Confidence, Mindset & Growth: A Pageant Perspective with Grace Rodi, Miss Illinois USA 2024

In this episode, I’m joined by Grace Rodi, Miss Illinois USA 2024, to talk about a world that so many people are curious about — pageants.   We’re breaking down the biggest myths and stereotypes around pageant culture, what it’s really like behind the scenes, and how competing shapes confidence, resilience, and the ability to walk into any room with presence. We also talk about the specific skills pageants teach — from interview prep to handling rejection — and how those lessons carry into real life, careers, and even experiences like sorority recruitment. If you’ve ever wondered what pageants are really like — or what they can teach you — this episode is for you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is Bloom Bright with Kelly. Real talk, real growth, real glow, inspiring you to bloom into your brightest self one conversation at a time. Welcome, Bloom Bright listeners. Today's guest is someone who truly embodies confidence, growth, and going after big goals. My guest today is Grace Roadie, Miss Illinois USA 2024, a Chicago-based marketing professional, content creator, and coach, and someone whose journey is as impressive as it is inspiring. Today we're talking about a subject I personally love and one I think a lot of people are genuinely curious about. It's a world that comes with plenty of assumptions and stereotypes, but also so many valuable life lessons, confidence, and community. Grace started chasing this goal at just 11 years old during a time when she was still trying to figure out where she fit in and what her thing was. After competing for Miss Illinois USA five times, she earned the title in 2024 and went on to represent Illinois at Miss USA, where she placed in the top 19. Along the way, she built a career in marketing from working at Edelman on the Lululemon account to now serving as a senior account manager at a B2B marketing agency, while also coaching competitors and helping them build authentic personal brands online. In this episode, we're pulling back the curtain on pageant culture, the myths, the funny moments, the stereotypes, and the real life skills that come from competing. And because I spent time in this world myself, we're also going to share some stories and perspectives from both sides of the stage. Oh my gosh, without further ado, let me welcome Grace. I'm so excited you're here. Thank you for having me. I'm very excited. I love pageants. It's been such great memories for me. I can't wait to hear about your whole journey. Um, so let's start at the beginning. Let's do it. Yes. Okay. So tell me just what you were like when you were younger, how this all came to be, how you got involved in this world. Just tell us about younger Grace.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Absolutely. So lots of stories I could share, and I love to talk. So I will try and rein it in. But I grew up moving around a lot, which I know we had talked about too, Kelly. I grew up and was born here in Chicago, spent a year in California, moved to the East Coast where I lived until I was 13, and then moved back here to Chicago right before high school. But with that constant kind of moving around came a lot of adaptability, a lot of changes, and I think a lot of just confusion and instability in a sense, just especially in a kid's life. And so I found myself really lacking a thing to kind of sink my teeth into. And one thing about the East Coast specifically is they are the type of people that very much pride themselves on their athletics, their success in activities, et cetera. Um, and given that I was five foot eleven when I was 12 years old, I was not very coordinated at any point in my life. And I'm the opposite of athletic. And so I really struggled to try and find a thing. I tried literally everything under the sun: dance, lacrosse, field hockey, basketball, soccer. I was awful at everything. I loved performing. I loved being on stage. My mom was blessed with a beautiful singing voice, and I unfortunately did not inherit that. So kind of brought me up until like age 11 or 12. And I was just still very much confused as to what my thing was going to be.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

And so then, how did you hear about a pageant, get involved in the pageant? What was the spark that started all this?

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Yeah. So a cheesy story, but my mom and I actually got a letter in the mail. This is before they did any type of like email marketing. It's 2011. We got a letter in the mail that I think most people would probably throw away and call it spam, but we happened to open it. Um, and it was a letter inviting me to compete in a pageant geared towards youth. And this was kind of that same time that the show Toddlers and Tierras really took off on TLC. And so everyone was kind of starting to learn about pageants, but this was the complete opposite from the whole glitz pageant worlds that people were semi-familiar with. It was no makeup for girls under 13. It was all about your personal introduction, private interview with the judges, confidence, goal setting, etc. So my mom and I just decided why not? It literally came exactly at this time where I felt I did not have a thing and I was, you know, not succeeding or just not loving anything that I was trying. So we went to the open call and the rest was history.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Wow. Okay. So tell us about that first open call and that first pageant experience. You're obviously saying it wasn't super traditional. It wasn't like the evening gown and the makeup. It was kind of a slower entry into it.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

Correct. Yeah. So it still had like the evening gown component, but obviously it wasn't like, you know, the fake hair, the fake teeth, all makeup. Yes, I was 12. I think I was 11, just turning 12. And so that part of it was a side of pageants that I knew nothing about because all I had seen was really what was on TV on these glitz pageant shows that we were watching.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Um you had seen the stereotype.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

I had. I had very much seen the stereotype, but I was someone I think that, like, especially at that age, very malleable to okay, there's obviously a lot of other sides to this that I don't know about. And we kind of learned that at the open call. They went through what the pageant was all about. You know, you were going to be doing a round robin style interview with five or six different judges a minute each. You were gonna be giving a 30-second speech about yourself on stage. There were some optional competitions that you could try just to kind of get an extra feel for the stage. So, actress and talent at the time, I played piano. And so we just thought it was a great idea. And after that open call, my mom, really both my parents, but they are both people that if they're gonna do something, my whole family, it's 100%, right? So my mom immediately started researching coaching teams, what pageants were about, what I needed to feel prepared because we were not gonna go in blind. That is just not my family whatsoever. We're over prepared to fault. Ended up working with a coach that really just kind of taught me the basics, right? How to walk, how to stand, how to answer an interview question, what you should actually be talking about in the interview room, what I should be wearing, et cetera. Looking back, it was very much like the nuts, the bolts, the basics. And I thought I knew everything walking into that first pageant. That was obviously not the case. But that was kind of how I spent those first probably four or five months preparing up until the pageant that summer.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

So then how was the pageant? What was the first, the whole experience? How was that for you?

SPEAKER_01 6:02

I loved it. I mean, obviously, now this is what, 14 years ago. And so I pride myself on having a good memory. There's obviously things that have fallen through the cracks, but I I do remember vividly standing in line at registration and being like, this is gonna be a really cool experience. There were, you know, girls in line and moms coming up and talking to me. You know, everyone was so interested in hearing about where are you from? What do you like to do? You know, what is your career ambition? And I wasn't used to people asking me those types of questions, especially at 11, 12 years old. You know, you're maybe asked for a school project, what do you want to do with your life? And then that's about it. But you were really celebrated for your goals and your uniqueness and your creativity and your different thoughts in life, especially in that interview room. I ended up placing second runner up on my very first pageant. Yes, which was amazing. I want to say there was probably about 40 or 50 competitors. This was wonderful. Yes, again, for at the time and still is one of the biggest youth pageant systems in the country. So I So, what was the pageant system for this one? It was National American Miss, which is Oh, I'm familiar with that. Yes, still one of the biggest youth pageant systems out there, and they've expanded their age divisions even older than age 20, which is what the cut cutoff used to be. But I totally caught the bug from that moment forward. And I think my mom did too, as much as maybe now she wouldn't like to admit it, because this has definitely taken up a lot of our time and funds over the last 14 years, but it was amazing.

