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Miss Massachusetts crowned: Kiersten Khoury aiming for Miss America title

June 25, 2024Tagged massachusetts, miss america, Miss MassachusettsLeave a comment

The new Miss Massachusetts is a pageant veteran, and has held multiple titles, but said the one she earned on June 22 is the best one yet.

Kiersten Khoury, Boston native and graduate of High Point University, bested a very talented and accomplished field of 24 women at the competition held at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester June 21 and 22.

When she learned that she had won the title, she said she was in a state of shock.

Kiersten Khoury (right) reacts to the news that she is now Miss Massachusetts 2024, while holding hands with first runner-up Megan Sylvia. Photo by Steve Smith.

“Unbelievable shock. It was a surreal moment, but it was also one of the greatest feelings in the entire world, and something I’ve been waiting for for a long time.”

Khoury’s first title was a National American Miss Massachusetts Princess in 2008. She also held the national title of Miss American Co-Ed, in 2021.

But, the trip to Miss America is the one she wanted for a while.

“Today is the biggest highlight, because this has been my dream,” she said, shortly after her crowning.

Throughout the competition, Khoury said she was focused on each moment, but tried not to think too much about possibly winning.

“I always go into a competition not thinking about where I’ll place,” she said. “I know that pageants are based on opinions, and that makes me work harder. I enter every competition knowing that if I do my personal best, that’s all that matters. I am in competition with myself. This time around, I was nervous and excited, but I knew that I had put enough preparation into it, and I could rely on my training to succeed.”

Kiersten Khoury performed a HERstory in the talent phase of competition on June 22. Photo by Steve Smith.

As the field narrowed from 25 to 11 to 5, Khoury said she did start to get excited about the possibilities, but truthfully stayed humble.

“They called me last into the top 5, so I didn’t think that I was going to make it,” she said. “I think you could see it in my reaction. I was shocked. Once you get to the top 5, you can taste it, so for me it was perfecting every little moment, and truly showing the judges why I wanted it.”

Among her many plans for Massachusetts over the next year, Khoury will be promoting her Community Service Initiative, Check the Chicas, and created more awareness about breast cancer prevention and early detection.

Kiersten Khoury shines in a lovely blue gown in the evening wear phase of competition. Photo by Steve Smith.

“I, unfortunately, was robbed of a grandmother. She passed away at 34 years old, and I never got to meet her. For her I do that,” she said. “I would love to work with the school, Lindamood-Bell, which helped me with my dyslexia. They are a privately-funded school, now across the country, that helps children overcome dyslexia and other learning disabilities.”

Next January, Khoury has no small amount of ambition for what she wants to accomplish at Miss America 2025 in Orlando, Florida.

“I want to be the first Miss Massachusetts to become Miss America,” she said. “It is going to be a lot of work. It’s going to be every last blood, sweat and tear that I have, but I’m willing to give that. That is my dream. I want to represent Massachusetts to the best of my ability, and I want to be myself while I do that.”

To her 24 Miss Massachusetts sisters, she said, “I love you all.”

“Without the group of women that we have, I don’t think I’d be here today,” she added. “They have been so supported. We love each other. The reaction I felt from all of the women when I turned around and hugged them, that made all of this worth it.”

For more information, visit http://www.missmass.org.

Kiersten Khoury shows her #missamericafit in Rebel Athletic Wear. Photo by Steve Smith.

A Very Happy Birthday for Miss Massachusetts’ Teen

June 17, 2024June 17, 2024Tagged massachusetts, miss america, Miss America's Teen, Miss Massachusetts, Miss Massachusetts' Teen, music, newsLeave a comment

Maggie Leighton turned 17 on June 16, and got the best give she ever received when she was crowned Miss Massachusetts’ Teen, at the competition held in Fall River.

“Best birthday present ever,” she said. “I did not expect this.”

The Leominster High School student said she really enjoyed the competition and the other 15 contestants. Her day also started out a little frazzled.

Maggie Leighton stays #missamericafit by being a standout on the Leominster High School volleyball team. Photo by Steve Smith.

