It all started with a prayer.
“Literally, the day that I prayed that prayer, pageants popped into my head,” said Alyssa Paulsen of Latham.
Paulsen, who had just completed her sophomore year at Wheaton College, a Christian liberal arts school in Chicago, was stumped. She had returned from a medical mission trip to Haiti and was feeling “down, almost depressed” without a community service project. She’d prayed for a way to give back to people in the U.S. How could pageants possibly be the answer?
But like she always does when receiving an answer to a prayer, Paulsen listened. She did a search for pageants and stumbled upon the USA Ambassador Pageant. It was perfect.
“It was super community service oriented,” said Paulsen.
In fact, it was far different from the two pageants she’d competed in back in middle school. Instead of glitz and glamour, the focus was on being a strong role model and adhering to the motto SLICC—Success through Leadership, Integrity, Character and Confidence.
She hoped she would fit the mold, and she did. Paulsen was crowned Miss Illinois and will head to Tampa July 26 to 29 to compete at the national level.
“Alyssa is certainly quite the role model with all the community service and volunteer work she participates in for various causes. One of the key components with us is we look for people to represent our motto,” said Barbara Thurston, a national director with the pageant. “She really has all the characteristics we look for.”
The USA Ambassador Pageant isn’t devoid of “typical” pageantry. There’s an evening wear and fashion wear round, as well as interview, onstage conversation, fun chat and a long list of optional categories like acting, talent, spokesmodeling and more.
Paulsen’s main focus isn’t finding the perfect gown or crafting winning interview answers — although, she’s not ignoring those completely. She’s most excited about sharing her platform.
“I’ve been speaking to high schoolers on my platform, which is beauty and body image,” said Paulsen. “I’ve been a model myself and from the pictures of myself I look totally different than I actually look because they’re edited.”
Paulsen exposes the photo editing process to show students that flawless magazine cover girls aren’t what they seem. She tells them that perfection doesn’t exist and to focus on “what we’re doing versus what we’re looking like while we do it.”
She doesn’t tell girls to throw away their makeup or walk around with their hair uncombed, though. “There’s nothing wrong with looking nice,” she said. The trouble is when that’s all that matters.
“I realized culture tells us as women we’re here to be adornments and decorations,” said Paulsen. “(The media say) if you’re not beautiful, you’re not worth as much as someone else who is physically beautiful.”
She said even though she’s pretty and blonde, fit and naturally thin, she knows what it’s like to want even more. She also knows what it’s like to arrive at what is perceived as an “ideal” body image and to realize it’s not.
“When I was in high school I was really sick with Lyme Disease for two years, was bedridden at one point. I got really skinny … almost looked skeletal and it was an ideal I had in mind beforehand; if I was that skinny I’d be worth more,” said Paulsen. “I’d never fallen into it (on my own) but once it was actually there I realized this means nothing. What’s next?”
If she’s crowned queen of the USA Ambassador Pageant, Paulsen has plans to take her platform even further. She said she wants to tell young girls that “we can’t define who we are by what we look like” and will encourage them to create an identity that goes beyond physical appearances.
And she won’t hesitate to share with them her own identity, which her newfound pageant path is helping her create.
“I’m a Christian, I have a relationship with God and he’s what’s given me my identity,” said Paulsen. “Knowing I have life after death and I’m worth something more than the shell that I live in.”
She’s also looking forward to satisfying the community service craving that got her into the pageant in the first place. So far, she’s participated in local charity events and volunteered at organizations in Illinois and the Capital District.
If she secures a national title, she’ll have even more opportunities to give back.
“Our national philanthropy is the Big Brother Big Sister organization,” said Thurston. “The girls participate in (charity events) throughout the country. We’re very excited to embrace pageantry in a positive way. Most people are not educated on the pageants that are out there that truly help their community.”
There’s one thing Paulsen will strive to do whether she wins or not.
“Life is so short … so just being able to dive into community service and put a smile on people’s faces,” said Paulsen. “It’s overlooked how much a smile does for people.”
For more information about the USA Ambassador Pageant, visit www.usaambassador.com.