SPEAKER_00 7:17

Well, I have to say, you talk about registration. So for me, that I competed in uh Miss Illinois Teen, Miss Illinois USA, and then Miss Illinois America. And registration for me was always the most nerve-wracking because everyone would be coming in and I did not do it that young. I started when I was probably like 16, the older end of teen. I felt like I was sizing people up, you know, looking at the different people. What are you going to be dealing with that weekend? And what's so funny for me is as I started doing more pageants, it got easier and easier because half the time I would be looking at one person, and that person wasn't even like completely different than I had thought. My takeaway from that was just focus on being your best self. In the beginning, I remember those first pageants. That was always the most stressful part. The like walking in and seeing the whole situation and the whole picture. And then as I got more confident and realized you're just, you know, you got to focus on yourself. Absolutely. Then I that became less terrifying for me.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

I will say it definitely got more nerve-wracking as I got older. I think like going in so green to my first pageant. I was young. I really didn't know what it was all about. I was like, registration, what's that all about? And so I just went in like so excited. Um, as I got older and especially transitioned into the USA system, I remember that just like, I don't want to say pit in your stomach, because it was excited, but those butterflies that I would feel just leading up to registration, where it was like, oh my gosh, like this is the most nerve-wracking morning of my life.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Well, and because it was just so much you pointed out with the coaching and the effort, I think that with pageants, people don't realize how much goes into it, which we're gonna get into. It is such an art. There's so much to it. And you, you know, as opposed to like basketball or football, you're playing all these different games. Like a lot of times you're leading up to like this one pageant that you've really put a lot of time and effort into in that first moment. I mean, I get like I said, it got to be a good thing. There's so much to talk about. I have, but 100% agreed with you. Oh my gosh. Okay, so with pageants, I mean, for you, you didn't do sports, you did the pageants instead. Is there anything that oh, how would I say it? Um, well, what do you think pageants gave you that maybe sports wouldn't have, or just having this unique experience?

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Two things, and I'll make it succinct.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

The ability to set goals and then kind of in turn with that, the ability to be a hundred percent comfortable with myself. And obviously, you know, I'm 25 now. I'm still learning and growing and getting comfortable in my own skin. I think you always are, but I think I did that from a lot younger of an age. I specifically remember being in high school when I was competing for Miss Illinois Teen USA. And high school is an already very tumultuous time, but I had an amazing high school experience, you know, obviously for a lot of factors. But I think one of them being just how sure I was of myself and of where I was going and of my confidence. And I 100% have pageantry to thank for that because I think every kid especially longs for something that they can sink their teeth into and find some sliver of success in. It's not to say you need to be the best at every sport or activity that you try, but that gives kids a lot. I think having that activity that they can succeed in. For sure. It gives you that confidence that it's hard to gain from school or from, you know, your parents telling you that you're awesome. Every parent's gonna say that regardless. Um, and then just the goal setting element of it too. I pride myself on being incredibly ambitious. That's like the best compliment you could ever give me is that I'm ambitious. I love it about myself. And you can learn that from a lot of places. But for me specifically, the doors that pageants have opened and the celebration in which they give ambition and goal setting and going after goals that other people may think are crazy. That's something I would not have learned anywhere else.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

So then, you know, with the confidence and the goal setting and all of that, I mean, you you had done this for a long time. And obviously, you know, you didn't win at first, you know? And yes, it it takes some time. And I think that, you know, my experience in pageants is that it does take some time. People don't realize it's such a journey. It is not, you know, just you're not just going to win. And once you take that out of your head, at least for me, once I took out the winning, because it's just on any given Sunday, you know, it can be, it's a subjective thing, you know, um, to a point. But um, what how did you handle, you know, the rejection and turning that rejection into confidence and the goal setting and turning all of those things, you know, like because again, it doesn't feel, I mean, the best to not win. But how, you know, you obviously kept at it, which is so commendable and obviously gained so much from it. But how did you handle those moments of rejection, especially like in high school?

SPEAKER_01 11:36

I think it was a huge thing that I grew into. I won't lie and say, oh, I just handled it in stride right away because that would be a lie and it would be ridiculous. I think back to high school specifically. So I was my junior year of high school, I was first runner-up to Miss Illinois Teen USA. And then I came back that next year. So I was a senior in high school at that point, and I didn't even make top five. I was only top 15. That is, if you're a pageant person, first runner up is the worst. First runner up is the worst, and then coming back as first runner up is the worst. And then coming back as first runner up and not making the top five is like the end of the world for a pageant girl. And I was devastated. I felt like I what do I do next? Right. You know, I was a senior in high school, which is supposed to be a very exciting time in your life. And I did, I had a blast, but it was kind of that next morning. And I was like, all right, what's next? I don't have another goal. And so I think that it was that moment, as much as it was awful trying to get over that. It taught me a lot about okay, your goal cannot be your whole life. You need to have different goals. You need to understand a greater perspective in life. And especially when it comes to pageantry, you cannot view this as the end route. This is not the end. It's the beginning of something. Whether you win and you have a year of rain, whether you lose and you learn something from it, or whether you lose and a new door opens for you, regardless of that. And so I think I really, again, it took some time, learned to take that in stride of never making pageantry my entire life, as much as it took up a lot of time. But I never wanted it to be all of who I was because you're setting yourself up for disappointment when it comes to that.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Well, and first of all, I think, I mean, my I have a son who's a senior in high school to learn the lesson that you learned at 17, 18 years old, to gain that knowledge about obviously we have goals and we're going for them, but it can't be your only thing in your life. And you're gonna have successes, you're gonna have failures, and to learn those lessons at that age. I mean, that in and of itself, if you stop, if you didn't do anything with pageants more than that day, I mean the lesson you learned that's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

And I will say for those that have not been in a pageant, to be the first runner-up and come back, you have a bullseye on your back. You do. Being I was second runner-up.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

And I remember it's just a it's a pressure. It's it's pressure coming back that next year. It's a whole different vibe, but first runner-up especially. Yes. And then to, and then after that, you kept going and you kept pushing. So then what motivated you to obviously, you know, like you said, you picked yourself up, you moved past it. You're obviously now starting college. And did you start going from Miss Illinois right away, or did you take a break? Or how did that work?

SPEAKER_01 14:07

Yes. So I needed a break at that point because I had recognized that it had become my entire life and it was all that I thought about and all that I wanted. And I don't think I could have formulated it into words at that point, but I did have to take that step back and be like, Grace, there is so much more to life. So I ended up making a decision that I still will never regret. My last year of eligibility for Illinois Teen USA was my freshman year of college. This is back when they held it over Labor Day, which also happened to be the same weekend as sorority rush at the University of Texas, where I went. And so I don't even think I contemplated the decision too much. I was like, I want to do rush. This is the next four years of my life. Not to say that, you know, rush is the end all be all, but we're gonna get to that too. Yes, this is, you know, the beginning of what's supposed to be the best four years ever. I'm so excited for college. I am not going to miss out on something that I have wanted to do for so long because I think I need to put all my eggs in the pageant basket. So I took the rest of my senior year off, had an awesome summer, went my freshman year of college, and then ended up competing in a different system when I was a freshman through junior in college, actually, the Miss Collegiate America system, which is another huge national organization. A lot of younger girls, a lot of girls will go and compete there, kind of in between their teen and miss years for USA. It's very popular for that realm as well. But a similar situation happened where I went and competed summer after my freshman year of uh college. I was second runner up over the moon because I had just taken a two-year break. And what I realized was I think I had done so well because I didn't care. And overthink it. I didn't overthink it, right? Yeah. Obviously, I wanted to do as well as I could and I loved pageantry, but I did not make it my entire life. But then I came back the next year and only made the top 15. So it was a very much recurring theme for me. Would never have had it any other way. It taught me so much. That same lesson I just talked about. I'm a very tenacious person because of it. But that was kind of my college experience. And then decided to compete for Miss Illinois USA for my first time summer going into my senior year of college.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Oh, so you that you were a little bit older, which is how I was too for Illinois.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Yes, I was a little bit older. Um, so yes, that was I had just turned 21. So that was my first time competing for Illinois USA. It had been, oh gosh, at that point almost four years since I had last done teens. So it was kind of that like it was a weird experience because I was used to having that bullseye on my back as a teen because I was first runner up. I was the new girl that year. People knew me from pageants in Connecticut, and then came back. And then I had taken this four-year break from the USA circuit. And so I came back and I was like, all right, again, there's kind of no pressure here. I want to get my feet wet. I wasn't planning on winning that year. Looking back, thank God I didn't, because that would have been my senior year of college. And that's like the best year of my life. So I would not have been just the title holder I could have been. But yeah, ended up placing, I think it was like a top 17 or top 18 that year. There was 70 or 80 girls. So it was definitely a heavier numbers year that year. Took a year break. I'm really just going through the whole thing at this point, guys. I'm very interested. I like to hear the journey. Took a year break for my senior of college, and the Miss Illinois USA patchant that following year was actually the same weekend as my college graduation. So again, I had my priorities in check. I was not going to miss my college graduation. Took that whole first year post-grad to dive back into it, prepare with a totally new mindset, which I'm sure we will get into. Ended up placing first runner up in 2023 for Miss Illinois USA. Was surprisingly very at peace with it. And I think it's just uh not to be woo-woo, but truly like an everything happens for a reason God thing of okay, this is not my time. There's so much more growth that I can do. You know, we're preparing you to be the best title holder you can be and do the best you can at Miss USA. So I was actually very at peace with it. I knew that there was more things I could work on, more growth to be done. So took that whole next year, really focused on my mindset, because I think it gets to a point where you can always learn and always improve and always grow. But there is such a thing as over-preparing and practicing.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Well, at that point, I mean, let's, I mean, you know, spoiler alert, we know the next year is 2024. Yes. So yeah, I mean, you do get to a point with these pageants where you've done it all, where it is just mental.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