“I woke up really early this morning, to do my hair and makeup, and I came in my interview dress because I thought I was having my interview really early,” she said. “But it turned out I didn’t have it until 1:30 so I had to change back into my comfy clothes. I was really nervous.”

Leighton described the moment of anticipation when she and eventual first runner-up Laila Hosnander (Miss Worcester County’s Teen) were holding hands and awaiting the final announcement.

“She was the best person to be out there with me,” she said. “We sat right next to each other [in the dressing room] and she was so supportive and so nice. She’s amazing.”

Leighton had competed twice in the Miss Massachusetts Teen USA competition before winning the Miss Cranberry Country’s Teen competition on April 7. In 2023, she placed as 4th runner-up at the USA competition, and in March of this year, was 3rd runner-up.

The Miss Massachusetts top 5 – (l-r) 3rd runner-up Faith O’Hanlon, 1st runner-up Laila Hosnander, Miss Massachusetts’ Teen 2024 Maggie Leighton, 2nd runner-up Marianna McCallum, and 4th runner-up Na’Shajia Montiero. Photo by Steve Smith.

During the competition, she said she was confident, but also second-guessing herself a little.

“I was texting my parents during intermission, saying I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said, adding that her nerves were on edge when the top 5 was announced, and she was the last one called.

“That’s kind of scary,” she said. “It was weird, but a ‘whew’ moment.”

Leighton will be competing for the title of Miss America’s Teen in January 2025.

“It’s insanely exciting,” she said. “I’m pretty new to this organization, so I’m excited to be a titleholder for this state, and fulfill all of this duty.”

Leighton’s Community Service Initiative is Play On! Ensuring Access to Music Education.

“I’m such a big supporter of music organizations and education groups,” she said. “I feel like, as Miss Massachusetts’ Teen, I can do a lot more things around the Commonwealth. I would really like to plan more fundraisers and raise more awareness.”

Miss Cranberry Country’s Teen Maggie Leighton belts out Bon Jovi’s “Living On A Prayer” on her way to being crowned Miss Massachusetts’ Teen 2024. Photo by Steve Smith.

Leighton gave a vocal performance of “Living On A Prayer.”

Her new title may cement her competition plans for the future, beyond 2025, as she said she’s liking the Miss America Organization quite a bit at the moment.

“I’m definitely biased now, but I love the talent portion,” she said. “I’ve done music for so long, it was kind of natural for me.”

For more information, visit www.mmaoteen.org.

Shocked Ali Hornung wins Miss Rhode Island crown

May 13, 2024May 13, 2024Tagged miss america, Miss America's Teen, Miss Rhode Island, Miss Rhode Island's Teen, providence, rhode-island, united-statesLeave a comment

Clearly in a state of disbelief, Ali Hornung, 24, from Kingstown bested a field of talented and well-rounded women and took home the title of Miss Rhode Island 2024 in Providence on May 12.

“My mind is absolutely blown right now,” Hornung said, just moments after her crowning. “Just disbelief. I’ve been doing this since I was 17 years old.”

That was when she was competing for the Miss Rhode Island’s Teen title, in 2017. She did not place, and thought competing for the Miss crown would be too hard. She gave it a shot, however, in 2019 and earned second runner-up.

(L-r) Miss Rhode Island 2023 Caroline Parente, Miss Rhode Island 2024 Ali Hornung, Miss Rhode Island’s Teen 2024 Payton Mays, and Miss Rhode Island’s Teen 2023 Mia Daley. (Photo by Steve Smith)

“I came back the next year, 2021, and placed 4th runner-up. I came back in 2022 and placed 3rd runner-up,” she said, adding that she took 2023 off while studying abroad, in Vienna, Austria. Her 2024 experience was a little different than in the past.

“This is absolutely insane,” she said, but added that she may have had some help from above, in the form of her friend, Ella, who passed away in 2019 from leukemia. Ella was the inspiration for Hornung’s foundation, Glimmer of Hope, of which Hornung is the CEO.

Ella had lobbied American Girl to make bald dolls for children undergoing cancer treatment. To date, Glimmer of Hope has given out 600 bald dolls.

