Networking, Networking, Networking

From the minute I was crowned Miss Cape Shores, the only thought running through my mind was "I have 365 days to accomplish all my goals. One year, that's it." This thought sticks with me and I'm constantly reminded everyday of how much I want to do with the year I have ahead of me. My most notable goal for this year is to start a nonprofit organization, based on my platform, that will not only serve as a channel to advocate arts education, but to provide scholarship funds to artistic students in need, expand my arts empowerment workshops into a statewide (and maybe nationwide) program, and hold various events to expose the community to the many benefits of arts education. I want to leave a lasting impact on the community even after my pageant career is over, and I feel this is the best way to accomplish this. After attending quite a few leadership conferences, I knew that if I were going to achieve my goal, I had to network, market myself, and put my name out there. A week after being crowned, I hit the ground running, and met with local reporter, entertainment personality, radio host, and arts advocate Raymond Tyler for an interview with the Galloway Patch and a segment of his radio show entitled "Five Minutes."

We immediately hit it off as he asked me about why I started competing in pageants, what my platform entailed, what my plans are for my year as Miss Cape Shores, and my favorite topic of the afternoon, how pageantry can still be considered an empowering lifestyle, despite being stigmatized as solely a "beauty" pageant. Ray and I proved to have a lot in common, including our love for the arts, and also our shared ambition to pursue healthier lifestyles (thanks to our trainer, Hesh!) We promised to keep in touch and continue our partnership in advocating the arts. We have a few ideas rolled up our sleeves for joint events, but I'll keep those to myself until we unveil some exciting new information. I'm looking forward to participating in more interviews and expanding my outreach with each person I meet.