and I will continue to be a proud advocate promoting the importance of change through education.
For the ten weeks leading up to the pageant, my Friday nights were devoted to all things pageant. I had no idea what to expect and had only ever seen The Miss America Pageant on television. All of the contestants were guided by the devoted members of the E.L. Jaycee committee who prepared everyone to do their best. I owe so much of what I know today to the advice I was given as a seventeen-year-old first timer. They gave us the knowledge and skills that would help us do well not only the night of the pageant, but also in our everyday lives. They made sure that we were preparing for the pageant, but also keeping up on our school work and preparing for our upcoming college endeavors. They reminded us why we were there, and made sure that we never lost sight of that. All of the contestants worked together and became very close friends throughout the experience.We went over paperwork, practiced interview, talent, walking, and went over all of the basics. Before we knew it, the pageant was here.
The time had come. The 2006 Miss East Longmeadow Scholarship Pageant had arrived.
It was my first time setting foot on the stage as a contestant vying for the coveted crown, sash and the chance to represent my town at the Miss Massachusetts state pageant. So much went into preparing for the pageant and the time flew by. I still get goosebumps every time I hear "Vogue" by Madonna, our opening number song. I can even remember some of the dance moves. I had only dreamed of being in a pageant, and now my dreams were a reality. The curtain opened and I introduced myself, it had begun!
The night flew by and before we knew it, all phases of competition were complete. After the closing number we stood on stage awaiting the results. Time seemed to creep by as the wonderful host, Steve Lacy, tried his best to kill time while the judges made their final decision. It felt like an eternity but soon we saw the panel hand him the envelope, the results were in.
Although I did not win, I was awarded $1,000 in scholarship money as second runner-up. I was beyond grateful and knew that this would be a tremendous help in funding my upcoming college experience. For my first time competing, I could not have been happier. I will never forget the look on my familys face as they came over to congradulate me. Although I was not wearing the crown, I felt like I had won. I stepped out of my comfort zone and had done something that I could have only dreamed of. Now that my dream was a reality I knew that there was a lot of hard work in store if I wanted to do well the following year.
I had been bitten by the pageant bug and could not wait for another chance at the crown.
Miss East Longmeadow 2006- Gina Rosati with her court.
L-R: Myself, Emma Gilbert, proudly standing as Second Runner-Up, First runner-up: Danielle Portier and Third runner-up Casey Claffey.
We were so excited for the year to come and the 4th of July parade!
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