NEW YORK—For two pageant winners, the key word is not “beauty.” For this year’s Miss Manhattan and last year’s Miss New York it’s “scholarship.”
“A lot of people think that it’s a beauty pageant, and that’s the major misconception,” said Katie Berry, newly crowned Miss Manhattan. “It’s not—it’s a scholarship pageant, and the Miss America organization is the largest provider of scholarships for young women in the nation.”
More than $45 million in cash and scholarships were made available in 2011 by the Miss America Organization, according to its website. The Miss New York crown winner competes for Miss America.
More than a dozen local competitions take place across the state, with 20-plus women earning local titles, and the chance to compete in June for the Miss New York crown.
On Sunday, six young women were awarded local titles such as Miss Manhattan, Miss New York City, and Miss Metropolitan.
Miss Manhattan on talents, interviews, and swimsuits
“I’ve been dancing as long as I could walk so I first got into pageants as a way to perform a solo or something I had been working on,” said Katie Berry, Miss Manhattan 2012, and former Miss New Jersey Outstanding Teen. For the pageant’s talent portion she danced to Dion and the Belmont’s 1960’s classic Runaround Sue. “I was really brainstorming going into this pageant—how can I change it up, how can I get away from the classical creation, or the Nutcracker, something that people in the audience hit the snooze button. How can I grab their attention and pull them in.”
Berry works in marketing and events planning. She sat down with The Epoch Times near her workplace, Vacheron Constantin, a luxury watch company. Her job has helped prepare her for the competition’s interview portion, in which five or six judges take ten minutes to ask questions.
“Anything is fair game with these interviews,” Berry said. “You have to be prepared.” She noted that Miss New York works has to have an understanding of national and global issues.
The swimsuit part of the competition requires taking pride in your physical fitness and well-being, Berry said. It’s not about who’s the skinniest, but who exhibits a healthy lifestyle, both body and mind.
“As Miss Manhattan I’m going to go into situations that might be uncomfortable,” she said. “If I have the confidence to be in a swimsuit in front of a whole audience full of people, I don’t think anything else can really compare.”
