Preparing Great Women for the World

I'm a big fan of mission statements. I have one that I wrote a few years ago as a guiding light for making decisions that would align me with who I am and what's important to me. I can't tell you how many times I've referred back to this statement over the past few years, whether making decisions about projects to take on, challenges to tackle, or dreams to pursue. It's helped me gain clarity on my priorities without the temptation of comparison.

My Mission Statement

The Miss America Organization has undergone quite a few changes in the past year. Among them, there's one that I want to focus on today - and that is the new mission statement:

So what does this mission statement mean for the organization, and what does it mean for those of us who are involved?

I have long respected the Miss America organization for giving women a platform to serve the community, use our voices, and pursue higher education. There's no doubt that women walk into the program already accomplished and ambitious. It's a magnet for those who want their lives to leave an impact. However, if these women are like me, we often walk in as college students who have big goals but struggle to articulate how we want to get there.

Take my first year of competition: I was 20 years old and had just finished up my sophomore year of college. I walked into my interview and told the judges that I wanted to be the "Next Kennedy in the White House" - a phrase that had been at the top of my mind for the past few years. In preparing for that interview, I had to think strategically about how I actually wanted to achieve that. Stating it in a job interview meant that I had better have an idea of how I planned to get there. So, I began to research the White House Internship Program. I met a classmate who had spent her previous summer in the First Lady's Office. I reached out to mentors and teachers, asking if they'd be open to writing a letter of recommendation. I researched the different offices and made a shortlist of where I wanted to work.

When I was in my Miss California 2015 interview, I clearly and confidently stated my goal to be the "Next Kennedy in the White House." I now had a vision that I could make it happen. It was no longer a dream, it was a goal. 

That week, the wonderful Bree Morse-Johnston was crowned Miss California. I drove away from Fresno without a crown, but equipped with a new goal and the steps to get there. Six months later, I submitted my application for the White House Internship Program. Two months after that, I received a call from a blocked number asking if I had 10 minutes to interview for a position. A month later, I had been accepted and a month after that I was walking up the steps of the White House. 

This mission statement might be new, but the intention behind it is as old as the first crown placed on a bathing beauty on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The Miss America Organization has always prepared great women for the world. It's provided mentorship, interview skills, brand development, public speaking, and presentation abilities to generations of women. 

So now we've got that covered, what about preparing the world for great women - where do we begin?

For starters, it's about each Miss America contestant sharing their experiences loudly and proudly. When someone hears that I'm involved in the Miss California organization, they usually can't hide their surprise. Day-to-day, I love being outside, I lead a bible study at my house on Monday nights, I volunteer with Girls on the Run, and I work full time at a fast-growing tech company. It's hard for people to connect their knowledge of who I am and the caricature, society-created architype of a "pageant girl" (thank you Toddlers and Tiaras!) 

I wish I could say that society will change their tune, but ladies, it's on us. We need to share our experiences and articulate the ways that Miss America has given us the skills and confidence to be all that we are meant to be. We need to put it on our professional resumes and LinkedIn profiles. We need to tell our stories. 

My hope is that this new mission statement will allow us to brand Miss America as a professional development program, because that is what it is. We walk in women with dreams, we walk out women with vision. This organization elevates our abilities by challenging us to show up every day as the best version of ourselves - healthy, generous, confident, focused, talented, and service-oriented. 

So let's do this, great women.