Emerson Student Competes in Her First Pageant â Miss Boston
(text by: Courtney Swift)
The Miss Boston 2012 pageant was held February 19. Miss Boston is the cities largest preliminary for the Miss Massachusetts pageant. Samantha Russo, and Emerson College junior took the opportunity and competed in her first ever pageant. She was awarded the Peopleâs Choice auxiliary award.
Q. How did you get involved with the Miss Boston organization in the first place? What first intrigued you about the pageant? Were you always interested or was it something you were kind of coaxed into?Â
A. I got involved with the Miss America Organization through a professor, Dr.Dana Rosengard. At first I wasn't into it because it didn't really seem like something that was very "me"⊠But this year I kind of just thought about it out of the blue and figured I should go for it...I didn't really see anything I could lose from giving it a shot.
Q. Beauty pageants can sometimes bring out a "diva" side to people. Did you feel any kind of pressure to act a certain way once you were going to be in Miss Boston?Â
A. I didn't necessarily feel any pressure from any specific outside source. I guess I just tried to clean up my Facebook.
I felt the need to look more "fit" because lets face it, being in a swimsuit in front of 200+ people would make anyone want to hit the gym more. I think the only time I really felt real pressure was the day of the pageant⊠when I started to see everyoneâs outfits and hair and make-up⊠But at that point there really wasn't much I could do about it except be confident in what I was bringing to the table.
Q. Talk about the Miracle Network and your work with them... what you did to raise money, how much you raised and what that experience was like for you doing charity work.
A. The Childrenâs Miracle Network is the Miss America Organizations official philanthropy. We were required to raise $100 but were encouraged to try and raise more ⊠an award at the show was incentive to raise the most money.
I decided to throw a fundraiser at Limelight Studios. It was a karaoke event where people paid 5$ at the door and could come in and sing all night long. I ended up raising the full $100 that night. I really liked that part of the competition because it made me think out of the box to try and get people to donate to the cause. I love trying to throw events, so this was a good opportunity to put that into play.
Q. What kind of support did you receive from friends/family/others while doing this pageant? What was it like to sort of see so many people cheering for you?
A. I received a lot of support from my family and friends, which was awesome. So many people I wouldn't have expected to be supportive were, and it really meant a lot. The fact that this was my first pageant and I had so much support really solidified to me that I had made the right decision by going through with this and stepping outside of my comfort zone.
Q. Talk about the other girls in the pageant. Did you make any lasting connections with any of them? What does that mean to you to have a potential new group of girls in your life who have shared this experience with you?
A. The other girls were surprisingly all very down to earth and incredibly helpful. Not everyone was a pageant vet ⊠and for a few other girls it was their first pageant as well. I really enjoyed getting to know each and everyone of them. I donât necessarily think I made any life-long friendships ⊠but I think I fell into a nice group of girls that I could go to for advice with future pageants. When I used to think of pageants, I thought of girls being sneaky and cutting up dresses. But everyone was so dedicated to the organization that we all really wanted to see everyone succeed.
What to know more about Samantha's experience? Click below!
Q. Once you decided to do the pageant, what was the process for getting picked for the top 11? Describe the process and different things you had to do.
A. Well⊠I'm pretty sure anyone who applied to compete in the pageant gets in. You have to fill out a bunch of paperwork and fulfill a philanthropy amount. Youâre required to sell two ads in the program and sell ten tickets to the show. Once I applied it was pretty much up to me to get myself pageant ready.
Q. What was the day of the pageant like? What did you do to prep/get ready? Did you so anything in the few days leading up to Miss Boston?
A. The day before the pageant we had a mandatory dress rehearsal. We learned the opening number and all of our walking patterns. We also got a chance to practice our talents in front of all the other girls, which really calmed my nerves about the whole thing and made me more excited for the day of the pageant.
Leading up to the pageant I had decided that I would work out 4-5 days a week and eat meals high in proteins. I drank only water. It was hard but it was the first time I actually stuck to most of my "diet" plans EVER. I think it's because I was ready to make a change. I also watched the news constantly in order to keep up with current events.
The day of the pageant was so exciting. We had to be at the Omni Parker House at 10 a.m. We ran opening number and talents and then got ready for our individual interviews. The interviews are 9 minutes long ⊠but they feel WAY shorter. At the end of your nine minutes you get 30 seconds to say anything you want to the judges. I was asked questions about future goals⊠if I thought women should be allowed into menâs locker rooms to interview people. I was even asked if my child was switched at birth with another what I would do.
It was crazy and the hardest phase of the competition for me. Even though they were questions all about me and my opinion ⊠I was being judged on all of it. The day went by so fast and before I knew it, it was 5pm-show time. The first time we went out on the stage my heart was beating so fast⊠But after that it was easy and fun and so exciting.
Q. What was the experience in general being the first pageant you have ever done? Did anyone help you out along the way? How so?Â
A. I think for the most part I was my biggest coach. I asked a lot of questions of people who had done pageants before, Michelle Nigro (Broadcast Journalism, 2012), Shakala Alvaranga (Broadcast Journalism 2014), and my professor Dr. Rosengard. I think looking back on it⊠having a real pageant coach would have done WONDERS for me. I think I did a great job for it being my first pageant, but I also know I could have been a lot better prepared fitness and interview wise. I'm really glad I decided to do it though ⊠it opened up a whole new set of opportunities for me as far as pageants go. I enjoyed my experience and I might do another one ... who knows.
Q. Was there ever a time when you second-guessed your decision to be in Miss Boston?
A. I think I started to second-guess myself right before the dress rehearsal. I was SO nervous. It's easy to second-guess yourself when youâre sitting in a room with ten other beautiful, talented, and smart women.
The most important thing for me was to not take everything SO seriously⊠I knew that I was in it as a learning experience and that I wanted to have a good time. I'm an incredibly competitive person but I think I knew that it would be crazy to expect to win something that I knew so little about.
Q. How did you go about choosing your outfits/bathing suits/talent portion?
A. I asked friends for advice. I used an old prom dress and one of my sorority sisters prom dresses. I kind of just went with my gut. I've watched Miss America before, so I kind of got the jist of what was expected.
Q. What was the interview like? Did you prepare in any certain way? Did you find it difficult or did anything catch you off guard?
A. Again⊠the interview was probably my weakest phase. There are seven judges and one of you. They ask you questions in rapid fire, and it's timed. You only have nine minutes and 30 seconds to let the judges get to know you as best as you possibly can.
There were a lot of things I wanted to go back and say "Oh wait I meant this..." after I had left the room. As far as prepping for the interview, it's just really about how well you know yourself and what you stand for.
