More than a Pageant?
September 29th, 2025
Photo: Natalia Pinto
Writer: Auburn Marriot
Editor: Sam Robertson
The last way anyone would describe my personality is “pageant girl,” but little did I know that an email on a warm summer night would change my entire life. I assumed the unrecognizable sender was spam, but the more I read, the wider my eyes opened and the faster my heart raced. Unable to comprehend the words within the email, I yelled at my mother to pause the show we were watching.
“You’ve been selected to compete in the Miss Michigan USA 2025 Pageant, a preliminary for Miss USA.”
As we both stared at the email, we grew frozen. Two minutes of complete silence and we immediately started researching the opportunity. This email wasn’t spam - I genuinely was selected to compete in a preliminary for Miss USA. The issue with the pageant was that in three weeks, I was leaving to study abroad at the University of Oxford for two months, leaving no time for thoughtful preparation. As soon as I closed my phone, the clock started ticking.
After a restless night of internal debate, I decided to participate. I sent in the registration form, awaiting my title for the Miss Michigan USA pageant.
A week after registering, and on a road trip with my mother, I was given my title: “Miss Ann Arbor USA.” Our car was filled with excitement, shouting, crying, and barking from my dog. I was unsure of how people would react when I posted on social media - my fear of people’s doubts, thoughts, and assumptions about me and this title were at their peak. I, instead, met it head-on, posting everything about the pageant.
I decided to compete with a platform that promotes sexual misconduct prevention and domestic violence awareness with the local Ann Arbor shelter, SafeHouse, and NoMore, a global domestic violence and sexual assault organization. This platform spoke to me after being on the executive board for Central Student Government in the 24-25 school year as the Chair of the Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Survivor Empowerment Committee. My committee and I contributed significantly to the sexual misconduct work here at U of M. I decided to do domestic violence and sexual assault awareness because all women have a story, and I wanted this platform to be a voice for not only myself but for the thousands of survivors who refuse to be silenced.
The doubt I received from peers regarded my knowledge on pageants or how to be a "pageant girl”... I was told I was “too young” and “unprepared”. The statement that “girls are raised doing pageants, and you do not know anything about it,” was repeated.
These comments made me overanalyze everything - it hit me that I had to speak on a stage in front of over 1,500 people. So, I hit my breaking point three months before the pageant - telling my mother and grandmother I could not participate. I had immense fear of losing or messing up. My grandmother told me to turn my fear and anxiety into passion and allow it to motivate me. My mindset shifted into motivation and love for the experience rather than being fearful of a particular outcome. A switch had gone off in my head, and I was ready to walk on that stage as Auburn. Spoiler alert, I lost, and I am happy to share that I am still alive and doing absolutely amazing.
When people hear the titles of Miss Michigan USA, they assume the pageant was a ridiculous activity where I wore a pretty dress and aimlessly danced around on stage. It is so much more than that.
Yes, I got to wear a pretty dress, but I also got to spend hours with my mother and grandmother walking in heels to perfect my walk, creating memories that I will cherish. I formed a partnership with the local domestic violence and sexual assault shelter in Ann Arbor and am a student ambassadorship with a global domestic violence and sexual assault organization with recognition for my work here at UM. I was even able to go to the NoMore office in London. As a transfer student with less than a year of experience at U of M, I have opportunities I never dreamed were possible.
I did not leave with a crown, I left being a better version of myself. I now never let others define my worth or limit my path. This wasn’t instant; it has taken days, weeks, months, and years to reach this mindset, but I have my loss at Miss Michigan USA 2025 to thank.
