VIDEO: Amber-Joi Watkins – Miss Pennsylvania USA 2011

Lyrics sung by Beyonce:

"Stop! I ain't ready yet!
Wait, let me fix my hair
Yes, ma'am, yes ma'am!
Now pass me my dress..."

This Philadelphia native and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania is one busy woman! Along with winning the title of Miss Pennsylvania USA 2011 earlier this year, Amber-Joi Watkins (aka A.J.), is also an accomplished dancer, model, actress, producer, and entrepreneur. She even appeared on a commercial with my favorite Dallas Cowboy, Emmitt Smith 🙂

Regardless of her hectic schedule, Amber-Joi has her sights set on accomplishing one goal this summer. So pass A.J. her dress as she heads to Las Vegas to compete for the title of Miss USA 2011! Follow Amber-Joi on Twitter @RealMissPAUSA

-Will the Pageant Guy

Check out Amber-Joi's Favorites!
  

VIDEO: Shanna Moakler – Miss USA 1995 (Part 2 of 2)

Part 1 of Shanna's interview gave us insight on her typical day, her current status with Travis Barker, and her thoughts on Bridalplasty just to name a few.

In Part 2 of Shanna's interview, she discusses the newly acquired Miss New York USA and Miss New Hampshire USA pageants and provides advice for pageant contestants seeking a career in entertainment.

Shanna on Twitter: @ShannaMoakler
Miss California USA on Twitter: @RealMissCAUSA
Miss New York USA on Twitter: @MissNYUSA
Miss New Hampshire USA on Twitter: @RealMissNHUSA

-Will the Pageant Guy

Check out Shanna's Favorites!
  

VIDEO: Shanna Moakler – Miss USA 1995 (Part 1 of 2)

Lyrics from Blink 182's "I Miss You" written by Travis Barker:

"Hello there the angel from my nightmare
The shadow in background of the morgue

The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley
We can live like
Jack and Sally if we want

Where you can always find me
And we'll have Halloween on Christmas

And in the night we'll wish this never ends
We'll wish this never ends"

Since her first pageant in 1992, the ride for Miss USA 1995, Shanna Moakler has NOT even come close to ending!  If you ever owned a television, listened to the radio, been to the movies, read a magazine, or surfed the internet then you are well aware of Shanna's presence and influence on pop culture and entertainment throughout her career.  As you'll see in this exclusive thePageantGuy.com interview, along with her tenured success in entertainment, she still is the down-to-earth gal from Rhode Island with a zest for life and passion for pageantry.

P.S. Up next is Part 2 of Shanna's interview including tips for pageant contestants seeking a career in Hollywood, her craziest TMZ moment, and her thoughts as the new Co-Director of the Miss New York USA and Miss New Hampshire USA pageants.

-Will the Pageant Guy

Check out Shanna's Favorites!
  

ARTICLE: Ashley Underwood – Survivor: Redemption Island

I first met Ashley Underwood after Miss USA 2009, through a good friend of mine, Brooke Daniels, during her visit to Texas...

In more or less words, Ashley was baller -- literally  and figuratively! Not only was she one of the most easy going people I've met, but this pageant titleholder was a PRO basketball player!  So I am truly excited to bring you this interview with Miss Maine USA 2009 and Survivor: Redemption Island's castaway, Ashley Underwood! By the way, I am not able to post any audio or video from our interview -- per the powers that be at CBS -- however you will be able to watch Ashley on the season premiere this Wednesday, February 16th at 8pm EST on CBS.

Will: How did you get into pageants?
Ashley: I was always into sports and played basketball...and while playing overseas in Switzerland, one of my friends from my hometown was Miss Maine. I thought, oh my gosh, that's so great because she was an athlete, she always played sports growing up, and then decided to get into pageants. It kind of inspired me when I came home from Switzerland...I needed something to challenge myself because I was so used to being busy and when basketball was over I wanted something to do. So pageants came into the picture, and I never competed in pageants before and decided a few months before Miss Maine USA that I wanted to compete. So I went in blind and not knowing anything, and now I know I feel like I know a lot about pageants!

