Contestant 10: Syona Rai

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (SCPDA): With the Miss Stanton Pageant around the corner, the pressure is on for all the young women who are participating to represent Stanton. To understand their hopes for the pageant and what they have taken away from it, Devil’s Advocate interviewed them and got their side of the story.

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE: Why did you decide to run for Miss Stanton? SYONA RAI: I decided to run for Miss Stanton because I personally felt that I did not have enough confidence and to get confidence, you need to do something and go into an arena you are not at all familiar with. I felt if I should dive head first into this whole thing, I would come back stronger. I also knew there were no Indian representatives, so I wanted to represent.

DA: How has the experience been for you so far? SR: It has been very different, a lot of the stuff is not my personality type but I definitely have fun adjusting and learning different things. There’s a lot of moments in practice I’ve grown from as a person so I definitely appreciate it. A lot of the stuff is ‘fun, girly, sparkle,’ which is not me but I’ve learned to enjoy every experience and every aspect of it. It’s not necessarily me but the world is not always going to be catered to you so I’ve learned from it.

DA: How has your life and routine changed since you ran for Miss Stanton? SR: I’ve definitely had to go to more practices and do a lot more dances than I usually do. For my talent, I’ve had to practice a lot and I’ve learned a lot from my dance teacher. I definitely feel more polished, if that’s a change that I’ve noticed after I’ve started this with my routine, I’ve come to love the process more and more.

DA: What is your response to the negative connotation of beauty pageants? SR: I know that beauty pageants have a stigma, and for a while, I played into it too, but after seeing how Ms. Glendenning runs this, seeing all the contestants and the diversity and how all of us are, I realized it’s really not just your body type, your face, or your figure. It’s so much more than that. I mean, 25% of the percentage is your interview. So I personally believe, I dont like superficial and shallow things, and so the fact that I am in this pageant and I really like it, for me, it just goes to show the stigma that it has. For example, we’ve learned in practice to not say “like” as much so it has become a part of my daily routine to stop using it. There’s so much more than looks, it’s about well rounded people.

DA: If you won, how would you make a difference as Miss Stanton? SR: Out of all of Miss Stanton’s history, we have not had a single Indian Miss Stanton, so it would be a huge deal to me and for all the Indian girls. I know we don’t necessarily have very diverse collection of Miss Stanton so being the first Indian Miss Stanton would be a huge deal to me. I would do so much to represent our school. I feel our sports department is well covered, and different areas are well covered but in areas to show how well rounded of a school we are, nothing can do that better than Miss Stanton representing how good we are in academics, in sports, and everything. There isn’t really an area to show how well rounded we are besides Miss Stanton and I’d love to do that.

DA: What does the title of Miss Stanton mean to you? SR: The Miss Stanton title to me represents the new empowerment of women and the female generation we have. I believe that our girls have become so capable and competent in everything, and that being Miss Stanton is all about being well rounded. It’s about being academic but also being very charismatic and well liked. The title means to me breaking boundaries. Very special people get to hold this title, so it’s a huge deal to me.

DA: What is a cause you are passionate about? SR: A cause I am passionate about would hands down be the work the Ronald McDonald House does. The Ronald McDonald House houses longterm cancer patients receiving treatment in nearby hospitals at no cost. Some, out of country that are already struggling to afford medical care and no longer have to worry about accommodations. It is more like a safety net for families financially and emotionally when our medical system fails them. We started it up two years ago and I was not really sure of what it was going in, but after lots of time volunteering and spending time with the kids there, I have so easily grown attached and passionate toward the kids there and the cause. I would do anything to spread awareness and help the kids suffering there.

DA: Who do you consider to be your biggest role model? SR: My biggest role model would definitely be my mom. I know it’s really cliche, but she’s shown me her strength time after time. I very much believe in being well rounded and I don’t believe there is a limit as to what you can do in all aspects of your life. You can be great academically, be great at sports and do a million different things and still be amazing at all of them; she has proven that to me. As an immigrant, she spent the first few years here raising me but then she ended up teaching herself how to become an IT engineer and she and my dad worked day and night to get her job and she worked nonstop while raising me and my sister to both be very independent. She loves working and she’s very independent. She taught me to be bold, fearless and not care what people think or say and to just do what I want, to live life on my own terms.

DA: What has been your biggest obstacle throughout this whole process and how have you been handling it? SR: This experience is a complete 180 from who I am. My biggest obstacle is how different this is from who I am. I’ve been handling it by learning how to adjust, I’m learning to like things that I usually wouldn’t and I am learning to be more open minded.

DA: How will you juggle the responsibilities that come with Miss Stanton? SR: I believe that is something I am very well equipped for, I usually have a lot on my plate so I thrive off of chaos. I am excited to take on the responsibilities of Miss Stanton. I believe that I am so ready to handle all the time and stress management. If you love what you do, it is never stressful, and I would obviously love what I do, so it would never be an issue.