100%. And it was that at that point, it was really all mental for me. And I knew that if I was gonna be, you know, the best competitor, the best title holder, enjoy the weekend the most, I needed to go in it with a good mindset. So I spent probably 80% of my time that following year focusing on my mindset. And it's funny because I went into pageant weekend. This is now 2024. We're really flashing forward here, but I went in and I was just so at peace. And whenever people used to say that to me, I'd be like, You guys are just making something up because that sounds nice on paper, saying that you felt at peace. And I'm like, I don't believe you, you know, but I truly did. I was excited and I would get that, like, you know, feeling of adrenaline or butterflies before competition. But I just kind of kept thinking in the back of my head, like, I think this is your time. And that's an okay thing to think. It's okay to be like, I think I'm gonna win this thing. But I just felt this element of peace of like, I think this is my year. And if it's not, yeah, I'm about to turn 24. I just got a new job. There's so much more going in my life when it comes to friendships and careers and doors opening, etc. So it was a totally new mindset. And obviously it worked out okay for me.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

Is there anything like a tip or a trick or something that did help you with your mindset? Like, did you do anything like specifically that would like or that would be advice for like any person or two things. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

Yes. One, and these are both applicable to not just pageantry. One of the best metaphors I heard was picture yourself, you know, competing or doing the tasks you need to do or going after a work project, etc. Picture it as a tightrope. You don't need to put that tightrope off the ground. You are gonna be a lot more confident to walk in a straight line if there's a tightrope that's on grass and on flat land than you were if you were to race that five feet in the air. You don't have to put the tightrope in the air. Nothing is as hard as you think it's going to be. Nothing is going to be as nerve-wracking as you think it's going to be. And you don't have to make things more difficult for yourself by overthinking or comparing or overanalyzing. And so I'm a metaphor person. That one helped me a lot.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Yeah, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Yeah. And then just comparison in general. And I think that this can be applied in your social life, your regular life, jobs, interviews, et cetera. The minute you find yourself comparing to someone or thinking they have a better outfit than me, they're prettier than me, they're more successful than me, they're more educated than me. You have to back that up with three good things about yourself. And yes, some people may be like, oh, I don't want to come off conceited. Well, you're not telling the world that. You're doing it in your head. The minute you find yourself comparing, you are allowed to hype yourself up on the inside. And that is something that I tried to do of they may have this, but I have this, and that's gonna be fine, and we're gonna move on from it. And both of those things really, really helped me that year.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

Well, one of my favorite quotes is comparison is the thief of joy. Yeah, it is in with pageants, you know, you are one against the next. I mean, in logically, you're thinking about the comparison. I was the same. Oh, yeah. You just made some excellent points about one year your first runner up, next year you don't make top five, has nothing to do with you. No. It's just like any job, like anything, it is a subjective thing. You have the judges or the interviewer or whoever it is for the job or for the title. It's any day, it could be different. You know, you have just as many qualifications as the next person. It's just in that moment.

SPEAKER_01 21:11

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

You know, and it took me a while to learn that. And honestly, as we all get older, I think it's just a life lesson if you can just not compare yourself to anyone. But I love how you're saying to back it up with positive self-talk because speaking positively to myself, like in my inner mind, like all the time lately, has been such a game changer for me in general. It's just you gotta keep doing it. And like I, one of my words of the year is consistency. It's like I have to consistently not compare, consistently talk positively to myself. Absolutely. You know, it's it's a skill.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

It is and it's easier said than done. But so much. And it's something I still try and work on in like other elements of my life, but it really, really does help if, as you said, you stay consistent with it.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Well, and obviously, the year of the 2024 Miss Illinois, it worked. And you did it and you won. So that no, so that I mean, let's just. Get into that moment for you. What was when they announced your name in the moment before? Because you had been the name called first, you know, obviously the first runner-up.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Plenty, yes. So I'll walk you through kind of the moment. And again, we'll try and do it concisely. But at Miss Illinois USA, they right before they crown the winner, they give out the overall awards. So the highest score for swimsuit, the highest score for evening gown, the highest score for interview.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

They do the buildup.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

They do the build-up, right? Yeah. It's never been like a written rule, but people, the old wives tale is that the person that wins overall interview always wins the pageant. Yes, I've seen it not happen, but I would say maybe 80% of the time, the person that wins interview wins the pageant, right? And so I won overall swimsuit. And that was the first one that was called. And I remember being so excited, but being like, oh, they're not gonna give me two. So I didn't win interview. So I lost the other one.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

Oh, do they usually not give two?

SPEAKER_01 22:48

That's again, and I won't even get into it, but it's like, oh, the otherwise they're not gonna give you urban myths. Yes, you know, they're not gonna give you two. And so I remember just being like, Grace, you're being ridiculous. Cause I'm such an overthinker as much as I try not to be.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

So hard not to be, though.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

And so I was so excited I won swimsuit because that means a lot to me. But then I'm like, oh, but then that means I'm not gonna win interview, probably, which means I didn't win the pageant. And again, my thoughts started to spiral, right? I didn't win interview and I was kind of like, all right, we're just gonna see how this goes. You know, there's nothing you can change now. I'm like, why are you freaking? It's about to, you're about to find out in 30 seconds anyway.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

So doesn't it feel like forever though?

