Women prepare of Miss Pennsylvania pageant
By STACIE MORGAN
Sentinel reporter
6/27/02
BURNHAM - With one week remaining in the hustle and bustle of
preparing for the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Pageant, Tiffany
Hawbaker of Greencastle and Libby Montiel of State College were showing
no signs of nervousness or stress.
They two women appeared Wednesday evening at the Miss Pennsylvania
Send-off news conference at the Burnham Lions Club Community
Building.
Although both have been enduring their share of public appearances,
meetings, and promoting their individual platforms since winning titles
in the Miss Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Pageant, both seemed eager
to submit to additional interviews, news conferences, rehearsals,
dinners and receptions.
Hawbaker, reigning Miss Greater Juniata Valley, can speak as a
veteran Miss Pennsylvania contestant. The 21-year-old graduate of
Messiah College was a contestant of the statewide pageant last year.
Competing in a state pageant is "more intense," she said, than a
regional pageant. "It's more work. Your clothes have to be perfect and
you have to be serious about all of it."
Montiel, title winner of Miss Central Pennsylvania, agreed. "It
didn't really hit me until we went to the pageant orientation (Miss
Pennsylvania)," she said. "I saw all those other girls competing and I
realized the caliber of everything had suddenly gone up. They were
trying to reach a higher level and all of it had to be as perfect as
possible."
Trying to reach a higher level might also be a term that could
describe how each contestant feels about the platforms they strive to
promote.
Montiel feels strongly about developing an effective music education
curriculum in the public schools.
"When I got to the collegiate level, I realized how deprived the
public schools in State College were. (SEE NOTE BELOW) Music is a crucial part of every
culture," she said with conviction. "We use it to express ourselves when
we're joyful and when we're feeling loss. I don't think the school
system realizes how important music is in each different community of
people."
Hawbaker places equal emphasis on supplying accurate information to
youth regarding teen pregnancy, through an abstinence program called
"I'm Worth Waiting For."
"I've worked in a crisis pregnancy center since high school," she
said. "And when I see all the problems, and stresses that those girls
deal with, it really strikes me. I'm drawn to their struggles."
A portion of her critical issues essay gives a main purpose for the
abstinence program as, "We want teens to hold a high view of sex and a
realistic view of the consequences of sex before marriage. We want them
to know the benefits of waiting and to be able to make an informed
decision."
Making decisions through the benefit of accurate information is an
idea that both young women emphasized. Montiel feels education to be
"extremely important" when it comes to setting goals and staying
focused. Hawbaker's intent to continue her own education stood as a
testimony to gaining accurate information, as well as the belief of
"always considering your future, and striving for goals that you think
you just might not reach."
Montiel spoke with admiration for the women who compete in
pageants.
"People think pageants are sexist things, but when you meet these
contestants, you can see that not only are they beautiful, but they're
intelligent and well-spoken. You can't help but admire them."
Hawbaker's comment continued to touch on goal-setting. "You can see
that they set their sights high. It's not just a beauty pageant
anymore."
That statement bears itself out in the tireless pace contestants are
asked to undergo. From the moment the women arrive in Nazareth the news
conferences will begin, the appearances will require constant smiling
and sunny dispositions, the dinners will demand proper table manners and
even an Allentown Ambassador baseball game expects enthusiasm without
complaint.
According to Hawbaker, "The rehearsals, the rehearsals and the
rehearsals, all in high heels, just kill my feet!" Even as she uttered
the derogation, her smile was quickly flashed.
Montiel shrugged her shoulders and said, "This is my first time, so
there isn't anything I'm not looking forward to. I don't know what to
dread."
Hawbaker leaned over and said with a laugh, "The rehearsals."
Montiel and Hawbaker leave for the week-long competition on Sunday,
July 7.
The state pageant is on Saturday, July 13.
On Friday June 28, 2002 in the "Setting It Straight" section of The Sentinel this quote was corrected. Montiel had indicated in the interview that she had become aware of how deprived the music education program had been in the high school she attended in New Jersey when she got to Penn State and became familiar with the outstanding music education program offered in the State College schools.