A stunned Ali Hornung learns that she is Miss Rhode Island 2024 as Lindsey Arruda (right) was announced as the first runner-up. (Photo by Steve Smith)

Hornung said she visited with a medium last year, who told her that Ella would help her be crowned Miss Rhode Island 2024.

“I still didn’t believe it,” she said. “She told me Ella was placing a crown on my head. For me, it’s always about the metaphorical crown that Ella places on my head every day when I get to work with these kids. Ella was more like a little sister for me.”

Hornung graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2023, having completed a five-year program with a triple major – international business, German and human development.

Among her plans for her year of service is to raise $75,000 for Glimmer of Hope, via a runway show, and to raise $15,000 for the Miss Rhode Island Organization.

Her disbelief, she said, is also in part because of the opportunities she’ll have to bring her CSI to the Miss America competition.

“It means that pediatric cancer gets to be recognized on a national stage,” she said. “It means that Ella’s name gets to be recognized on the national stage, and it means that a Jewish woman gets to be on the national stage, for the first time from Rhode Island.”

Back in the Ocean State, her plans have no limit.

“I’m going everywhere,” she said. “I’ve waited almost seven years for this. I’ve had plans. I’m going to do it all.”

Also crowned was the new Miss Rhode Island’s Teen, Payton Mays (not to be confused with Miss America’s Teen 2020 Payton May), 17, from Cranston. Mays competed in 2021, and returned triumphantly.

17-year-old Payton Mays was crowned Miss Rhode Island’s Teen 2024 on May 12. (Photo by Steve Smith)

“It’s an amazing feeling,” she said. “I’ve worked so hard for three years, leading up to this moment, getting ready to compete again.”

“To me, it’s an opportunity to talk about what’s passionate for me, which is pediatric cancer,” she said, adding that she happens to be part of the Glimmer of Hope’s junior advisory board, so she’ll continue to work closely with her new “big sister.”

She is also part of the Tomorrow Fund, a group at her school, Cranston High School West, which has raised more than $3,000, and plans to help that group have another big year.

Once she graduates, she plans to get a degree in creative writing, but hasn’t picked a school yet.

“I’m excited to see what options are out there,” she said.

Competing in the national competition in 2025, Mays said, is exciting and something she plans to start working for right away.

“Now that I have this, I’m going to hit the ground running over the next few months, working with my family and the board at Miss Rhode Island’s Teen,” she said. “I’m going to be doing everything to lead up to that moment.”

For more information, visit http://www.missri.org.

Vermont’s Meara Seery is the first member of the Class of 2024

April 15, 2024Tagged miss america, Miss America 2025, Miss Vermont, Miss Vermont 2024, vermont1 Comment

Twenty-four-year-old Meara Seery of Brattleboro was crowned Miss Vermont on April 14 at the Spruce Mountain Performing Arts Center in Stowe.

Seery was one of 10 local titleholders competing for the job of the 79th Miss Vermont.
First runner-up was Sophia Parker who was previously crowned Miss Vermont’s (Outstanding) Teen 2015.
“I’m honestly still in shock,” Seery said. “I keep touching the sash to make sure that it’s real, and that it actually happened. I’m ecstatic. I’ve been preparing for this job for three years now and I’m just really, really grateful for the opportunity.”

Having competed for the title in 2022 and 2023, Seery said sometimes winning just takes some perserverance.
“I didn’t even place my first year of competing,” she said. “I was a hot mess, to be frank. But, last year I was 2nd runner-up and I decided to come back and I’m so glad that I did.”

With a Community Service Initiative called “Green for Good,” Seery plans to advocate for sustainable practices.

Meara Seery learns that she is now Miss Vermont 2024, and the first of her Miss America class.

“My main goal is to educate Vermonters about what they can do to live more sustainable,” Seery said.

A lifelong Vermonter, Seery said she plans to add one experience that few from the Green Mountain State don’t have.

“I really want to learn how to ski and I feel like this is a good time to do it,” she said. “I don’t know how I haven’t learned to ski yet.”

While she’ll have plenty of time to do that before heading off to Miss America in January of 2025, Seery said she’ll also be dreaming of that national stage.

“I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like there. I felt so comfortable and confident on stage tonight, and I have no doubts that I will have a great time at Miss America.”