SPEAKER_01 23:21

It does. It feels like forever. And so they called the names, they called the names, they called the names. Was standing there with the last two standing, and my first runner up was the overall interview winner. And again, as cheesy as it is, I was standing there in that moment and I just said, I think it's me. And I said that in my head.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

You just knew it in your gut.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

I just knew it in my gut, which is not to say in like a self-serving or an egotistic way.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

No, not even in those scenarios.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

Yeah. I just think it's me. Like I just felt as though I could predict that next moment. And I was just like, no, this feels different. And I think it's because I was first runner up the year before. I was first runner up as a teen. I was second runner up at Miss Collegiate America, where we were standing there all holding hands in the three. And none of those other times did I ever feel like this is going to be me because I couldn't picture it. I was like, that would be amazing. This is my dream, but I couldn't picture that moment. Standing there holding hands for, I mean, maybe 15 seconds, I could picture it. I could taste it. And I think that that's why my gut was telling me, oh, this is about to be your moment. Like all of these years and hard work and failures, quote unquote, it's about to be over, right? So it obviously was me. Um, I completely blacked out that moment. I don't remember what I was doing. I'm not very composed when it comes to reactions and things like that, but it was obviously amazing that whole next 24 hours whirlwind. Yes. But thankfully, most of my family was there. I had one of my best friends from college actually fly in and surprise me. So she was there. So I got to share it with a lot of people, which was amazing. And it was great.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

I I can't, I'm so glad that it lived up to. I mean, after all of that buildup, you know, and being that first runner up multiple times. Oh, yeah. That's amazing. So oh, that's so exciting. It was awesome. Okay. So I mean, it's making me want to go back into pageants. I know I never got the time. I never got the time. No age, no age limit anymore. Well, and that's is it so my so for Mrs. Illinois, that's how I um got started. My mom was Mrs. Illinois, USA, and then was second runner up at Mrs. USA. So my sister and I, and gosh, my sister was never involved in pageants. And so she has all these crazy stories about standing in line and we could digress and talk about just getting tickets and all this for these crazy things. But my sister, you know, had that side of it. But I really got involved in it and enjoyed it. I always, you know, think to myself that Mrs. System is still available. And when I hear you talk so excited about your big moment, oh man, I still, maybe I still have the bug. It is so fun. There is such an energy to being on stage. Oh, yeah. And it is such a cool experience.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

It's like anytime I talk about it and I have, and I'm still very adamant in that I am retired from competing now, but anytime I talk about it, it's always that fleeting thought in my head of like, am I? I truly am. So no one goes.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

So then let me ask you this though, because this is something that is different that I want to understand. You said there is no age limit. Yes. So, like, obviously, if you're single and like, what are what are the give me the up-to-date new 2026?

SPEAKER_01 26:03

There truly are no rules. So it used to be that you could be no older than I think 28 or 29 as of January that year. You could be engaged, but you could not be married. You could never have had any children, et cetera. And then two or three years ago, I believe three years ago, they changed it so that the age limit was the same, but you could now be married and you could have kids. And two years ago, they lifted the age limit. So there is no age limit. You could be 82 and go and compete for Miss Illinois USA. You could have had, you know, seven kids and 25 grandchildren. And really, yes. That's fascinating. It's very interesting.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

So interesting. So then would you say have you have you heard of any people that are doing this? I I could see someone doing it at like 35. Yes. But could you, I mean, have you seen people doing it like married with kids? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

So my year that I was Miss Illinois USA, that was the first year that the age limit got lifted. So the year before was when the marriage thing had gone into place. My year was the first year the age limit was lifted. So we had a few, I think probably like four or five competitors at Miss USA that were over that previous age limit. Um, one of them was a wife with, I believe, two or three children. She was amazing. Yes. And then one woman in her 40s. Yes. Yes. So interesting. It was very different than obviously anything I had experienced before. That's very cool. That's cool to see. It was.

SPEAKER_00 27:17

Well, and that's we're gonna get to that, but that's how pageants have evolved. You know, they've changed so much.

SPEAKER_01 27:21

They have.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

Okay, so let's talk about pageants. I mean, you said that the interview winner, the overall interview winner is usually or sometimes does win it all.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

Livestale, but yes.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Yes, okay. Obviously, in your case, you know, that wasn't the case. Okay, so tell us about your interview prep and how you would prepare for pageants and just the whole interview situation.

SPEAKER_01 27:40

Yes. So obviously a lot of realms in which I'd prepare, but I'll focus on interview for this one. So the biggest, best lesson I ever learned in interview is there is nothing to prove but only to share. And back when I was a little bit younger and still really struggling with kind of that comparison and feeling like I needed to fit this mold, I very much thought I needed to go in there and laundry list all the reasons why I should be there and try and prove that I fit into this role and that I'm what they're looking for. But as I got older and as I had more experience and thankfully surrounded myself with a really, really amazing coach and coaching team, I truly realized that that's just not the case. They want a girl that's going in there that's sure of herself, confident in who she is, but she's not trying to prove it in any type of way, right? She's able to share about her successes and her goals and her dreams, but she's also able to be laid back and have a conversation. And if they ask a funny question, laugh back, tell a joke back, not feel like they need to be prim, proper, fit into a mold, et cetera. And have a girl that goes in there and is 100% convicted in what she's saying, right? And there's a lot of different interview prep and pieces that I now get to talk about with my clients. But I think that that was the mindset shift I needed of I'm gonna be in control. I know the things I want to talk about, but if they want to joke around for a little bit and they want to ask me a funny question, I'm gonna let loose. I consider myself a fairly funny person. And so I'm like, why am I not showing that in the interview room? I love to talk to people. I love to engage and I consider myself good at it. Why is that not coming across in the interview room? But it's coming across when I'm talking to the chaperon in the hallway, right? So, as simple as it sounds, I had to take the mindset that I use at work or with my friends or with my family or meeting new people and apply that to the interview room. Um, so that a lot of it just came from mindset and from practice and preparation. And then I also just really, really honed in on those core pieces of what I wanted to get across about myself to make sure that no matter the question at hand, if it was vague or not, I could get something about myself across in that answer. So whether it was about my career and my, you know, attendance at University of Texas and now working in marketing, whether it was about my platform and work with education, whether it was about my fitness journey or my moving around a lot, I knew those pieces that I wanted to get across. I was going to get them across, but I was not going to do it in a way where I needed to prove something through them.

SPEAKER_00 29:55

So what I'm hearing, which is valuable life lessons, is one, you wanted to be relatable. Yes. And not like where you're going in, like, I have to cover all these things. And when they were trying to be funny and, you know, keep it light, you were just, I have to stay on task. So you were able to let loose. Yeah. And that is hard. But then also you knew that whatever questions I've been given, regardless of how off the wall they are, I'm still gonna stay true to my core values and what I need to get across when I when they leave, when I leave the room, what they need to know about me.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

You found ways to like work that in.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

It's a balance that you have to strike, right? I wanted to be myself and be personable and just have that conversation so that they could view me as someone that they not only want to crown, but that they want to take to lunch the next day because they just liked getting to know them.

SPEAKER_00 30:35

Well, you everybody wants to crown someone they like. Exactly. You're not gonna crown someone that is stressed and and confused, you know, law of the things and not likable.

SPEAKER_01 30:42

You want to crown someone that you like and you also want to crown someone that's just like, wow, they're really normal.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

And rooting for that person.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

Yes, because that's what you are doing as a title holder, right? You're going to schools, to events, to appearances, to Miss USA. The people that make it through those and that make an impact are those people that don't walk in as though they're better than everybody else. It's the people that walk in and they're very confident and very sure of who they are and very well spoken, but they're also not afraid to sit down and take their shoes off and play with kids or talk about actual real life topics and not feel as though they have this front that they're putting on. And I felt like for years I was putting on a front in the interview room because I needed to be perfect or I needed to fit a mold or I needed to say a certain word. And once I found that balance, which is very hard to do, of purposeful and in control with what I'm talking about, having that confidence to show I'm ready for this job, but also not being afraid to be funny and be light and have a conversation, that's when it all changed for me.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

And I'm gonna tell you this that's just not an easy skill. It's not. And so I think what you're saying is you had the mindset at the end, but I'm sure all that preparation of knowing yourself, knowing about what you wanted to convey in that interview room, it's not easy. And for all the people out there looking for a job, interviewing, all of these skills, these are skills that are honed. It's and to seem that natural and that make it that easy to convey all of the stuff about yourself. I'm gonna have you refresh my memory, but in a very small three minutes. Three minutes, right? Three minutes. You have got to sell yourself in three minutes in a relatable, informational way. Yes. And yes, it takes the mindset, which is what I think put you over the top, but all of those years of learning about yourself and then explaining it in three minutes. It's not easy, ladies. It's not. And that's why I just want for people listening, these pageants, it is hard. It is so hard to convey that. Okay, so when I was doing the pageants, it was a group of judges. So it still is. It still is. So in those three minutes, and it's not easy for the judges because they have to find these questions between themselves and to not screw up your three minutes. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