Will: What were your thoughts when you were announced Miss Maine USA 2009?
Ashley: My first thought was "what have I gotten myself into?" because honestly I didn?t even know how to curl my hair.  I didn't even know how to use a curling iron! I didn?t know how to do my make-up. I was basically like, I mean I showed up with no make-up on and lip gloss. I really didn?t know what to expect and I remember being so excited and just in shock...I cried! I swore to myself before a pageant that I wasn?t going to cry if I had won. And I cried when I won because I saw my family who had been supportive of me wanting to compete in a pageant. They could have laughed in my face and say,”what was she thinking?” But they didn?t and I saw how excited they were and supportive, and I just felt overwhelmed and really excited.

Will: What was the highlight of your reign?
Ashley: The highlight of my reign was competing at Miss USA 2009 and meeting the three girls that I am still really good friends with: Miss Texas USA - Brooke Daniels, Miss South Carolina USA - Stephanie (Smith) Waltrip, and my roommate Jessi Pierson - Miss West Virginia USA.  Honestly, I met three of the best girls because I am still friends with them and just having gone through such an amazing experience it really binds you together for life. It?s so bizarre, but it's so true and so the highlight, hands down, is competing at Miss USA 2009 in a live pageant on NBC, with all the feelings that I felt at the time, and meeting all these incredible people.

Will: Tell us a little bit about playing professional basketball overseas.
Ashley: Well I played in Switzerland and I was the only American on my team, which was really difficult actually because everybody on the team spoke French including my coach. So I had to have a translator and the most difficult part was just was living alone. It?s just wonderful to have that experience but same time I was really lonely over there because having to entertain myself can only be fun for so long. Traveling...there's just so many beautiful things and you want to travel with somebody to be able to share that experience with. I still feel very lucky and fortunate to have the experience, but it was really difficult and my coach went along with it because he would go on and on in French, and I wouldn't know what he was saying in practice. I would just kind of be on my own little island by myself, excuse the pun!  It was very challenging but it made me grow a lot as a person.

Will: Share with us your experience growing up on a farm.
Ashley: Well I have always lived on a farm since I was zero haha. So I lived on a pig farm first -- I was really young so I don?t really remember too much --  but then it transferred into strawberries, raspberries, and produce. It's been 15 years now of just living on farm, of straight fruits and veggies, and I love it! I mean it?s really just my dad and my mom and they are just such hard working people. For me growing up, it really taught me the value of hard work and it gave me a lot of respect for all the farmers. I see first hand how difficult it is and how much time it takes.  I was mad at my dad at the time for making me work on the farm, but now I look back and it was just a cool experience it just kept me really grounded, down to earth, and not afraid to get my hands dirty.

Will: What made you decide to audition for Survivor?
Ashley: Well actually I auditioned for The Amazing Race with Stephanie Smith (Miss South Carolina USA 2009) and it didn?t work out and people kept saying to try out for Survivor. So I ended up auditioning for Survivor, and now I'm just so glad that I did Survivor! This sounds really weird, but I?m glad things worked out it did. As much as I love The Amazing Race, I just am so obsessed with Survivor! I am so glad it all worked out.

Will: What?s harder, preparing for Miss USA or preparing for Survivor?
Ashley: Well I can?t even say they are remotely the same. Preparing for Miss USA was one of the hardest things I have ever done because I wasn?t a pageant girl, and I didn't know how to do the basics. I didn?t know how to use a curling iron and I didn't know how to do my make-up -- for me it was a whole new world. As far as Survivor goes, it was very hard to prepare for Survivor because of all the unknowns. I didn?t know where we were going, I didn't what we were going to do, and all the twists they were going to throw at us. As far as workouts, preparing for Survivor was very much like preparing to play Division I basketball -- gaining weight and gaining muscle. I can?t say which one was more difficult than the other because they're just so different. For me, the pageant world was so crazy for outsiders, but then again Survivor was equally just as hard.