She’ll also be bringing her memories of competing for the state title.

“I would love to thank every single girl who competed this year, because we have such a unique environment in this organization. I have competed in other systems before, and this is a unique place. The board is wonderful, everyone here really cares about each other, and I am grateful for that.”

Also crowned was Miss Vermont’s Teen 2024 Charlee Royer, 15, who was 1st runner-up on the same stage last year.

Charlee Royer of Newport was crowned Miss Vermont’s Teen 2024 at the Spruce Mountain Performing Arts Center on April 14.

Royer said she’s also eager to spread her CSI, Beyond The Ribbon, which supports the mental health of families of victims of cancer, across the Green Mountains. She said she started to feel like there was a chance she would win after picking up some of the other awards.

“You never really know. I had absolutely no idea,” Royer said. “But, I am so thankful for all of the awards that I got and all of the scholarships I’ve gotten over the last two years. It’s amazing.”

She said she is close to getting Beyond the Ribbon its 501(c)3 statues, and her new title will open up many possibilities.

“I really just want to inspire all of the other young women in Vermont and make them aware of this amazing opportunity,” she said. “I hadn’t even heard about the Miss Vermont Organization until last year. I just want all young women to sieze these opportunities. If they are as passionate about being a representative of Vermont as I am, they are going to thrive.”

Royer, naturally is also looking forward to next January.

Charlee Royer (left) reacts to the news that she won the state title, when Aubrianna Mayette was announced as the first runner-up.

“I’m so excited to meet all of my 2024 sisters,” she said. “I’m excited to bond with all of them.”

For more information, visit http://www.missvermont.org.

Mia Daley crowned Miss Rhode Island’s Teen

June 26, 2023Tagged miss america, Miss America's Teen, Miss Rhode Island, Miss Rhode Island's TeenLeave a comment

Mia Daley, a 16-year-old rising junior at LaSalle Academy, was crowned Miss Rhode Island’s Teen on June 25 at the Event Factory in Warwick.

Daley, from East Greenwich, had competed twice before, and was excited to learn she had this time won the crown.

“Honestly, it feels surreal,” she said. “I’ve been first runner-up in the past, and I’ve been truly blessed to receive that, but the fact that I actually did it – won Miss Rhode Island’s Teen – is truly surreal.”

She’s also a little bit excited about the chance to compete at the Miss America’s Teen competition next January.

“I am looking forward to it beyond words,” she said. “A dream of mine has always been to perform on a national stage. Now, I get the opportunity to do that, and I am incredibly thankful to the organization.”

Daley’s Community Service Initiative is The Anxiety Antidote: The Power of Social and Emotional Learning, and she has raised more than $7,000 for the cause, with the goal of infusing that social-emotional initiative into school curriculums. She also wants to actively recruit other young women into the Miss Rhode Island’s Teen program.

With the support of the other four contestants, Mia Daley learns that she is the new Miss Rhode Island’s Teen.

“I want to go from five girls on this stage to 50 girls on this stage,” she said. “As big of a dream as that is, I feel like it’s possible. I want to get into schools and promote this organization, because my life just changed and I want other girls to have this opportunity, as well.”

For more information, visit http://www.missri.org.

Chelsea Vuong crowned Miss Massachusetts 2023

June 26, 2023June 26, 2023Tagged miss america, Miss MassachusettsLeave a comment

From a field of 24 highly talented and accomplished women, Chelsea Vuong was crowned the 83rd Miss Massachusetts at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester on June 24.

Vuong began competing in the Miss America program as a teen in California, when she was Miss Green Valley’s Outstanding Teen 2015. She came to Massachusetts in 2016 to attend Harvard, and has held the titles of Miss Middlesex County, Miss Cambridge, and Miss Tri-Town. She competed back home in California as Miss San Bernadino County, but returned to Massachusetts and won the Miss North Shore title, before exchanging it for the Miss Massachusetts crown.

“It’s been a long journey, but I’ve really grown and loved every single moment of it,” she said. “It’s really the relationships that I’ve built and the fact that I keep on growing every single year. This organization is made up of so many amazing, incredible volunteers, and they have become family. I don’t see this as a competition, as much as me being able to celebrate, grow, and become a mentor to someone else.”

