A Pitman High School Junior, Maci Williams participated in the Turlock Junior Miss Scholarship Competition and was announced 2nd runner up. Junior Miss is an organization that eleventh grade girls in high school compete in up and down the state. This program is not just any beauty pageant, but also gives these young ladies a chance to prove their success in areas of talent, academics, fitness, interview, and self-expression. To anyone who has been lucky enough to get to know Maci, they would not be surprised she placed at all.
The ladies began the night with the fitness dance routine, choreographed by Kristi Garcia. The routine was nearly ten minutes long. Although Maci had been dancing for several years, the routine did not fail to give her an intense workout. “I caught on to the actual routine very easily, but it took a lot of endurance and stamina to get through it,” says Maci.
The next event was “Talent” and Maci performed a lyrical jazz/contemporary routine which she choreographed herself, to a song she felt best fit her routine. She says, “I was extremely indecisive about what song I wanted to use, but once I found it, I knew it was the one.”
Watching Maci dance is a truly beautiful experience. The energy she emits and the life that comes out of her can send chills down any person’s spine. She has a beautiful gift. Maci says, “The day of the show, I told myself that it didn’t matter if I actually won talent; I just wanted the audience to feel what I was feeling while I danced.” I think many people in the auditorium felt what I felt while watching Maci dance.
Throughout the entire competition, there were many talented young ladies. “As I watched the talents both at rehearsal and during the show, I realized how amazing those girls are at what they do. I also realized how many unique talents there are out there,” says Maci.
The last event was “Self Expression” where the ladies wear an evening gown, announce the goals they have for themselves in the future, and finish with the sentence, “The world will be a better place because I…”
Maci hopes to attend UC Berkeley or San Francisco State in pursuit of psychology and dance. “I just want to be someone a person can come to and feel understood. I want to be educated enough to provide factual support, but also let them know that they will be okay, and there is always hope.” Maci was a winner in this category, along with the Spirit Award.
The interview was held during the day, before the performance. Maci says, “It felt like I was simply having a conversation, and I just kept reminding myself that they’re people too.”
All the girls in the competition were very supportive of one another and it was not only about making new friendships, but rekindling old ones and seeing the types of people everyone had become. “I knew a lot of the girls from elementary school and Jr. high, but I hadn’t talked to them in forever…they’re really nice, genuine, hilarious people. I was sad when it was over, because I was going to miss them a lot.” She also added that they were very encouraging throughout the entire process and always inspired Maci to do her best.
All the young ladies who participated put in an immense amount of time. For 4-5 weeks each Saturday there were five hour practices. Outside of this, there were preparations for talent, thought on ways to elaborate on their self expression statement, and of course every girl wants a dress she loves. Doing all of this can take a large amount of time and effort.
So congratulations to all the young ladies who participated in Junior Miss. To all the younger ones thinking of entering, consider Maci’s advice: “The entire journey was such a good experience that has opened me up to new opportunities and people, and brought about a new self-confidence and insight. I would definitely recommend it to any upcoming juniors. It’s a life changing program.”