Yes. So it's still a panel of judges, five judges, three minutes. They kind of jump in whenever they want. Granted, I have not been on the judging side for USA. So I'm sure they kind of talk before they must have to have it, but still they have that kind of direction in which they want to go. But exactly like you said, I mean, this is not something, and as you can tell, because I kind of shared a lot about it. I have so many thoughts on mastering interview and how to go in there feeling confident. It took me 12 years. This was not something that I just woke up and was like, oh, I'm a perfect interviewer. And there's a huge difference between being a good public speaker and being a good interviewee. Those are two totally different skills. Public speaking can help you, but it doesn't automatically make you a good interviewee. And I think for years, I thought it did because I've always been a good public speaker and I've had no issues of like getting in front of a group of people and talking. In fact, I love doing that. So, yes, so many stories I could share, but that was kind of that aha moment for me.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

I think what was the hardest thing for me was tightening it up. I oh it is so hard. I love to talk. I'm like you. I love to talk. I love to public speak. You're absolutely right. Standing in front of a crowd and not being nervous, like some people I know, they just do not want to speak in public. I love it. I mean, check check that off the list. You can do it, but to be in an interview room and to convey what you need to convey in this short, short period of time with questions that you get. I mean, people that have done pageants in a while, you have a sense of what you're gonna get asked, but you still don't specifically know, you know, is very hard. It is and is a skill that will set you up. I mean, I think that to just be able to do the interview in and of itself. So tell us this if you was there ever, I mean, in all the years you've done pageants, was there ever just a really bad interview, either or the were the judges not prepared, or were you just like, I left, I did not say what I wanted to say, or like, I mean, I'll be honest with you, if the judges in those short time are not ready to go anything funny or just like or something completely off the wall that someone asked you.

SPEAKER_01 34:27

So two stories, both I know, I have so many stories, but one that I didn't realize was a quote unquote bad interview at the time was I was competing. This is right after I'd played second runner-up at Miss Collegiate America. And then I went back to compete for the Illinois state title a month later. And I was like on clap nine, I just placed top five at nationals, yada yada. I wasn't, you know, high and mighty about myself, but I was feeling good. And I went into that interview completely debunked or trying to debunk the whole nothing to prove, only to share. I was prove, prove, prove, right? There was no element of conversation. I had no inflections or variance in my tone of voice, or, you know, because when you're talking about a hard time you went through, it's a different tone of voice than when you're talking about, you know, what pod type of podcast you would host. I had no variance in that tone of voice. I didn't share stories, and stories are so important in that interview room. I shared bits and pieces in a laundry list of here's why I'd be a good title holder, here's why I'd be a good title holder, here's why I'd be a good title holder. That is not how you make a connection. But you thought you killed it. Oh, I thought I killed it.

unknown 35:27

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

I thought I killed it. I did still win, but there was about four people again, story for a different day. But then I went back and watched the video, and my mom is, I get it from her. She's the most blunt, honest person you'll ever meet. And she was like, Grace, that was really bad. I'm like, Yeah, I know. And I learned a lot from that of okay, this is not what's going to be an effective interview, right?

SPEAKER_00 35:45

Um, well, and you need to have someone that's gonna bluntly tell you so, you know, false compliments are not helpful with this pageant stuff.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

Well, and it's what I tell because I do, and I'm sure we'll get into it. I do pageant coaching now and we focus a lot on interview. Um, and I always tell girls, you know, I'm always gonna be, you know, nice and respectful. And they're doing this, of course, for so many different reasons. But if you want compliments, I'm not gonna charge you for that, right? Call me afterwards and I'll give you compliments and hype you up for five minutes, and I'll do that for free. If you're gonna pay me by the hour, I'm gonna give you honest feedback.

SPEAKER_00 36:13

Well, you need the constructive feedback to move forward. Absolutely. For those that don't know, Miss Illinois USA has three main categories. You have the interview, which we discussed and very important. Yes. And then you have the swimsuit and the evening out. So quickly, just tell us, you know, how you would prepare for that. My biggest thing where I forgot is so many girls would just not look at the judges. That would be my thing. They just did not, which I mean, again, is a kind of a beginner mistake, but I remember just really, for me, when I really left the stage feeling like it went well, is when I was really connecting with the judges and really enjoying myself out there and just really feeling like it was genuine.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

Absolutely. Yes. So yes, we talked a little bit about interview, and that was kind of my prep for that. A lot of it was mindset that last year because I had done a lot of work on who I was. It was now just mindset and going in there feeling comfortable having a conversation, not proving anything. Swimsuit-wise, so long story short, um, it is a total first world problem, but I have always struggled with putting on muscle. The minute I start to cut or start to eat semi-healthy, I will lose weight, which I know is not a bad thing, but it was getting to a point where I was really struggling to put in any muscle and I just was thin as rails up there. That year I was first runner up. I was just too skinny and I was eating. I just wasn't lifting enough. So I got really into lifting the year that I won. I did no cardio. I was in the gym. I think I was eating like 175 to 200 grams of protein every single day. I was so sick of what I was eating because I was eating a lot, but it was like all protein. I have never been happier with my physique and my fitness and how I felt, ended up winning swimsuit, which shows that it did pay off. But that was kind of my swimsuit fitness prep. And I was never overworking. I would probably work out four or five days a week for an hour, 45 minutes. I'm not one that's gonna just like sit in the gym for three hours. I mean, what am I gonna do? I had a trainer, I get in, I do my stuff, I get out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:56

Comes back to this damn strength training. I mean, now for me at my age, just everyone talks about the strength training, lifting the weights. I mean, clearly to look good in your case, but to feel good, and you said you felt great. It's best. So it's just there's just no way around it.

SPEAKER_01 38:08

No, I've never had so much energy, so much, I don't know. I could go on and on. I love to lift.

SPEAKER_00 38:13

Well, that's good to know. I mean, at a young, younger, older, whatever you are, just lift the weight, strength train. Lift the weight. It's hard for me to hear because I am done. When I was doing the pageants, I was the opposite. I loved eating. It was losing weight. You know, and I was at a time where they wanted everyone super, super, super skinny. Oh, yeah. It wasn't as much, is this more of healthier physique? And I mean, and obviously the girls that are winning still are gorgeous. It's it's not like you're a bodybuilder, but I was, it was just a different kind of physique. I would struggle to lose the weight, but I exercise constantly. And I think that might have turned in negative for me a little bit because it was just so much cardio. A hundred percent you know, at the time.

SPEAKER_01 38:48

And I hate cardio. So that that'll do anyone a number in terms of just not having a good relationship with the gym. But yeah, that was kind of my fitness prep. And then walking. So, as I mentioned, I am not very coordinated and was never very athletic and was never a dancer. So coordination and poise on stage never came easily for me. And then I kind of mastered walking for a teen. That is obviously a lot different than walking when you're a miss, especially in the USA system, which has a little bit more of that stage presence. You need to have a little bit more of that unique walk and kind of runway presence versus Miss America or being a teen in teen USA or other systems. So I walked a lot. I would do in-person walking sessions every weekend. I would try to at least every single day, if not every other day, be practicing my routines in my shoes. Um, I did a lot of core workouts and calf workouts because that really built my posture up and built my strength in my legs for things like turns and just feeling stable in my heels. So that was kind of my walking prep. Same thing for evening gown was a lot of that. You still needed that core stability and strength to be able to have that poison posture.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

