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Date Posted: 08:52:53 03/10/23 Fri
Author: .
Subject: .
In reply to: . 's message, "." on 08:38:58 03/10/23 Fri





LizSnyder://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/meet-the-modern-day-miss-kenosha/article_e9f45f14-b9f5-11ed-9b88-03404d21bab4.html

When people hear the word “pageant,” Jenna Zeihen and Willow Newell know what they’re thinking: Big hair, fake smiles, starvation diets and women tottering on high heels and walking across a stage wearing a swimsuit.
Not fake boobs?

======

people hear the word “pageant,” Jenna Zeihen and Willow Newell know what they’re thinking: Big hair, fake smiles, starvation diets and women tottering on high heels and walking across a stage wearing a swimsuit.


Sorry, but that tired cliché doesn’t describe the modern-day Miss Kenosha — and it probably never did.


“People who think pageants are outdated have never talked to anyone in the Miss America organization,” said Zeihen, Miss Kenosha 2022. “Everyone in that organization is helping women become leaders. It’s not judged on beauty but on the energy you bring into a room.




“The crown,” she added, “is a microphone to help you make connections, especially to children. They see your crown and think you’re a princess, but we can redefine what a ‘princess’ is. We can be change makers and trailblazers. You can talk to kids about all sorts of topics.”










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Contestants have to study current events and be ready for anything, Zeihen said.


“It’s like going through a presidential debate on stage,” she explained. “The judges can ask you anything, so you want to always be learning and seeking knowledge.”













Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | Omny Studio



At the Miss Wisconsin pageant in 2022, she recalled, “they grilled me on immigration — and I had 20 seconds to respond!” (And that’s on a topic Congress hasn’t been able to seriously address in several decades.)


As for how she tackled that complex issue in less than half a minute: “I said we need to look at the stories of people we don’t understand and give them a seat at the table.” (Which is more than U.S. lawmakers have been able to say about immigration.)






Newell, the newly crowned Miss Kenosha 2023, said she hears similar comments bout pageants being outdated "from people, including a lot of younger people."






Newell — who started competing in pageants seven years ago, at age 13 — responds by “telling them about my experiences in pageants. It gives you a platform to promote ideas. Pageants also empower women, giving us a voice and a new way to make friends and get involved in our communities.”


On a personal level, she said her first pageant “was a life-changing experience. I learned about public speaking, having poise and confidence on stage, being on time and being organized, and how to meet people.”






Newell sums up her pageant experiences overall as “99% joy.”






“There are disappointments, if you don’t win, or that time my dress ripped right before I had to go on stage, but being in pageants also improved my physical and emotional well-being,” she said. “I started working out and eating healthier, and I also learned how to have one-on-one conversations. I used to struggle in social situations as a young kid, but the pageant experience taught me how to connect with people.”



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https://wrcitytimes.com/2023/03/06/rapids-native-crowned-miss-oshkosh



Rapids native crowned Miss Oshkosh
March 6, 2023/

Wisconsin Rapids City-Times

BY MIKE WARREN





EDITOR

OSHKOSH — University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh student, Taylor Swanson, has been crowned Miss Oshkosh 2023.

Mike Warren

715-256-4446

mwarren@mmclocal.com

“I cried a lot,” Swanson told the City Times, during a March 6 interview. “I’ve been to a lot of pageants because of my sister, and whenever I see the person getting crowned there’s tears, and I know there’s going to be tears, but when I was crowned I was having a hard time controlling myself and getting myself composed because I knew there were a bunch of people taking pictures and I remembered not wanting to see a picture of me crying with my mouth open,” Swanson added. Taylor is the younger sister of Ryann Swanson, Miss Wisconsin Rapids 2017.

Along with the title, Swanson, 20, received a $3,500 scholarship during the March 4 Miss Oshkosh Scholarship Competition at Alberta Kimball Auditorium. Swanson competed against five other women for the title. She won the highest overall interview award and the Spirit of Miss America Award (Miss Congeniality), earning an additional $300 in scholarships.

“That’s why I started getting into it,” Swanson admits. “But, I honestly stayed because I enjoy developing my skills. I like being on stage. I think it’s super fun,” she adds.

Swanson is a third-year student at UW-Oshkosh majoring in psychology.

She is no stranger to pageants, but thinks she stood out for several reasons.

“I was the only Asian girl in, I think, all of the pageants I’ve been in. So that was one thing,” she says. “But another thing, I feel like I’m definitely Goth, and in pageants I don’t see that anywhere, and I really wanted to communicate that on stage with the way I dressed and how I did my makeup, so I think those two things combined definitely made me stand out.”

Swanson’s talent was a cello solo of “Sonata in C Major.”

“I prepared that piece in high school, and ever since then it’s been a very comfortable piece for me to play and perform,” Taylor says. “And with pageant, it’s more than just playing the music because I’m not allowed to have sheet music. I’ve got to be comfortable enough with it to perform it well, which is a very vulnerable thing for me to do, so that’s why I chose Sonata in C Major,” she adds.

Swanson’s social impact initiative is Mental Health Mindfulness. Swanson is excited to work with the community and encourage people of all ages to discuss mental health.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for mental health issues,” says Taylor. “I’ve also struggled with it myself. As a kid my mom struggled with mental health quite a bit. And as a kid I felt very unheard,” she says. “I struggled on my own, so I wanted to designate my social impact initiative about this so I could somehow help somebody else in a way and support other people in a way that I wish I was supported,” Swanson added.

Swanson will now compete at the Miss Wisconsin Scholarship Competition for the title of Miss Wisconsin, June 21-24, also at the Alberta Kimball Auditorium in Oshkosh.

“I urge anyone out there that’s eligible to do pageants and be a part of the Miss America organization to do it because you learn a lot about yourself, getting comfortable with who you are, and I think that’s something that everybody needs to do and would benefit from,” Swanson added.

Taylor is a 2020 graduate of Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids. She is the daughter of Sonja Swanson.
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