For the Last Time

In just under two weeks I will be taking the stage for the last time at Miss New York in Staten Island. Whoa. That’s mind-boggling even to type.

As I reach a new and bright point in my life, I wanted to reflect a little on my journey these past years in the Miss America Organization, because no matter what happens on that stage, I am tremendously thankful for what this organization and all the people involved with it have taught me.

For the last time, I will be spending a week with 20+ other young women with whom I can truly say are some of the brightest, wittiest, intelligent, and well-spoken young women I have ever met. Sure, we keep in touch outside of Miss New York week, but the week with these women, bonding over everything from politics to music, platforms to education, is truly life-changing.

For the last time, I will be able to compete for the opportunity to promote my platform at the state and possibly national level. Helping Students Thrive and equal educational opportunities has been a passion of mine for years, but this is the last time I have the ability to possibly earn the honor of being Miss New York and making NYS the second in history to have state titleholder with an LGBT-based platform.

For the last time, I will be gluing a swimsuit to my butt and walking on stage in high heels wearing less than what many women wear to the beach. I have worked my glued-butt off to be in the shape I am in. Weight and body issues have always been something I have struggled with, but through the Miss America Organization, I have grown so determined to live a healthy lifestyle and fitness level.

For the last time, I will be looking out into the crowd at my fiance’, knowing that no matter how hectic, time-consuming, and sometimes expensive pageants can be, that he 100% has my back in this journey. Heck, even if I decide to compete later on in life, chances are I’ll be Mrs. Waszkiewicz by then! [I’ve already ordered my wedding gown!!]

For the last time, I will be competing for the title of Miss New York- a feat that 10 years ago hadn’t even entered my mind, 7 years ago was a dream,and these past 2 years has been something I will never forget.

I have come so far through my years in pageantry, grown so much, and discovered so many things about myself, my goals, and my beliefs.
So, I have a question for you: Can you help me out one last time? I would love to compete during the final night of the Miss New York competition. Two nights of preliminary competitions determine the top 10 placements, who move on to Sunday’s finale, but there’s an 11th spot that isn’t based on your scoring. People’s Choice is based on family and friend support. The contestant with the most votes is guaranteed a spot during the final night of competition.

Vote here!

Will you help me one last time with a vote? You can vote as many times as you would like, and for each and every vote I am exponentially thankful.
Voting: http://missny.org/2016-1-pc/

Warm Regards,

Next Chapter

Hi Everyone!

This year has flown by quicker than I could have ever imagined. In just 2 and a half weeks I will be passing on my sparkly crown to a new sister in the Miss Upstate New York family. I’m quite sad, to be honest. I truly enjoyed acting as Miss Upstate New York this past year.

I was honored with the opportunity to travel all across the state promoting my platform Helping Students Thrive: It’s EASY. I got to speak in many different schools, participate in and attend various fundraisers, and be Upstate NY’s Representative at Miss New York. I walked in a fashion show for the first time, was interviewed at the State Capitol, received a Women of Distinction Award, and rode in quite a few parades. I started working with a new voice coach, who boosted my confidence in my talent ten-fold, and learned the art of the red lip.

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But honestly, that’s only one part of the story. Outside of the appearances and glitter, I was also working on myself. Throughout this past year, I left a job I felt unfulfilled in, started a new career at Utica College, became happily engaged, and adopted a fur-baby. My only sister got married, and gave me my first niece. I fought for what I believe in and stood up for myself against some terrible experiences. I started writing poetry again and began to write short opinion pieces for another website. I joined a new gym to help me learn to love my whole self again.

This past year has been life-changing–and I can’t wait to see what the next chapter holds.

In 2 1/2 weeks I am giving up my title as Miss Upstate New York, but this is my last year eligible for Miss New York so you best believe I am giving it one more go!

In 4 weeks I will be competing for the title of Miss Copper City, a brand new local based in Rome, NY. I will be giving it my all and am so thrilled to have this amazing opportunity of being a titleholder in the Miss America Organization one last time. I’m not sure what this year will entail, but I am always looking toward the future.