The walking isn't easy. It really isn't. It's not. And it's and people take that for granted. Yeah. And it you really do have to have that right gait and the right walk and the whole thing. But I will say now, fast-forwarding, I'm a lot older when I taking photos, standing, walking, the ease at which I can do a lot of these skills, the pageants did help me with that. I mean, it really did help me with walking and moving. Okay. And then even just like we talked about with the swimsuit, learning that I couldn't just work out constantly, you know, get in a good place about it with eating and just helping figure all of that out. So it was really helpful. Did you obviously do you have any tips on like time management and stuff? During all of this, there was so much, I mean, it's so many things to manage along with school and work and all the different things. Is there any like time management tip you could give? Because I do struggle with that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 40:39

Yes. Um, the simplest one is you have to start waking up earlier. And I really learned this when I was in college. And you know, that's the time where everyone sleep until noon and yada yada. I love being productive because it makes me happy, but you're never going to be as productive in the evening as you are in the morning. At least that's what I found to be true for myself. So I started waking up earlier. The minute that I was preparing for Illinois USA, and especially as a title holder, I was not sleeping in past six, six thirty. I'm not saying 4 a.m., but I had a full-time job. I had appearances I had to get to, I had interview prep, walking prep, I had to go to the gym. You know, I had a life to take care of. I still needed to clean and do my chores, right? And so I needed to wake up earlier and I just found, oh, wow, if I wake up an hour and a half earlier, that's an extra hour and a half that I can have back in my day to do something, which is obviously, yes, fairly obvious. But waking up early really helped me because it also just set me up to have a really, really good day. Waking up, going and getting my workout done, I had so much energy. Number two, understanding that Rome was not built in a day, right? You cannot look at your to-do list of seven big things and think you're going to get all of them done that day because then you're going to be so overwhelmed that you do none of them. Pick one thing or get a little bit more granular and detail out the steps that you need to get those big things done within the next two weeks and then do two of the 14 steps today. You cannot do everything in one day. That is literally going to allow you to plateau and not get anything done.

SPEAKER_00 42:02

Yeah. Being overwhelmed by what you do list.

SPEAKER_01 42:04

Overwhelmed is just, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:06

It's so funny. You said this so simply, just get up earlier. And it really is the truth. I mean, just get up. Yeah. Some of this isn't just these magic, it's not like these magic tricks, but you it needs to be said. Yeah. Just get up earlier. I've been doing the same thing. And I, you know, you just can get more done. You do a lot of people aren't awake. The phone's not bothering you. Oh my gosh. It's so much easier. We're saying isn't, you know, to change your whole life. No. It's just, it does make a difference.

SPEAKER_01 42:27

I do my best work when I'm up and no one's bothering me yet. Like if I can go do a 6 a.m. workout, get back to my apartment by seven, I don't start work till eight, eight: thirty, I can get so much done in that hour and a half, triple what I could get done in the first hour and a half of people being online.

SPEAKER_00 42:41

So I think we've, you know, just touched on so many life skills here that are just key. I mean, and that's why truly, if anyone is listening and thinking about putting themselves in a pageant, putting their daughter, or if they have a friend that's been talking about it, clearly all of the life skills that we've shared, to me, at least my personal experience was being in the pageant, win or lose. You're gonna gain so much, learn so much about yourself. So now let's transition that into, you know, I have to say, I have a daughter who's 14 and the sorority rush situation, the TikToks, everything that everyone's seen. I mean, as a pageant girl, I feel like I'm gonna be equipped to help Caroline navigate all this, but it's scary for me. I mean, how it's all changed. I was um at Gamify at University of Iowa. I went through Rush, I did all of it, but it's overwhelming. The pageant coaches, all of it, I mean, excuse me, the sorority coaches. So, how would you just what would be your advice to you've been in a sorority? What would be your advice to someone rushing? Give us some thoughts on just some rush prep and how that can translate from pageants and different things like that. Because I think a lot of people are overwhelmed by this process.

SPEAKER_01 43:47

Oh, yeah. And there's so many things. And listen to, I went through sorority rush in 2018, eight years ago. So obviously not that long ago, but so much in Greek life has changed since then.

SPEAKER_00 43:56

It's constantly changing.

SPEAKER_01 43:57

Yes. This was still like I went through Southern Rush, I went to UT, still very old school in terms of having reference letters and you had the packets that you mailed in. So that was a lot more kind of like time consuming, but then it TikTok wasn't a thing yet. So it hadn't blown up on TikTok. There was no Bama Rush talk, there was no documentaries. And so a lot of more people were actually going in blind. So I actually think it may have been, in a sense, harder back then, especially because there was such a heavy emphasis on rec letters. But regardless of that, I was not nervous for Rush whatsoever. Looking back, I probably should have been a little bit more nervous and put a little bit more thought into it before I went into each house. But I was so sure, even though back then I was still struggling with like the pageant interview aspect of things and having a conversation, I was very sure of who I was. I was very sure that I was gonna find the place that I wanted to and that I knew how to have a conversation and that I wasn't gonna let a conversation die. And I think sometimes girls go into Rush and they get so in their heads and so nervous about okay, I want this house so badly that I need to say just the right things. It comes across as phony. Most people in today's day and age are pretty good at reading through fake and they're not gonna want fake. And it's an automatic scoring system. They score you right away after you leave that house and have your conversation.

SPEAKER_00 45:02

There's too many people to not to. Yeah, there's they don't have time to look back.

SPEAKER_01 45:05

They're gonna have to go a day to look back at their notes and decide, oh, maybe she meant this by what she was saying. No, it's an automatic scoring process, right? It's not the same as girls that are rushing, you know, ranking their houses at the end of the day. So going in there, knowing yourself and doing that mental prep work going into it of I'm gonna end up where I need to be. I'm just going to go in, have a conversation. I have my go-to stories I want to talk about. I have my go-to things about my social life, my athletics, you know, my major. And hopefully you don't talk too much about your major, but you know, we won't get too into rush at this point. Have kind of those pieces that you would have for a pageant interview for sorority rush. Take that deep breath and go in there with that same mentality I talked about. There is nothing to prove, only to share. I ended up having awesome conversations that never felt as though I was being interviewed or being interrogated. We just had fun and we talked about life at UT and being from Chicago. You know, I had that element of I was out of state. And so at a school like Texas, people are enthralled when people aren't from Texas. Yes. They are enthralled by that. And I'm sure it probably won me some brownie points. But going in there and not feeling like you have to prove anything is my biggest, biggest suggestion.

SPEAKER_00 46:06

Well, and I find that when I was on the other side of it, which let's be honest, most of the time you're in a sorority, you're on the other side of it. I mean, you're only actually rushing to join a house one year. Right. And so I would just notice that if someone was looking at me in the eye, they weren't looking above me or to see what else was going on in the room. You just made, I think, an excellent point for anyone that's listening. Have your go-to stories. Don't think that you don't need to be prepared. I mean, obviously, you want to be relatable and understand it's not do or die. You made an excellent point about you're gonna find your right spot. You know, it's gonna, it's it's a lot of times people do have that it was meant to be kind of thing. But you have to be prepared in the sense of knowing what to talk about, like knowing yourself and having, you know, those tidbits. And I find that to be, like you said, just be genuine. Yes. I think the genuine, you know, but being genuine is easier when you're prepared. Absolutely. When you have your go-to stories. Absolutely. You know, it was probably easier for you to be genuine miss winning Miss Illinois when you were prepared. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 47:01

And that's the thing is like looking back, I think I was so prepared for Rush because I had been preparing for so many years. So I already had those stories and I already knew those things. And obviously that was a unique perspective because not everybody goes through pageants, but I just remember of like small talk for a lot of the times, especially in those earlier stages of rush, right? And they would be like, You're from Chicago. Um, you know, we're doing a girl's trip there in two months. Like, where do we need to go? And some girls may be like, Oh, well, um, you know, and I would write. Oh my gosh. Like my friends and I just went to this restaurant in Lincoln Park this summer. You guys are gonna have to go, like, I'll send you the name later, et cetera. Don't overthink it. If someone were to ask you that out of Starbucks, are you gonna overthink it?

