Miss Boise: Take on Stereotypes Crown First!

April 16, 2016 I participated in “Miss America Serves”. “Miss America Serves” is a day that very contestant participating in a state pageant through the Miss America Organization dedicates themselves to a service project. Like all of my Miss Idaho sisters, I participated in a food drive benefiting the Idaho Food Bank. I stood in front of Fred Meyers for hours collecting food, but that isn’t enough to escape the stereotype that comes along with wearing a crown.

Like many customers before him, a man walked into the empty and silent Fred Meyers lobby. He was on the phone so I offered him a smile and didn’t mention the apparent food drive. He proceeded to walk past me speaking loudly to whomever he was talking to saying “Miss Boise is here. She won a contest and just stood up there not thinking about anything.” Since the electrical impulses in my brain processed his words and cognitively interpreted them into meaning, I found myself relieved that I must be at least thinking SOMETHING. I then continued my fight against hunger here in Boise.

Whenever I participate in any event, I am consciously strategizing how I can improve upon the stereotype of pageant contestants. Are there some girls that are a mirror reflection of our stereotype? Unfortunately, yes. You can find hundreds of girls on Youtube giving subpar interview answers as evidence of that. But even then, what is to say that the girl answering any given question just isn’t perfect? What if she simply doesn’t know the answer to every single thing in the world? I mean really. Who can answer everything? What if she accidentally just made up a word? It could happen to anyone.

To give you an example- here is the first image that populated when I typed in “Stupid Pageant Answers”.

Here is the actual YouTube video of her interview. Start the video at 0:25. 

During my time volunteering for the Idaho Food Bank as a part of “Miss America Serves”, I was bombarded with the unkindness of that man based on the stereotype pictured above. I was also lucky enough to be graced with the generosity of hundreds of strangers- one in particular.

Like hundreds of customers before them, a woman and her daughter walked into a Fred Meyers lobby. The woman’s face burst into the biggest smile. Her enthusiasm shocked me as I had received some really kind donations, but not with quite the same level of excitement. She assured me that she would go shopping and then return to donate food. When she came back, she dropped a couple cans into my cart full of donations. Then, her daughter handed me a water bottle and said something along the lines of “We brought those cans for the people that are hungry, but we bought this water bottle for you. You must be so thirsty working this hard!” In light of my encounter with the man, I was speechless. I think I honestly stood there with my mouth open. I managed to get out a thank you and they started on their way.

As they were about to walk out of the door, the mom turned around and came back to me. She said “I have to tell you something” and began to tell me a story about how a few years ago, she hated pageants. She thought they began and ended with the stereotype. That was until she got to know a pageant girl herself. I can’t remember how exactly she had gotten to know one.. But that woman changed her entire opinion. She said she had, until then, never realized how hard we work in terms of our community service, our education.. everything. She also mentioned that she thinks we deserve so much more credit than we receive. She wanted to make sure I knew that I was appreciated.

Allow me to back track a little to the picture and video I posted above. That is my best friend, Erza. If you know Erza like I do, you know that she is kindhearted, genuine, thoughtful, and incredibly smart. I can’t even tell you how many times she has turned down hanging out with me because she has had plans with her little sister from “Big Brother Big Sister”. This is a mentorship program that she has been a part of for as long as I have known her (8 years). She also got a 4.0 in high school. Her hardworking and professional nature has allowed her to quickly earn promotion after promotion for the business consulting company she works for. Meanwhile, thousands of people have over looked the remarkable qualities she possesses and instead view a video that allows them to write off all pageant contestants as girls that just stand there and “don’t think about anything”.

The woman in Fred Meyers and her story about the pageant girl she knew is another example of how everyone has the ability to make a difference. Sometimes you don’t have hours to stand in front of Fred Meyers with a food drive. Sometimes you don’t have enough money to make that donation. You know what you ALWAYS can do? Live by example. Live by knowing you are powerful. Whether you know it or not, you are a direct representation of yourself and of any organizations you associate yourself with. I am proud to represent the Miss Idaho Organization at every chance I get and would relish the opportunity to do so even more as Miss Idaho.

The best way to change a stereotype is to prove it wrong!