Please consider supporting my endeavors of being your first ever Miss Copper City by donating to my Miss America for Kids fundraising page. Your tax deductible donation goes to help sick and injured children, as well as contributing to the world’s largest scholarship provider of young women.

Please consider making a donation here.

Warm Regards,

There’s a new Outstanding Teen in town!

What a fun and busy day!
I had such a splendid time emceeing the Little Miss Mohawk Valley Pageant this morning and the Mohawk Valley Talent Showcase and Miss Mohawk Valley’s Outstanding Teen Competition this afternoon!

For those of you who couldn’t make it, the Little Miss Mohawk Valley Fundraiser Pageant was held in Gloversville at the Kingsborough Elementary School. Although there were a few bumps in the technology (darn you cassette player!!), the pageant ended up a great success. The Miss Mohawk Valley Organization awarded four titles to area youth!

Congratulations to the wonderful additions to the Miss Mohawk Valley Family:

• Miss Mohawk Valley’s Sweetheart (ages 3-5): Azaria Hayes
• Little Miss Mohawk Valley (ages 6-9): Emma Maret
• Junior Miss Mohawk Valley (ages 10-13): Lillian Lighthall
• Teen Miss Mohawk Valley (ages 14-17): Kathleen Martin

Miss Mohawk Valley 2015 Court

These young ladies are encouraged to assist and appear in the Miss Mohawk Valley 2015 Pageant in one month, work alongside the new Miss Mohawk Valley and Miss Mohawk Valley’s Outstanding Teen, and serve their communities!

After a lunch break, we returned for the Mohawk Valley Youth Talent Showcase. We had over 17 acts take the stage at Kingsborough and it was a TOUGH competition! There were many dancers, from several different dance studios including Sue Sanford’s School of Dance. I want to give a special shoutout to Sue, or Miss Suzy as her girls call her, for not only encouraging her students to come compete, but also offering her dance studio to be used for the Miss Mohawk Valley contestant workshop next month. The Sanford School of Dance will also be providing entertainment between phases of competition at the Miss pageant!

The Talent Showcase had three different categories: Group, 12 and Under Solo, and 13 and Over.

Sanford’s School of Dance took both Runner up and First Place for the Group category. The winners were an adorable hip hop group who brought SO much sass to the show!

For the 12 and Under category, Hailee Waddle placed as second, with Jilllian Botch coming in First place!

Our 13 and Over category placed Tazdyn Francisco as second place and Willow Johnson took home First place!

The Miss Mohawk Valley’s Outstanding Teen Competition is judged solely on a talent performance by young ladies ages 13-17 who choose to enter. This year, five contestants from around the Mohawk Valley competed for this coveted title and the chance to compete at Miss New York’s Outstanding Teen this April.

Our five contestants were:

• Savannah Koval
• Christina McLaughlin
• Alexis Conti
• Kimberly Sargalis
• Kathleen Martin

Christina earned 2nd runner up and Lexy earned 1st runner up.

Congratulations to Savannah Koval, Miss Mohawk Valley’s Outstanding Teen 2015!

Me, Christina, Savannah, Lexy, and Olivia

Savannah will be officially crowned at the Miss Mohawk Valley 2015 Pageant by Olivia Rose Smith, Miss Mohawk Valley’s Outstanding Teen 2014. On April 10-12, she will also be competing in Saratoga Springs for the title of Miss New York’s Outstanding Teen. I wish her the best of luck!

In total, these two competitions raised $750 for the Miss Mohawk Valley Scholarship Fund! Furthermore, one of the judges, Julie, has also started a Thirty-One fundraiser for the scholarship fund. 20-25% of all proceeds from sales until March 13 will be donated! Please check it out! All you have to do it shop like you normally would, then select the Miss Mohawk Valley Scholarship Fundraiser for the party! For more pictures from the events today, please check out the Miss Mohawk Valley Facebook Album.