Will: Prior to Survivor: Redemption Island, what is your biggest moment of redemption?
Ashley: Oh wow, I have witnessed redemption through second chances through the adoption of my little brother. My little brother was adopted when I was five and my boyfriend is adopted as well. I've talked to them both about it and just thinking about what their lives would be like...it was kind of like a second chance for them to redeem themselves and it was their second chance at life. So I have witnessed it first hand -- their own redemption.

So find out if Ashley can outwit, outplay, and outlast the other seventeen castaways in the 22nd season of Survivor beginning this Wednesday! Special thanks to CBS, Survivor: Redemption Island, and Ashley Underwood. Transcription by Erica Cornish.

-Will the Pageant Guy


Check out Ashley's Favorites!
  

VIDEO: Kristen Dalton – Miss USA 2009

Kristen Dalton's words during her final walk as Miss USA 2009:

"This magical year has been filled with priceless opportunities to meet incredible people, work with dynamic causes, and travel our great nation and so many parts of the world.

Working for the Miss Universe Organization has taught me to be stronger and more inquisitive and to encourage young women to dream big and realize that with education and hard work anything is possible...

Being Miss USA has been an absolute honor that will never be replaced by any other experience -- but I'm not finished yet -- and I'll take everything I've learned and apply it to my next dream!"

Kristen's next dream has taken her from an apartment full of pageant queens in New York City to the City of Angels to pursue a career in television.  As Kristen continues to seek a career in television, she is also helping others -- more specifically pageant ladies -- with their own career aspirations.  As the National Sales Recruiter for IST Management she recruits qualified candidates across the country for career placement in sales positions within their organization.

Whether it was living in style as Miss USA in NYC, spending time with family on the East Coast, to making it big in sunny California, or helping others climb the corporate ladder in places between -- you will definitely see more of Kristen Dalton! Check out her exclusive thePageantGuy.com interview below 😀

P.S. If you are looking for a career in sales, IST Management -- a privately held, dedicated facilities management company -- is hiring Account Executives in the following cities: Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, and San Francisco

The position includes a base salary with unlimited and ongoing commissions for new and retained accounts, a comprehensive training program, and the opportunity for advancement. For more information, contact Kristen Dalton directly at kdalton@istmanagement.com.

-Will the Pageant Guy

Check out Kristen's Favorites!
  

VIDEO: Morgan Woolard on “How to Handle a Tough Pageant Loss”

Introducing thePageantGuy.com's guest blogger -- Miss Oklahoma USA 2010, Morgan Woolard. Based on her own experience competing in pageants, Morgan will offer her personal insight in a video series addressing pageantry's tough issues.

Have you ever been disappointed after competing in a pageant? Have you ever had your heart broken when your name wasn't called? Have you ever struggled with your decision to compete again?

In this video -- drawing on her experience as 1st runner-up to Miss USA 2010 -- Morgan Woolard covers the topic "How to Handle a Tough Pageant Loss" by using these three approaches:

1) Have a Proper Perspective

2) Have a Healthy Mentality

3) Have a Detox of Self

Stay tuned for more videos featuring Morgan tackling pageantry's toughest topics!

P.S. As you watch this video please feel free to share -- in the comment box below -- your own personal experience dealing with a Tough Pageant Loss and how you overcame it!

-Will the Pageant Guy

Morgan Woolard is Miss Oklahoma USA 2010 and 1st runner-up to Miss USA 2010.  Morgan also held the title of Miss Oklahoma Teen USA 2006 and placed in the Top 15 at the Miss Teen USA 2006 pageant. Morgan is currently a youth leader, speaker, model, and a student studying Broadcast Journalism at Oklahoma State University.  You can follow her on Twitter: @MorganWoolard