Yours truly,

Brittany Lock Miss Boise 2016

Miss Boise’s How To: Be An Outstanding Role Model

Allow me to tell you a little bit more about myself. To start, I'm not perfect. Ask anyone, I am terrible at directions. Sometimes I say things and then want to pound my head against a wall. To me, math might as well be a foreign language. In-spite of all of these things that others may call flaws, I know that I am worthy. You know why? Because I try!

To put it nicely, I am constantly humbled by my ability to mess things up; however, this does not keep me from seeing my own worth. I have mentioned this before, but when I was about 11 or 12 I saw the Miss Boise crown and sash for the first time. It was in that moment that I set my eyes on one day holding the same title. As you know I have now achieved this goal, but that didn't come easily. I competed for 5 different titles before I won my first local. My first title, a title that changed my life, was Miss Syringa. I gained confidence, I gained personal and professional skills, but I also gained a little sister.

The Miss Idaho Organization has a program called "The Little Sister Program". For time's sake I won't go through the in's and out's of this outstanding program, but I will tell you that in short, each Miss Idaho contestant is assigned a little sister to mentor over the course of her rein. My little sister was Taylor. Even though I had bad hair days, blinked in pictures, and again, was REALLY BAD at directions, she thought I was a superstar. She started to want to wear pink and sparkles because I loved pink and sparkles, she generously volunteered to be a part of all the events I was a part of, and she even came and watched me be crowned Miss Boise! I know she looks up to me.

Knowing this allowed me to challenge myself to be the best version of myself in every moment possible. That, my friends, was truly life changing. I honestly did not know how much I was really capable of until I had that motivation! How to be a good role model you ask? Be yourself, love your flaws, but also, don't be afraid to play out your strengths! When I overcame my fear of messing up I realized that I am outgoing and effervescent. I am a life-long learner and am always willing to take on a challenge. My own flaws also taught me to be resilient and empathetic. When you allow yourself to be the best version of yourself, I promise that you are just confirming someone else's beliefs in you.

Yours truly,

Brittany Lock- Miss Boise 2016

Miss America Serves

On April 16, 2016, Miss America contestants and volunteers will come together across the United States in service. With their friends and family you will find titleholders participating in various community service projects. Miss Idaho 2015, Kalie Wright, and the Miss Idaho Class of 2016 will be collecting food for the Idaho Foodbank in various locations throughout the state.

The Miss Idaho Organization is excited to partner with the Idaho Foodbank as they continue to serve 189 community partners in 39 of 44 Idaho counties. Did you know that 5.6% of Idaho’s residents are food insecure – that is approximately 250,830 people? And even worse, 21.1% of Idaho’s children are food insecure – that means 1 in 5 of Idaho's children goes hungry.

To support the Miss Idaho Food Drive with a donation visit any of the following places on April 16th:

·         10am-2pm at Walmart Supercenter, 5001 N Ten Mile Rd, Meridian, ID 83646

·         10am-2pm at Rosaeurs, 2986 N Eagle Rd, Meridian, ID 83646

·         10am-2pm at Walmart, 795 W Overland Rd, Meridian, ID 83642

·         10am-2pm at Stoke Market S, 285 US-91, Preston, ID 83263

·         11am and 8pm at Fred Meyer, 10751 W Overland Rd, Boise, ID 83709

·         4:30pm-7:30pm at Albertsons, 640 ID-16, Emmett, ID 83617

·         3pm-6pm at Walmart, 2470 Pullman Rd, Moscow, ID 8384

To support the Miss Idaho Food Drive Team with a donation, please visit http://www.helpmakemiracles.org/participant/MIO.

Follow along with what projects are going on across the country #MissAmericaServes.

Miss Boise Wants YOU to B Limitless!

Sierra Sandison (Left) Miss Idaho 2014

Until recently I didn’t feel like I had the power to be a driving force for change in my community. I have been lucky to have a great support system filled with people who always encouraged me to pursue the things that I am passionate about. This led me to become increasingly confident in my ability. Eventually I realized that I do have the power to make a difference. This realization has made me determined to be that same support system for the people around me through community service. Also, I believe that it is my responsibility to utilize every outlet available for me to encourage other people to do the same. 