SPEAKER_00 47:37

Probably not, right? No, you just made the best point. It's just not that deep in the beginning. Yeah. For those listening, it's just not that deep. If you live, I was going to New York, someone lived in New York, I would say, oh, what's a great restaurant for our age group in New York? Yeah. Same as Chicago, like same as LA. Like it's just, it's not that deep. No. Answer the questions, look someone in the eye, act like you care. But being prepared does help. It does. It does. And people underestimate that. Just like with the pageant coaching, the I can see why people go and get coaching for a sorority rush. Oh, yeah. And I celebrate that. I think that could be maybe the next taboo topic, especially up here in the north. Oh, yeah. Oh, you had a sorority coach or you had this, you that. I'm gonna so different here. Celebrate it. I'd be like, good for you for being prepared. So that's my thing, at least as I'm seeing more and more people go through this. And I think some people that are looking at it after they finished it are thinking, maybe I wish I had gotten a little bit more help, you know, learning about myself and having my go-to's and all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_01 48:31

And just having someone that can just walk you through the rush process overall. 100%. Especially for your school, it's different everywhere. SEC is different than Big Ten, which is different than, you know, the sororities in Arizona and California. It's different everywhere. Finding someone that can at least give you a 10-minute overview of what the rush process is like at that school and what are some things that may be different than just you Googling what is sorority rush, right?

SPEAKER_00 48:55

Well, I think in these types of scenarios, knowledge is power. You're gonna be more relaxed when you know the process. 100%. And the more information you can get, the better. So I celebrate all these people that are taking the extra time. And also, too, I had a fabulous experience in my sorority. It truly changed my life. So you do want to, you know, give it your all, you know, to find the best place for you. And I do agree there is an element of, you know, it's meant to be. You know, you can't try and, you know, pigeon yourself. I want to just be in this house. I mean, God does have a plan. Oh, yeah. But, you know, being prepared, I think helps. Did you and you, I'm assuming, enjoyed your house and your whole situation?

SPEAKER_01 49:29

I did. I loved it. Um, I thankfully had a very, very good rush experience. And I had my top two houses on pref and I pref tridelt, and that's where I ended up. Oh, so you're a trident. Yes, I was a tridelt, um, still best friends with all of my really I met all my best friends from college through Tridelt. We just got back from a trip to Miami three weeks ago with all of us reuniting. So, yes, and I mean I ended up exactly where I needed to be. It was not going into rush, it was not where I thought I would end up, but it was something that I just learned to, as cheesy as it is, trust the process. It's a mutual selection process. Like I'm gonna find the people and where I need to be.

SPEAKER_00 50:02

But then you said it went became one of your top choices as you went through the week. It was. So you were open-minded.

SPEAKER_01 50:07

I was very open-minded, yes. I think that, you know, there was one house at Texas specifically that a lot of the pageant girls would go to. Um, and Texas, again, is a little bit different, but they were doing, you know, like sorority recruitment events over the summer when you're there for orientation. And I knew of friends of friends that were in that house. And I'm like, all right, this would be an easy option. Like, you know, it's a good house at Texas, it's probably where I'm gonna end up. And then as I was going through Rush, I was like, I'm not gonna be happy here, you know? Like this wasn't your boss, but it just wasn't my vibe, you know? And I'm someone that is, I'm a people person, right? Like I have never done well with like surface level friends. Like every friendship I have, I'm like, how can we make this deeper? Right. Which, you know, you could say that's a good thing or a bad thing.

SPEAKER_00 50:45

I'm definitely someone that likes to go deep. I'm not getting with you. I'm on that team.

SPEAKER_01 50:48

I'm not like a surface level person of like, okay, let's just talk about the weather, right? I wanted deep friendships. And I had gotten that in high school and I wanted it in college as well. And I very thankfully ended up with that.

SPEAKER_00 50:58

Oh, I'm so happy for you. I can't have to say, I think the sorority experience is really special. I agree. And I think it is important to be open-minded, you know, trust the process, but be prepared for the process. So then, speaking of being prepared, now I just think it's so cool. You do a lot of pageant coaching. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yes. How to get in touch with you with that? We'll put a link and everything. Absolutely. But I think it's so awesome. Because I I had such great relationships with my pageant coaches. One in particular, um, I think she has passed away now, but Karen DeWert was just a wonderful lady. And it's truly a great experience if you can find the right coach.

SPEAKER_01 51:29

It is, yes. And it took me many, many years until I found my right coach. Um, but my coach Lisa, she's been coaching me since, oh God, it'll be six years this year. Incredible. She's like a second mom to me now and is also kind of my boss at this point, too. So I work under her team as a pageant coach and then also do one-on-one social media consulting and management for pageant girls. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 51:49

That must be so fun.

SPEAKER_01 51:50

It's a blast. It is like, I really like my job, my nine to five job, but obviously pageant coaching is a little bit more interesting than B2B marketing. So it gives me something to dive into after work and on the weekends. And I love to be busy. And again, I love to grow in my career and be ambitious. So it's something that I truly enjoy. We work just a lot on finding yourself, finding the routes you want to go to and interview. Who are you? What are your whys for competing? What truly is your message? What is the deeper reasoning behind why you say you want to be a role model, which is like total pageant jargon 101, right? We work a lot on that. And that's something that Lisa, my coach, has always instilled in myself and in anyone that she coaches and in the team when she's training us, is that that's really our difference maker. Is we're not just gonna bring somebody in, do a mock interview, give you some administrative tips, and send you on your way. We want to get to know you. One, because it's gonna help. Two, because we love people, right? We're big on that. So I do a lot of that virtually. We work on paperwork, we work on that foundation. We do, of course, get into mock interviews, et cetera. I do walking coaching as well. I actually do some of it virtually, but I obviously prefer to do it in person if we can. So yeah, I'm actually back to back in in-person coaching sessions tonight, which will be a blast.

SPEAKER_00 52:59

Oh, that's so exciting! Yes. That sounds like so much fun. Yeah. I would love to man, I'm getting the bug again. This is so much so much to talk about. Okay, so then tell us a little bit about your Miss USA experience.

SPEAKER_01 53:10

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 53:11

Because that was, I mean, obviously, there was a whole nother process of getting ready for that. Yeah. Tell us a little about your rain and your Miss USA and all of that.

SPEAKER_01 53:18

So I won Miss Illinois USA Memorial Day 2024. So this is end of May. And I was leaving to go to Miss USA on July 28th. So I had like a little over eight weeks. So it was tight. It was very tight, and that is a much tighter than you usually have, but we knew it was coming. So I always say it prepare for state as though you're preparing for Miss USA, which I was doing, right? But there was obviously more things to get taken care of. We immediately went that week to go design and produce my gown for Miss USA. I thankfully just was able to consistently keep up with my workouts and my fitness, et cetera. But it was kind of that added turn and twist because I was traveling a lot in those eight weeks. So it was like finding a hotel gym or finding makeshift things to lift because you don't always have access to a gym. The travel is what was really the biggest kicker and honestly exhaustion in those eight weeks leading up to Miss USA. I went to LA for headshots. I was in Kansas City and Kansas for appearances, meeting with sponsors, other pageants. I went to Dallas for boot camp. I went to Dallas again for something else I can't even remember. I was in Nashville for headshots. I was everywhere but home, right? I was constantly like up packing, moving, etc. So it was keeping a decent mindset and not overwhelming myself despite the traveling. Fitting in my workout routines, my interview prep, all the things that I was doing, but doing it pretty much on the road. And then also the added element of a huge increase in social media and events, right? So there's like a social media contract and clause that you sign of how many times you're going to post. I'm a big social media person. So I obviously wanted to get creative with it because it's very important leading up to Miss USA. It's how you really make yourself known.

