After the crown and bouquet of flowers have been awarded, a pageant queen’s job is not complete, as many might think. The win marks the beginning of her newest job and the set of responsibilities that come with holding a title.

In addition to balancing the typical activities of a student, winners of pageants carry on an additional set of responsibilities that include participating in speaking engagements, performances and appearances at community events. The judges not only evaluate pageant contestants based on the official criteria, but also determine how well candidates can handle the responsibilities of the title.

“The judging panel selects who can best fulfill the job requirements,” Olivia Wilkes, a junior majoring in public relations and Miss Heart of Dixie 2013, said. “As Miss Heart of Dixie, I represent northeast Alabama – more specifically the Dekalb County and Jackson County areas. I make a variety of appearances in the area as well as here in my hometown of Tuscaloosa and parts of Birmingham.”

Wilkes said events can include fundraisers, parades and a variety of community events.

“You sign a contract with your local, state and even national director that states what you agree to do and not to do,” Wilkes said. “In exchange for this, you are being paid scholarship money.”

There are many different types of pageants, but typical categories featured in a pageant are private interview, on-stage question, lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit, talent and evening gown. Each of these categories contributes a percentage to a contestant’s overall score, then judges rank each contestant on a scale of 1-10 based on how well they feel the contestant did in each phase.

Any contestant who wins an official preliminary to the Miss Alabama pageant goes on to compete in the Miss Alabama pageant in June, which will be held in the Wright Center on the Samford University campus.

Wilkes is currently preparing for the pageant by exercising, eating healthy, volunteering, reading the newspaper and watching news so she is able to stay informed on current events.

“This will be my first year competing at the state level after competing in 38 preliminaries, so I’m very excited that I finally get to have this opportunity and share this experience with so many talented, beautiful and intelligent women from all across Alabama,” Wilkes said.

Brooke Falls, a senior majoring in biology, has competed in small, local pageants such as Miss Sorority Row and the Miss Corolla Pageant.

Miss Sorority Row features a talent portion and a reading about your sorority’s philanthropy, while Miss Corolla features an opening number, pre-interview, on-stage question and a beauty competition.

“I like to do them for fun and just fit them into my schedule when I can,” Falls said.

Falls also prepares for pageants by eating right, exercising and staying up to date on current events.

“I feel as if you gain confidence with yourself because you have to put yourself out there and get over nerves to be on stage in front of a lot of people watching you,” Falls said. “I have made a lot of friends through pageants as well, and I think that’s an important aspect of participating in pageants.”

Falls and Wilkes both agree reality television has given many people a false perception of what pageants are really like.

“Pageants require more preparation than one might think,” Falls said. “Not everyone is like Honey Boo Boo.”

(See also in Opinion, “Here comes Honey Boo Boo”) 

Wilkes said a common misconception about pageants is that everyone is like the children on “Toddlers and Tiaras.”

“People think that contestants in the Miss America organization came from that sort of pageant upbringing,” Wilkes said. “Although that may be true in some places, I’ve never met anyone in Alabama who had participated in those type of beauty pageants when they were younger.”

Falls said before people judge all pageants to be like what they see on television, they should try it.

“I’d encourage people to try [pageants] out first,” Falls said. “The most important thing is to just be confident with yourself and know that you’re out there to have fun and whatever happens, happens.”

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