After the show, I drove through a wonderful northeast snow storm back to Queensbury where I did an awesome workout, “Dirty 30.” Christina Phillips is my BeachBody Coach- and I am so happy she is sponsoring me on my lifestyle and fitness journey. I have been following a strict nutritional regime and intense workouts for 7 days thus far. I am down 2.5 pounds and am feeling stronger and healthier already! The program I am doing is called 21 Day Fix Extreme Countdown to Competition, but there are SO many different BeachBody options! P90X, T25, 21 Day Fix, Insanity, and more! No matter how long you have or what your fitness goals are, BeachBody has something for you. Definitely like Christina’s page and get in contact with her about starting down your path to a healthier, happier you! 🙂

That’s all for now folks!

Warm Regards,

Hazing?

Recently, allegations have been made regarding Miss America 2015, Kira Kazanstev, partaking in hazing activities while in her undergraduate career at Hofstra University. I feel as a Sorority woman and titleholder in the Miss America Organization, this situation is something I have the capability to reflect on. Furthermore, with my platform being about creating safe and welcoming educational environments for all students (albeit I focus more on K-12) I feel it is my duty to discuss this situation.

Sidenote shout out to my Little, Lizzie on her anniversary of becoming the Best Little Ever. 🙂

First, I would like to state that I am against any hazing which compromises the physical, emotional, or mental well-being of an individual (of course, as I was president of a sorority). That being said, I would also like to say that I understand, as I was in Greek Life, that literally anything can be construed as hazing. My organization has been in trouble in the past because of hazing, but as the strong, independent woman I am, I would never partake in things that are detrimental to my psyche or someone else’s self-esteem. Yet, my organization has had instances in the past for allegedly hazing our New Members.

I would like to quote Miss Montana 2013:

So do I believe she was given a hearing for joking (in poor taste or not) that the night would be scary for pledges? Yep. I sure do. 

A Jezebel article stated that Kira was involved with hazing, then went on to list hazing not related to her case. These examples of hazing are by and by the stereotypical urban legends that each and every single girl interested in Greek Life will be told before she joins that “another organization does” or “you shouldn’t join __ they XYZ.” I remember when I first started rushing my organization I was petrified. I thought that every organization on campus must do something terribly bad because I’ve heard stories from people who know someone who was sisters with a sorority girl. You’d hear “well, XYZ organization makes you sit on a washing machine naked, and whatever jiggles in the beginning of your pledge process you have to stop from jiggling by the end” or “they’ll make you lay down on big sheets of paper and outline you, then redraw what you need to be before you get in” or “they’ll make you strip down to your underwear, take 4 shots, then go into a room with their brother fraternity’s pledges.” It was hard to wade through the filth to find what I thought (at the time) must have been the only organization at SUNY Oneonta to not haze, degrade, or demean their new members. What I learned, however, through my years as a Pi Delta Chi sister and alumna, is that each recognized sorority at Oneonta (and I’m pretty sure this goes across the nation for most organizations) thinks the same thing about another organization at their school. It’s always someone spreading rumors and the list of hazing on the Jezebel article consists of the ridiculous rumors that are spread at almost every school about almost every organization. I find their ‘student source’ to first and foremost be uninformed. You do not know, as a member of one organization or an independent (non-Greek student) what goes on in the New Member process of another Greek organization. Of course, if you are a student at a college (Hofstra for instance) and a news reporter asks you, “Have you heard that Greek organizations at your school haze?” you would say yes, you’d list the same sorts of activities listed in the Jezebel article.

Furthermore, the connection is made for hazing to equal something that is abusive- physically, mentally, emotionally, etc, but people don’t realize that hazing, as defined in many college codes can literally be applied to almost anything done with new members for an organization if someone wishes to claim it as such.

Some examples from SUNY Oneonta’s Hazing Manual of what is considered hazing:

• Any form of obtaining signatures of members or alumni (i.e. lists, on paddles, on balloons, etc…) or obtaining
  handshakes/greetings/phone calls in a manner inconsistent with the Hazing Policy.
• Such activities, such as scavenger hunts, new member ditches, kidnaps, blindfolding, etc.

