By Rowan Walrath, city editor
Sunday’s Miss Boston Pageant took place in the Sheraton’s Constitution Ballroom amidst rows upon rows of silver, grey-upholstered chairsbeneath dim golden lights. Milling about before the show were current Massachusetts titleholders – Miss Somerset and Miss New Bedford, among others – in glamorous dresses and four-pointed crowns. The evening saw 15 young women compete in the Miss Boston and Miss Cambridge competition, while ten competed in the Miss Boston’s Outstanding Teen competition.
Miss Boston 2014 Meagan Fuller explained the idea behind the Miss Boston Scholarship Organization, that it allows each contestant the opportunity to promote a cause.
“All of these girls have a platform or specific concern,” Fuller said.
Rosie McLaughlin, a student in Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies and a contestant, competed on the platform “consent is sexy: preventing sexual assault.”
“I worked with [the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC)], so I knew a lot about it,” McLaughlin said. “I’m a community awareness and prevention services volunteer. We go into the community – high schools, universities, community groups like churches and things like that – and do these interactive trainings and workshops on curriculum.”
McLaughlin hoped to be able to use the title of Miss Boston or Miss Cambridge to spread her volunteer efforts even farther.
Before competing in the 2014 pageant, Fuller, who grew up in Attleboro, worked with the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship, a division of AmeriCorps, for one year. Now, having earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and women’s studies from the University of Alabama, she is studying for a Master of Science degree in public health at Tulane University. She continues to volunteer, working with the Cookbook Project to educate people about food literacy.
“I totally value all the experience,” Fuller said of her career in pageantry. “I’m in the dream world; I find that perfect balance. It provided me with leadership skills … I’m a superhero. I have two different lives.”
Miss Cambridge 2014 Michelle Nigro, a New England Patriots cheerleader, was also there to facilitate the competition.
“Today, I’m giving up my crown,” Nigro said with a hint of sadness. She is also planning to resign from her cheerleading position, focusing instead on a career in public relations. Her platform is Bakes for Breast Cancer.
Before exiting in a red dress, Nigro advised pageant-goers, as well as the general public, to “have an open mind” about the program.
Many in the audience were inspired by the competitors. One woman, 19-year-old Lamaan Gallall from Boston, would have been onstage herself, but she broke her foot before the competition, rendering her unable to compete.
Academic, public speaking, gown and wardrobe scholarships, combined with product offers from companies like Kind Healthy Snacks, offer an incentive for the pageant’s contestants. According to Executive Director of the Miss Boston Scholarship Organization Dustin Rennells, the organization gave out approximately $9,000 in scholarship funds and $20,000 in prizes between titleholders and runners-up.
“These ladies aren’t here to get up onstage and look glamorous,” Rennells said. “They’re here to win a $1,500 scholarship for college.”
The show began with performances by the two standing titleholders, Fuller and Nigro. Fuller, who trained with the Boston Ballet summer program when she was younger, performed a jazz dance routine. Nigro showed off her Patriots cheerleading prowess with a red uniform and silver pom-poms.
Then, the Miss Boston’s Outstanding Teens contestants, all between the ages of 13 and 17, came onstage. Each one introduced herself by her name, age and platform. Some of the platforms were curiosity for kids, gaining confidence, the American Cancer Society and the impact of art on education.
Afterward, the Miss contestants, ages 17 to 24, introduced themselves as part of the onstage question portion of the competition, which was worth 5 percent of their overall score. Questions included opinions on the current vaccination debate and how prepared the city’s officials were for last week’s snowstorm.
Miss Boston’s Outstanding Teen contestants’ talent competition featured a variety of performances, including songs from musical theatre productions and pop songs, as well as contemporary dances.
The Miss contestants then took on the swimsuit competition, worth 15 percent of their overall score. After quick changes, the ladies reappeared for the talent competition, worth 35 percent of their overall score. One contestant, Julia Rice, performed an Irish step dance, while another, Samantha Hawkins, performed the theme from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series on the piano. For her talent performance, McLaughlin sang Adele’s “Skyfall,” a show that won her the Miss Non-Finalist Talent Award.
“[It] was kind of surprising because I was worried about my talent portion the most, so it was really kind of validating to win that award,” McLaughlin said.
The Outstanding Teen fitness and exercise portion did not feature swimsuits, but rather a routine led by Fuller and Nigro, performed first in a group and then individually. Their onstage interview questions later in the program, worth 25 percent of overall scores, included whether Boston should host the 2024 Olympics and which of the four points of the Miss America crown (Scholarship, Success, Style and Service) is most important and why.
The night ended with the Miss evening wear portion of the competition, which was worth 20 percent of each contestant’s score.
The judges deliberated for approximately 15 minutes before announcing final awards, including the People’s Choice Award, Miss Photogenic, Miss Congeniality, the STEM Award, Public Services awards and overall interview and talent awards.
Finally, the 25 ladies, all clad in evening wear, gathered onstage for the announcements of the finalists.
In the Miss Boston’s Outstanding Teen category, contestant Olivia Marques won overall first runner-up. Alexandra Berube was named Miss Boston’s Outstanding Teen 2015.
Three runners-up were listed in the Miss Cambridge competition: Stephanie Deltor, Gina Brazao and Kira Kopacz. Samantha Hawkins was named Miss Cambridge 2015. Sabrina Ponte was crowned Miss Boston 2015.
Afterward, McLaughlin reflected on some of the attitudes she’d heard from people who learned of her pageantry career.
“I’m very clearly a feminist and supportive of those types of causes, I work with BARCC – a lot of people criticize me, say being a pageant girl is anti-feminist,” McLaughlin said. “I find it really empowering to do these types of things because it’s for scholarship money, and I get to to promote a platform that I really care about.”
McLaughlin is 24, which means that after this year, she will be too old to compete. However, she is considering competing in another local pageant such as Miss Middleborough.
“I would say the biggest, most important thing for me is to not let other people distract you,” McLaughlin said. “You compare yourself to others and think, ‘I’m not as good as her, X, Y and Z,’ but you’re really competing with yourself, trying to be your best self. It’s really good practice for life.”
Photo by Scotty Schenck
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