At the beginning of spring semester 2016, I began producing and hosting a television series titled “B Limitless”. The “B” represents the Boise State “B” as it is my goal to use students at Boise State as my main source of interviewees. “Limitless” refers to the notion that when given the right tools, everyone has what it takes to manage all of your responsibilities while still being service oriented. Other generations have labeled millennials as the entitled generation. I want to prove them wrong- but I let the stories speak for themselves! There are so many students on campus that are juggling homework, classes, relationships, and work, while also contributing to the lives of people around them through acts of service or outreach. I highlight these students as guests on my show and present their achievements in a way that is relevant to ANYONE. 

I have had two guests on the Boise State University television show so far. First being our very own Sierra Sandison! Sierra was Miss Idaho 2014 and won “People’s Choice” at Miss America. She has since become a spokesperson for type one diabetes, written a book, appeared on Dr. Oz, owns her own business, and is a student at Boise State. During our discussion, we talk about overcoming obstacles like stereotypes and societal beauty standards- not to mention a little bit about how she is managing all of the responsibilities she holds! This episode is viewable on Cable One channel 60 and YouTube: 

My next set of guests are two people that may very well be our next president and vice president of ASBSU at Boise State! Their names are Rebecca Kopp and Jade Donnelly. I interviewed them at this particular moment in time because they were at the end of their campaigns. In fact, the voting for ASBSU positions was ending the same day I interviewed them! We spoke about important topics like being able to find a club to associate yourself with while a student at Boise State and the opportunities that it provides. We also talked about how they are managing their stress knowing that they have done all they can do to prepare for this one moment (election day) and now the results are out of their hands and in the hands of voters.  This video will be viewable shortly.

Rebecca Kopp (Left) and Jade Donnelly (Middle) running for ASBSU President and Vice President. 

Through participating in acts of community service while also providing this excellent stream of content, I hope to encourage as many people possible to BE LIMITLESS. After earning the title of Miss Boise, I have seen the excitement and support for my show grow. I can’t wait to see how it progresses in the future as I progress through the Miss America Organization! As always, I am so grateful to have the support of such a platform based program.

Check to see what’s new by YouTube searching "B Limitless at Boise State" or check the Miss Boise Scholarship Program page for updates!

If you could B Limitless, what would you accomplish?

Brittany Lock- Miss Boise 2016

Miss Northern Idaho

Rathdrum - Come watch the young women of Northern Idaho show off their talents, poise, and personality at our program on March 19th, 2016. Our program will be at Lakeland High School from 3-5pm.

Our program was created to provide young women the opportunity to grow as individuals, contribute to their communities, and encourage the pursuit of higher education; all while embodying an admirable and humble character. Our young women are employed, obtain good grades, and give their time to serve our community. Our program is merely a celebration of all the hard work, commitment, and sacrifice they embody.

Competing for Miss Northern Idaho: Olivia Kennedy - Moscow, Michelle Waller - Post Falls, Reina Powell - Athol, Shaina Everett - Coeur d’Alene, and Abriana Thompson - Priest River. Competing for Miss Northern Idaho Outstanding Teen: Rachel Sovereign - Coeur d’Alene, Janessa Riordan - Hayden, and Hope Sanborn -Coeur d’Alene. Our Contestants are judged in the following areas: Presentation and Community Achievement in Interview, Artistic Expression, Presence and Poise in Evening Wear, and Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit.

We will be crowning Miss Northern Idaho, who will go on to compete at the state level for Miss Idaho, and nationally, Miss America. We will also be crowning Miss Northern Idaho Outstanding Teen. Our teen titleholder will go on to compete at the state level for Miss Idaho Outstanding Teen, and nationally, Miss America Outstanding Teen.

Miss Idaho - Kalie Wright will be at our program performing and crowning our titleholders. Our judges are Karly Rose, Curt Nead, Dani Zibel-Wolfe, Melissa Garland, Andy Schroder, Reina D’Souza, and Kelly Pintler. Also in attendance are former Miss Post Falls titleholders - Stephanie Davenport, Carla Bamford and Keva Wolfe. Our Master of Ceremonies is Stacey Pittman. She is Mrs. Payette County and was the first runner up in 2015 for the title of Mrs. Idaho.

Titleholders will be crowned and scholarships will be awarded at our program! To purchase tickets for our event on March 19th at Lakeland High School, please go to http://missnortherndiaho.brownpapertickets.com or they can be purchased for $10 at the door. Press Passes are available upon request.