Competing with this class of women, she said, was inspiring, but also a little bit intimidating.

First-runner up Megan Sylvia (left) congratulates a shocked Chelsea Vuong as the final announcement is made.

“I don’t think anyone can be confident competing at Miss Massachusetts, with this class,” she said. “The women on this stage are so talented and spectacular, and truly some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I think I will stay friends with each and every one of them. For the past few days I’ve been trying to soak up every moment, because I didn’t know if this was going to be my last year. I was just grateful for having this experience.”

“Crazy,” she said, when asked about the fact that she’ll be competing on the Miss America stage next January. “It hasn’t sunk in at all. I am grateful to represent Massachusetts, because I’ve found my home here. My community, my family, my everything is in Massachusetts, so I’m really going to be honored to represent this beautiful state at Miss America.”

With her economics degree from Harvard, she is working at McKinsey & Company, a management consulting company that helps Fortune 500 companies.

Vuong is the first woman of Chinese-American heritage to hold the Miss Massachusetts title. That in mind, one of her goals is to increase the diversity of the young women who participate in the program, but also providing more opportunities for women who would like to compete in the program, but for whom expense is a barrier.

“It’s not just about diversity, it’s about getting more women involved in this organization,” she said. “I plan to do this through a media tour, going out into schools, and going into, specifically, low-income communities, because I know they don’t have the funding. It’s about finding out where we can lend a hand. I want to do a huge fundraiser at Gillette Stadium, so that all the money can to scholarship dollars for the local programs and the state program. I want to leave a sustainable business plan for Miss Massachusetts, so they are able to keep this going for years to come.”

Among other plans, she hopes to increase sponsorships and is already planning to make the next Miss Massachusetts’ year special.

“We have amazing, generous sponsors, but we can always have more sponsors,” Vuong said. “I want to give the women who are competing next year that Miss America experience at Miss Massachusetts. That includes getting more events, more food and beverage sponsors, getting more apparel sponsors, and just really building this organization so it’s in it’s prime.”

For more information, visit http://www.missmass.org.

Sweet Caroline! Parente crowned Miss Rhode Island

May 24, 2023Tagged miss america, Miss Rhode IslandLeave a comment

Caroline Parente holds the record for the longest reign as Miss Rhode Island’s (Outstanding) Teen, serving for two years, due to the pandemic, 2019 and 2020.

Apparently, she didn’t get enough of being a state titleholder, as her year as Miss Rhode Island began on May 23, when she earned that title.

“I’m feeling incredible. I’m feeling on top of the world,” she said, just minutes after being crowned. “I am just so humbled to have this wonderful opportunity, and I really can’t wait to get started.”

Caroline Parente’s vocal performance helped propel her to her new title of Miss Rhode Island 2023.

The 21-year-old South Kingstown native said she is also excited for the Miss America competition, set for next January, with exact dates and location TBD.

“It’s surreal,” she said. “I can’t wait. I have been looking forward to this for so long.”

Among the endeavors Parente will be diving into is working with her Community Service Initiative, InvestHer: Igniting the Power of the Female Entrepreneur. She is teaming with the Nelson Center of Entrepreneurship at Brown University (where she is a rising senior) to develop a curriculum to implement in high schools to talk to young girls about how they can invest in their own futures and be successful.

Through the competition, Parente said she was nervous, as well as excited.

“I just really couldn’t wait to get back on the stage, and just give it my all,” she said. “I have the mentality of just giving 100% when I put myself on the stage, and whatever happens is meant to be. I’m excited that this is my time and I want to make the most out of my year, and do the best that I can.”

Parente said her time as Miss Rhode Island’s Teen certainly helped prepare her for her Miss role, and fueled her desire for more.

“I knew that I wanted to be back,” she said. “This organization is truly the most transformative experience in the world. Once you’re bitten by the pageant bug, you’re stuck. I’ve loved this organization and haven’t looked back.”

While waiting to embrace her friends and family, who were all in the audience wearing yellow, to match her evening gown, Parente said it’s that similar sense of family that keeps her involved in the Miss America Organization.

