World peace

One valedictorian becomes an unexpected pageant queen

 by Carly Campo
 published on Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Sam Nalven / STATE PRESS MAGAZINE

Among the many pageant girl stereotypes, my favorite might have to be "world peace" from the movie Miss Congeniality. For me, it might not be too far from the truth.

I've heard plenty of other stereotypes, and I'm still proud to call myself a pageant girl. I fully support and believe in the positive impact of the Miss America Organization. Last year the MAO set aside $45 million in scholarship assistance making it the No. 1 provider of scholarships to young women around the world.

I fell into the pageant world purely by mistake. It was mid-May 2005 and I was a recent high school graduate. Amanda, a friend of mine, called to let me know she was relinquishing her title as Miss Western Idaho and thought I would be an excellent contestant in the pageant. Of course, as the serious, "overachieving," academic student who had never been considered one of the beautiful girls in school, I insisted that I really didn't see myself as the "pageant girl" type. She reminded me that our roles in high school paralleled each other. I reluctantly decided to attend a practice and learn more.

I found myself signing up for community service events and organizing makeup rehearsals in order to learn the opening number. I was three weeks behind the other girls. I had to pluck a talent piece out of thin air and sell advertisements for the program book. I also had the extra challenge of finding a swimsuit, evening gown, casual outfit, talent outfit and interview suit. And finally, the directors asked what I would choose as my platform.

"Platform" – that one word changed my entire opinion and transported me from my overwhelmed and reluctant daze into the unknown or underappreciated world of pageants. A platform is an issue or a cause each contestant is passionate about, and if she wins the title, will spend her year of reign promoting. Maybe I have the same naive desire for "world peace" that remains a clever witticism regarding pageants. But I have always wanted to make an impact and change the world. I began to see the potential in winning a title. I could use that sparkly crown as a vehicle to disseminate an important message to the people around me. Earlier that year, I had attended an extremely moving conference hosted by Idaho Drug Free Youth and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The conference left such an impression on me that I chose a platform concerning drunk driving and alcohol awareness.

Since winning the Miss Washington County title, I've become the president of the ASU UMADD chapter. I also partnered with ASU Health and Wellness to give presentations about my platform, gave presentations to Italian high school students while I studied abroad, organized two candlelight vigils, worked with ASU and Tempe police, and I recently brought the Smart Start car to campus in order to demonstrate ignition interlock systems and provide information about the new DUI laws. But with more than 17,000 Americans dying in drunk driving crashes every year, my little niche on the quest for "world peace" continues.

— Reach the writer at spm@asu.edu

»Send us your own life story at spm@asu.edu.