Miss Pennsylvania pageant
...
here come the 2001 contestants
By STACIE MORGAN
Sentinel reporter
5/22/01
LEWISTOWN - For one week, the rehearsals, the
meeting of new friends, the changing of clothes, the
nights without sleep, the news conferences, the tours,
the stress, the fun and excitement will all exemplify the
2001 Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Pageant.
This Sunday, Jessica Watson of Newmanstown, and
Erika Shay of Claysburg, both winners in the 2001 Miss
Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Pageant in Lewistown
this past February, will leave for Moravian College in
Bethlehem, where the pageant will be held.
Pageant officials held a "Pageant Send-off" last
night for Watson and Shay. Although Shay was unable to
attend the send-off due to a work-related appointment in
Florida, she did call in with personal comments.
Watson, reigning Miss Central Pennsylvania, is
looking forward to the "fun, excitement and hanging
around with two of the girls in the pageant" with whom
she became friends. Shay, present Miss Greater Juniata
Valley, is eager to "meet all the girls" and "loves the
interview portion" of the pageant. She's also looking
forward to "being on stage."
Along with looking forward to the pageant, come the
negatives that might not be quite so appealing. For
Watson, it's the stress of the whole week; For Shay it's
getting up early every morning.
Both young women have been involved in a whirlwind
of activity in order to prepare for the state pageant.
Watson found herself concentrating on voice
lessons in Atlantic City to help ready her voice for the
talent portion of the pageant. She plans on singing "In
His Eyes" from the Broadway musical "Jekyll and Hyde."
She has also been busying herself by staying involved in
community service dealing with her platform "Project
Dream" (working with inner-city kids).
"There's been a lot of little things, like keeping
current with the news and staying healthy, getting my
outfits ready, things like that," said Watson.
Shay said she's "exhausted, mostly from going to
the gym" but also claimed that working full time,
wardrobe fittings, school visits to promote her platform
of the National Center for Missing Children, reading the
newspapers and "working on her walk," have been
additional pursuits.
The week-long schedule is full for the 25 Miss
Pennsylvania contestants. Some mornings begin as early as
7:30 a.m. with breakfast and rehearsals. The women stay
busy right up until about midnight, with public
appearances, preliminary competitions, meetings and
visitations as well as the already-mentioned news
conferences and other events.
For Watson, who can claim this as her second year
competing at the state level, things may seem a little
easier. "I know what to expect now, and I'm older," she
said, "even though there will always be some unexpected
things that you just can't foresee."
Shay did not express nervousness or being unsure
despite this being the first time she's made it to state
competition, although she did win the title of Miss Teen
Pennsylvania in 1995.
Both Shay and Watson seemed passionate about their
platforms. Shay chose to work for the promotion of
making parents and children aware of the dangers of
abduction after losing one of her closest friends, six
years ago, to abduction, an incident which did not end
happily. After getting placated by local law enforcement
personnel, who did nothing to search for her friend, Shay
became "distraught and outraged." It was then she
decided to "turn her anger into action," and begin
working with the NCMEC.
Watson has found through her work with inner-city
children that "all they want from you is unconditional
love. As soon as they see you're really interested in
them as a person, they open up and blossom." Watson
claims that getting adults involved with mentoring
children, especially teachers, "making them aware that
they need to take time to find out what's going on in the
kids' personal lives, in order to reach them where they
are, and how to best teach them," is the key.
The two pageant title holders plan to continue
their education.
Watson, having just graduated from Lancaster Bible
College, intends to work toward her master's degree in
guidance counseling so she can eventually work in an
inner-city school as a guidance counselor. Shay, who
graduated from New York University, plans to earn her
Ph.D. in child and adolescent psychology so she can
become a consultant for NCMEC.