“It means grace, sisterhood and accomplishments,” Parente said. “It really is a sisterhood, not a competition. You meet the best friends you will ever meet in your entire life. It really is a family.”

For more information, visit http://www.missri.org.

Emma-mazing! Gibney wins Miss Massachusetts’ Teen title

May 8, 2023May 8, 2023Tagged miss america, Miss America's Teen, Miss Blackstone Valley's Teen, Miss Massachusetts, Miss Massachusetts' Teen, Miss Worcester County Scholarship OrganizationLeave a comment

Outlasting a field of 19 other extremely accomplished young ladies, Emma Gibney was crowned Miss Massachusetts’ Teen 2023 at BMC Durfee High School in Fall River on May 7.

Gibney was the first to hold the title of Miss Blackstone Valley’s Teen, which she won at the Miss Worcester County Competition on Feb. 18. She previously was the first to hold the title of Miss Worcester County’s Outstanding Teen 2022 (The Miss America organization dropped the “outstanding” from its teen titles earlier this year).

Calling the competition an “up and down” day, Gibney said she didn’t feel good about her private interview with the judges, but, apparently the judges disagreed, as they selected her via the final ballot, after she placed in the top five.

The daughter of Tim and Nicole Gibney, Emma is a 17-year-old junior at New Bedford High School, and a standout varsity tennis player.

When the last two standing were Gibney and Na’Shajia Montiero, the eventual winner said she still wasn’t thinking she would get the crown.

“I told her that I loved her. I told her that she would be a great Miss Massachusetts’ Teen, because, honestly, I didn’t think it was going to be me,” Gibney said. “I think every girl who was out here deserves the crown and deserves to be in that position. To be able to realize that it was me…it really hasn’t sunk in yet, but when it does, it’s going to be a great year, and I’m super-excited for it.”

When the final announcement was made, Gibney said she experienced several emotions.

“I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, it was a lot of mixed emotions all at once,” she said. “I fell to the ground and I really didn’t think it was me. I thought they mixed up the cards, like a Steve Harvey moment, but it wasn’t, and I’m so happy to be here.”

Gibney plans to continue to work with her Community Service Initiative, S.T.A.Y – Start The Awareness Young, suicide prevention, which was inspired by the loss of her cousin, Tyler, to suicide in 2018. Her goal is to not only bring awareness to young people’s mental health issues, but to talk to legislators and advocate for more funding for the state’s suicide hotline, and she may now have the chance to bring that impact to a national level.

“I’m going to really bring that to the stage at Miss America’s Teen,” she said.

For her talent performance, Gibney dramatically performed an original spoken-word piece, titled “Stay,” that echoes her CSI while taking viewers on a journey of someone giving a loved one reasons to avoid taking their own life.

Gibney thanked her local program, including the support she’s received from her sister titleholders, Miss Worcester County Gabrielle Griffiths, Miss Blackstone Valley Natalie Erhensbeck and Miss Worcester County’s Teen Kayla O’Hara, as well as her family and good friends, many of whom were in the audience as she was crowned.

“They come to every single competition, and deal with my crying and my laughter and everything afterwards,” she said. “They’re really my backbone, and why I continue to compete and I why I’ve done well. Even this title here today is because of my local director [who happened to be this reporter], my local board, and all of my family and friends.”

When asked when it will sink in that she’ll compete for the national title, Gibney said, “probably in like a week.”

“I think it’s going to take a little bit for me to get used to,” she said.

For more information, visit http://www.missmass.org or http://www.mmaoteen.org.

Miss Massachusetts’ Teen Emma Gibney is surrounded by her local organization team (l-r) Miss Worcester County Scholarship Organization Director Steve Smith, Miss Worcester County’s Teen Kayla O’Hara, Gibney, Miss Blackstone Valley Natalie Erhensbeck, Miss Worcester County Gabrielle Griffiths and MWCSO Business Manager Dr. Brianna Munoz.

Brooke Mills wins Miss New Hampshire 2023 crown

April 30, 2023May 1, 2023Tagged miss america, miss new hampshireLeave a comment

It’s been a long road for the newest Miss New Hampshire. Brooke Mills competed in every year in which she was eligible, and finally won a state title. Starting as a teen, Mills later competed for the Miss New Hampshire title four previous times, and once for Miss South Carolina.

