Q&A: 2018 Miss Stanton Contestant #3 Madeline Okenica
DASHYA ELLIS AND AMRE ABUBAKR | FEB. 22, 2018 | INTERVIEW
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?
Madeline Okenica: I decided to run for the Miss Stanton Pageant because I knew it would be a really great experience to learn new things, put myself outside of my comfort zone, and make new friends. I’ve made a lot of new friends through this experience with a lot of different girls that I hadn’t really known before. And also, because I’m really involved in a lot of different activities at Stanton, I think that being a part of Miss Stanton kind of encompasses my love for this school, and the people and the diversity we have here.
DA: How do you respond to the negative connotations about the pageant?
MO: I used to misunderstand pageants because, of course, they have this negative connotation that it’s all about beauty and looks, and I’ve learned that it isn’t all that. So when I come across negative thoughts about pageants now I know from being in one that it’s truly not what it seems. There is so much time, work, and effort and thought that goes into this process, so if anyone decides to misunderstand a pageant, I just tell them it’s really not what it seems, we are not judged by looks, we’re judged by personality, our poise, our confidence, and just our all-around talent. So I tell people that, although it may seem like that from the outside, it’s really so much time and effort, and it’s not all about the beauty and the body. Plus, we don’t have a swimsuit portion, so that helps.
DA: What’s a cause you are very passionate about?
MO: A cause I am very passionate about, which is what I’m using for the platform of my speech, is raising awareness and rights for the disabled community, and I feel this way since I am involved in Stanton’s Best Buddy Club, a club where we promote social inclusion and friendships for those with disabilities. This is a cause I am very passionate about because I’ve been involved with it since I was in kindergarten and it just means a lot to me because I spend time with and I make friendships with these amazing people that others misunderstand. They stereotype them, they discriminate against them, and I’m really passionate about this cause because, as any other cause, it’s something that needs attention and that needs to be improved.
DA: Could you identify one of the people that you help?
MO: They don’t go to Stanton, but for example, I volunteered at “Night to Shine.” It isn’t directly related to Best Buddies, but it’s an event that has the same kind of mission, with raising awareness and helping people with disabilities. At “Night to Shine”, you are paired up with someone as part of a prom night experience. So my friend was Marlina — Marlina is an amazing woman, she’s so smart, she knows so much, she has little quirks about her, and in general, she’s a really great person. I see her frequently actually, and every time we see each other we get so excited. I’ve realized that people like Marlina don’t receive the same opportunities other people do, and that’s why I’m really passionate about a cause like that, because I know Marlina and other people with disabilities are such amazing people that are really intelligent, and people don’t let them live up to who they are.
DA: How would you make a difference if you won the pageant?
MO: If I did win the pageant, I would want to make a difference by connecting more with all of my classmates in my grade level, and then also people in different grade levels. If I have the title of Miss Stanton, I would want to improve different aspects of this school, like the bathrooms. I would want more awareness towards the arts of the school because I know sometimes that part of the school is neglected. I also want to use the title as a way to speak positively about Stanton, make people feel better about the negative thoughts some people have surrounding Stanton, so I want to use that position to overall create a better image for the school by improving different areas of the school and just improving the outlook of the school.
DA: What does the Miss Stanton title mean to you?
MO: To me, the Miss Stanton title means that you are a representative to this school, and being a representative of this school means being very involved, like being involved in different clubs, honor societies, sports, and participating in different events like Multi and Winterfest. It means you are an accurate representation of the student body and the different areas of the school we have to offer and with the title of Miss Stanton, it would mean so much just to be able to know you have a position where you can really make a difference for the school that you love.
DA: Who would you consider your biggest role model and why?
MO: My dad is definitely my biggest role model because he has such an impact on my life. He’s really shaped me into the person I am today. He taught me that you can focus a competitive drive into having fun while being successful, that with hard work comes rewards and success, and that a hard working drive really gets you to where you want to be in life. He also taught me not to take everything for what it is and to make more out of it than what you’re given, to keep in mind where you came from, to always stick with your friend and your family, and to have fun with life. He’s also just taught me to be kind and supportive of the people I love.
DA: What talents do you plan on showcasing at the pageant?
MO: Well, I see that my talent isn’t a typical talent, because I don’t play an instrument, I don’t sing, I don’t practice typical talents, so I had to get creative with what I was doing, and I decided to write and perform a stand up comedy routine. This came about because I like to tell jokes and make people laugh, that’s something that I really enjoy, even if I’m not all that good at it, and I thought that this would be a different way to emphasize a strength I have in life without encompassing a typical talent.
DA: What is your strategy on winning the competition?
MO: Well, I learned throughout this process that winning the competition is definitely in no way easy. Tt’s a very hard process, but it’s also super fun. So my strategy for winning would be really just to not focus too much on the winning. I just need to do the best that I can with each category of the pageant while also staying grounded in that way. If you’re too focused on just winning the big prize, you will not get to experience all the amazing things this pageant has to offer. So for winning, it’s a combination of making the best of this experience, getting to learn everything you can, absorbing every single detail that our mentors and Mrs. Glendinning tell us, and doing the best you can in whatever you do in the pageant, whether it be the opening number, the talent, your speech, or anything else you do in the pageant.
DA: What advice would you give to those running in future pageants?
MO: To those running in future pageants, make the most of this opportunity because, for me, the skills I’ve learned with the rehearsals and learning how to perform any segment of the pageant have really put me out of my comfort zone. But as I said before, it’s been such a learning experience. With the speech category, it has really helped with learning how to be a good public speaker and walking on stage obviously teaches you how to have a good stage presence. Performing a talent teaches you how to showcase abilities and strengths that you have. For every part of this pageant you can really learn a lot. So, for those who plan on running in future pageants, learn all that you can from it, make the most of it, really bond with the girls that you’re competing with, since they’re really your friends and your companions, not your competitors, and just take a chance. At the beginning I was uncertain if I wanted to participate in the pageant, but now, I’m so glad that I wanted to even though it’s a lot of time, but the time is very well spent and worth it.
DA: What effect on girls do you think beauty pageants have?
MO: So, I wouldn’t qualify Miss Stanton as a beauty pageant. It’s more of just a pageant in general, which focuses on everything besides beauty, although that’s part of it. Beauty pageants from the outside probably make girls think that with beauty comes success, but I think if they truly want to understand what a pageant is, then it has the effect of enlightenment. If you truly learn what a pageant has to offer, then I think you can be enlightened with the fact that it’s about so much more than beauty. It’s about speaking, it’s about poise, it’s about confidence, it’s about intelligence, and a pageant is not what it really seems.
DA: How would you feel if you lost the pageant?
MO: Truthfully, if I lost the pageant, for a split second I may feel disappointed because, of course, you’re putting in so much time and effort and you want to the result to pay off, but for me the result that I want doesn’t need to be getting first, second, or third; the result that I’m really looking forward to at this pageant are the skills that I’ve learned from it, the friends that I made, and the confidence that I gained. So if I lost the pageant, although it may be a little disappointing, I’ll know that the experience is still worth it, and it’s really not a loss in my book.
DA: That’s all the questions we have for you today, and thank you for allowing us to interview you.
MO: Of course!