I agree that kidnapping, paddling, leaving new members in the woods to fend for themselves, or making them eat gross things is hazing. But I wish I could have done a scavenger hunt with my pledge sisters or my line or been asked to meet with, talk on the phone with and/or get signatures from current members/alumnae. As it stands, when I joined the organization I didn’t know many alumnae very well, or current sisters very well at all. I wish it was part of my process that I needed to learn more before becoming a member. It is not in the best interest of a person to join an organization without knowing their history, their members, traditions, etc.

Giving new members (pledges if you must) requirements on learning information about sisters, history of your org, information on other orgs, etc can all be considered hazing because it’s something specific new members must do that older members don’t. Having NMs meet with older sisters a certain time a week or month can be construed as hazing because you’re forcing them to do something in public or taking time out of their schedule. Giving them quizzes or tests on the history of the organization, current sisters, or alumnae is hazing because it can give NMs anxiety or cause them stress.

If Kira was accused of hazing, which it seems she was, I think it is vital to realize that hazing as under college policies can be pretty much anything. I think it is imperative to also understand that persons in organizations won’t see things as hazing that people outside may. For example, if your organization has consistently had 8am Saturday breakfast during the New Member Process for years and each age group of sisters has a different role (prep, cooking, cleaning, dishes, etc) that may be second nature to you, but to a Hazing Prevention council, because it was expected that the new members do the dishes, that could be considered hazing. 

While in an organization, there is, of course, a sort of rose colored glasses you wear. You might not see that what you’re doing isn’t the best option. I admit to that during my Greek process as well, and am happy to say that Greek organization change and develop over time. Phone trees used to be the norm, now it’s all about texts and group messages. Similarly, New Member processes grow and change.

I think that until the actual organization (Alpha Phi) comes out with a statement about the reasons she was removed from the organization, (as each article states something completely different than what Kira states) we need to take everything written with a grain of salt and the understanding that even people with the best intentions make mistakes.

I stand by Kira until I know the truth. Because I can’t judge a woman based on rumors, and the Kira I met during my time in Staten Island and the many times following, would have never forced anyone to do something which compromised their physical, emotional, or mental well-being.

Warmest Regards,

A BBQ and a Miracle

This past Saturday I was honored to not only be asked to attend a special Volunteer Appreciation BBQ for the Pride Center of the Capital Region, but also sing the National Anthem at the second of a double header game between the Amsterdam Mohawks and Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs. It was a wonderful day of making new connections, breaking a french fry world record, and being out and about in my community. Then Sunday I was able to attend a former MAO titleholder and Mohawk Valley family member, Danielle Trumbull’s send off party… Click in for more details! 

Thursday Recap!

Hi Folks!

I have been a little busy this past week with some appearances, setting up some fundraisers, and making some plans for future volunteer work! Keep reading to learn more! 🙂 

Story Hour & The Ilion Days Pageant

Hey Folks,

I’ve been up to a few events I wanted to let you all know about. 🙂

On July 10 I helped out at the Frankfort Free Library Story Hour and on July 12 I emceed the Ilion Days Pageant. Take a look for more information, pictures, and what’s coming up in my life as Miss Mohawk Valley!

What’s Up? Some “Thank Yous,” That’s What!

Hi folks! Happy July!

I wanted to give you all an update with what’s been going on in my life, my role as Miss Mohawk Valley, and some things coming up in my near future!

CNY Pride

Hi Folks!

Saturday I had a busy day filled, traveling from Syracuse to Fultonville for two different events. I had initially planned to also make an appearance at Schenectady’s Pride Festival, but I ran out of hours in the day! Regardless, I had a phenomenal time at the CNY Pride Parade, Pride Festival, and the Party in the Park in Fultonville!

Events Galore!

Hi folks!

I’m so sorry for not keeping you up to date with my slew of events, appearances, and fundraising ventures. I’ve been extra busy working full time, all these Pride (and other) events, and being without a car, so blogging has taken the back burner a bit! Fear not my dearest Mohawk Valley-ans, I shall recap the last few weeks. 🙂