It could also be said that the crown is in her blood, as her mother, Stephanie Foisy Mills Ryan, was Miss New Hampshire 1995.

The soon-to-be-chiropractor (another way in which she’s following mom’s footprints) said there’s something to be said for perseverance, but also patiently waiting until it’s “your time.” Now, she plans to cherish every moment of her year, and has big plans.

“I want to hit the ground running,” she said. “I plan to leave this organization better than how I found it. I really feel like it’s helped me grow as a person, so I want to make sure we’re bringing on a lot more sponsors, that we are getting new contestants involved and making an easy path to getting involved, and bringing in more scholarship dollars.”

In fact, Mills has already earned more than $65,000 in scholarships, and is super close to completing her Doctor of Chiropractic degree. She walks in June, but officially graduates this fall.

“Dr.” Mills also has another plan for the autumn of 2023.

“In the first 100 days of the 2023-2024 school year, I’d like to speak to 100 classrooms about ‘Choose Health’ and make an impact however I can,” she said.

Mills’s Community Service Initiative includes tips for young people on how to live a healthy lifestyle, including mental health, which is a cause dear to the heart of the brain injury survivor.

“I’m still very passionate about concussion awareness,” she said. “I’m still working with that, and I founded national Concussion Awareness Day. But, I really felt like there was a greater need for education and resources relating to health and making sure our children have the inspiration and ability, and the understanding of how their daily choices and habits impact their overall life and well-being.”

The pillars of that initiative include sleep, movement, eating properly, living substance-free, and mental health.

“All of these things tie into creating a better opportunity for successful mental health and a better outlook on life,” Mills said.

While she says Miss New Hampshire week was again an incredible experience, she wasn’t quite sure how well she would fare when the final announcements were made.

“I couldn’t say I felt amazing about everything, but I didn’t have any regrets,” she said. “I really did the best that I could with everything, and I made sure I was staying kind to myself – reminding myself that I was mentally, physically and spiritually ready for this job, and if it was meant to be for me, then it would be in the cards.”

While awaiting that final bit of good news, she and eventual first runner-up Morgan Torre shared kinds words for each other.

“I kept telling her that she was incredible, she was amazing and she was valued,” she said. “There was one other time I was in that position, when I was first runner-up. That experience of having that moment, that we are both important and valued…was so important to me. I wanted to make sure we shared that moment of positivity.”

For more information, visit http://www.missnh.org.

Brooke Mills stunned the crowd with her elegant red evening gown.

New Miss Rhode Island Crowned

May 2, 2022Tagged miss america, Miss Rhode Island1 Comment

Abby Mansolillo, 22, was crowned Miss Rhode Island 2022 at the Bishop McVinney Auditorium in Providence on May 1.

Mansolillo, a law student at Roger Williams University Law School, who will also be interning at the Attorney General’s office this summer, said she wanted the crown for quite a while.

“This has been a dream I’ve had since I was little,” she said. “I’m speechless. It’s an honor, it’s a privilege. I’m humbled. I’m actually afraid that it’s not real. I love this state. I’m thrilled. I’m so thrilled.”

The Smithfield native received her bachelor’s degrees in English and Women and Gender Studies.

Mansolillo was third runner-up to Miss Rhode Island 2018 and has competed in other systems, but said she’s looking forward to spreading the word about her Social Impact Initiative, Trust Your Gut, which is about advocating for one’s own healthcare.

Of course she’s also excited about the Miss America competition, slated to take place in late 2022.

“I’m excited to serve this state and represent Rhode Island at Miss America, and I want to be the very first Miss America from Rhode Island,” Mansolillo said.

During the competition, she said she was nervous, but that was a good thing.

“I was really excited, and I was nervous, of course,” she said. “But, as I say all the time, the day I’m not nervous is the day I stop, because that would mean it’s not important anymore. It was all-around incredible. The girls were phenomenal. I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls. It was an honor to share the stage with them. All of the competitors are smart, driven, intelligent, beautiful, and talented.”

For more information, visit http://www.missri.org.