SPEAKER_00 54:53

Well, for sure. I mean, I'm sure that aspect just and it's how these people get to know you ahead of time. It is all the things. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 54:59

And then events and appearances, you know, I really wanted to make the most of my reign, not just before Miss USA, but overall. And so, you know, two to three times a week, especially leading up to Miss USA, it was a parade or it was a gala or it was volunteering. I'm a mentor for an organization called Chicago Scholars. And we were just kicking off our year one mentorship at that time. So it was cohort meetings, or it was getting together with my directors or with my teen sister queen or traveling to visit a sponsor. It was always something I loved every minute. It was obviously very tiring. Like I got tired. I sure did. I did. But I loved every minute.

SPEAKER_00 55:33

And then Miss USA, that whole expanding. And then Miss USA.

SPEAKER_01 55:36

Yes. It was amazing. So it was held in LA. So we stayed like Oh, that's fun. Yes. We stayed at the Biltmore, like downtown LA. And then we performed at the Peacock Theater, which is like right in Hollywood. So it was amazing. It was broadcast live on the CW. So it was back on cable that year, which was awesome. That's so fun. Yes, it was back on free network television, which was like totally my favorite.

SPEAKER_00 55:55

That was like my huge thing growing up. I mean, it was like my Super Bowl watching all these pageants.

SPEAKER_01 55:59

And so it was like, that was exciting because it's been, again, pageants have evolved and it's gone off cable, it's gone back on. But my year was on cable and it was on live TV. So everyone could watch. Everyone could watch, which was amazing. We were there for oh gosh, six, seven days, about a week. Did a lot. And what I found the funniest part was, you know, I always looked at these girls of, oh, they're going to the Hollywood sign, they're going to Santa Monica Pier. Yeah, you go not for fun. You go so they can get B-roll content for the show, right?

SPEAKER_00 56:22

So it's like the reality shows. It's no one reality. When they go to Dubai or something, they're not really living it up in Dubai. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 56:28

And so it was a blast. And I obviously made such, such good friends. Um, but we were at the Santa Monica Pier, and we rode the roller coaster, I think like seven or eight times. So they they could get the shot that they wanted for the B-roll for the show. So that kind of puts it into I'd be off in the corner.

SPEAKER_00 56:41

I cannot do roller coasters.

SPEAKER_01 56:43

I was like, oh, I'll do it once. And then little did I know, seven or eight times later, because they needed to get the best shot. And I was like, all right, at this point, we gotta do whatever you need. Yeah. So that was the first few days was a lot of different excursions, filming, fittings. Um, you don't pick your swimsuit, they give it to you. So it was like a whole thing with trying to find a swimsuit that fits and trading with people and very late nights, very late nights. I would say for the most part, it was like bed at midnight, 1 a.m. and then up at four for hair and makeup. So very adrenaline sleep, very much running off adrenaline and Celsius and caffeine.

SPEAKER_00 57:16

So you bring off the swimsuit. I'm gonna be honest with you. I have been having all these outfits lady lately where they don't stick. And I finally just ordered on Amazon. It's my old trick, which was my butt glue. I just sticking it everywhere. It's so funny. My daughter does competitive dancing, and someone I had to order it for her a couple of years ago, and it just brought back so many memories. Aside from something like that, is there any like product like that you would say that is like a go-to product for you that could be translated into real life?

SPEAKER_01 57:45

Yeah, um, butt glue is great, double-sided tape always. Um, learning how to just like do a simple stitch, right? With like needle and thread, just learning that I was like, okay, no matter what, if they give me a swimsuit that doesn't fit, I can cut it, turn it into it. Excellent point. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 58:01

That is something every woman should every person stitch. Men, women, you are out in the real world with a job. Oh yeah. Whatever.

SPEAKER_01 58:07

I learned it on TikTok. Literally look it up on TikTok.

SPEAKER_00 58:09

That is a really good tip.

SPEAKER_01 58:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 58:10

I actually think that I need to go back and do some more basic stuff sewing. Let's see. Let's do just a little um wrap-up with just some fun questions here. Let's do it. So, what is one pageant skill you think everyone should learn?

SPEAKER_01 58:23

How to talk to anybody, no matter their age.

SPEAKER_00 58:26

Very good. I like that one. Okay. Most misunderstood part of pageants.

SPEAKER_01 58:31

How much time it takes up.

SPEAKER_00 58:32

Yes, that's key. It's so there's so much more. The preparing for it is huge. If you are not spending that much time doing it, I mean, spoiler alert, you may not win. Yeah, absolutely. You can't just walk. I mean, it's a lot of effort, a lot of time. Very true. Favorite behind the scenes moment.

SPEAKER_01 58:48

So when I was at Miss USA and I made the top 19, I was the very, very last person called into the top 19 because the 20th person was the people's choice. Oh, I know, I know. So, like, we knew that the 20th person was the people's choice, which was like the fan vote, whatever. So I was like, I'm not getting that. Miscongeniality. Yeah, yeah. So I was the very last person called into the top 19. I was the 19th person. I obviously had like a freak out on camera because I don't control my emotions. So I was like crying, shaking. They ended up having to panda my family in the audience. Um, and so I walk off stage because you were you walk off to the wings, and then the TV show producers and the backstage crew then like gives you your cue as to when to go back on for the lineup. And they were yelling at me, they're like, Illinois, like, you got to get your crap together at this point. Like, come on, let's go. You're the 19th person, you're crying, you gotta get you back out there. So, yes.

SPEAKER_00 59:34

Oh my gosh, that is awesome. I know. Man, not number 19. Yeah, number 19. Oh my goodness. Very typical in my life.

SPEAKER_01 59:40

I'm always the last person calling.

SPEAKER_00 59:41

That's crazy, though. That is a good story. So, what's one piece of advice for young women stepping into these high pressure seasons of life? Like after everything you've been through, what would you say is a piece of advice?

SPEAKER_01 59:53

Your goals are what is going to keep you going. So, use your goals as motivation, not as a stressor, because it doesn't have to be I want to achieve this goal in the next three months. It's I want to achieve this goal eventually. I'm gonna use that as motivation to do something a little bit different tomorrow, to get me up out of bed, even though it's snowing and gray and we live in Chicago and the sun never shines, or I had a really bad week this week, but I am so excited because I know that, you know, next week I can go back after this goal, or I'm gonna go to the bookstore tomorrow to reach my goal of reading two more books a month. Whatever it is, don't let your goals scare you. Let your goals drive you. And if you're struggling to find like a purpose amidst a lot of stress, set goals, have ambition. It's gonna keep you going.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:32

That's great. I need I need to set some more goals. This is very motivating for me, Grace. Okay. And so then I ask everyone this at the end. What makes you bloom bright right now? Big little things. What's going on?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:42

My career. So, as I've mentioned, I work full-time as a senior account manager, nine to five in marketing. So I've got a book of clients. We work on their marketing strategies. I then help to route through those product projects with our team. I do the budgeting, et cetera. And then after work, most nights of the week, I'm doing virtual or in-person coaching for pageantry. And then I also do some social media consulting for pageant girls. And then I'm also trying to get back into the game of TikTok and content creation, um, specifically in the fashion and you know, purchasing, mindful spending realm of things, because it's something that I love. And so my career and all of the facets of it and just seeing like the money that can be made when you work hard. Because I'm not gonna lie and say I'm not money motivated. I think that's an okay thing to be. Of course. Absolutely. Right? Like that's not a taboo thing to say. No, just not at all. Career growing in it, seeing where I could be in a year if I continue to have these goals and ambition is really making me excited.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:37

Well, I love it, Grace. And I mean, we're gonna keep following all of your exciting things. You are blooming bright, everyone. Grace has the best smile. This was so much fun. How I got to go back down memory lane. I thank you for that. I love it. It's been so much fun uh getting to know you and having you here. So thank you, listeners. Thank you, Grace.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:55

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:56

And until next time, everyone, just boom bright. We'll see you soon.