Miss Beloit encourages girls to ‘go for it'
By Debra Jensen-De Hart
Features Editor, Beloit Daily News



Sometimes it takes more than one try to be successful.

But when a person truly believes she can achieve her goal, it is well worth the effort.

Such were the sentiments of Sara Siekierski as she spoke about being the current Miss Beloit.

Siekierski won the crown in March and will continue her reign until March of 2007. A Turner High School graduate and junior at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater majoring in both print and broadcast journalism, she is the daughter of Mark and Sue Siekierski.

Her first try at becoming Miss Beloit won her the runner-up title in 2005, she told the Kiwanis members.

Far from feeling defeated, Siekierski said she gained confidence after being involved in the first contest and was determined to try again.

“For a year, I trained like an Olympic trainer,” she said.

Her efforts paid off and as a result she has traveled all over the state as an ambassador for Beloit.

“It's been the most wonderful year of my life,” Siekierski said.

When asked how she describes Beloit when she's out in public speaking, she had this to say:

“Beloit is a small, close-knit community. It has exceptional people who help each other. When I went to Whitewater, I realized there's no place like home.”

Miss Beloit also said she has learned many things over the past year.

“I've grown in my confidence and as a person. I've grown up so much and learned so much about myself and that I can do anything I want to put my heart into,” she said.

To other young women pondering whether to enter pageants, Siekierski said they should not be afraid, especially if they want to make a difference.

Also, “It provides so many opportunities and you gain valuable information and experiences.”

As part of Siekierski's experiences, she has expanded her platform which originally was to speak out about the consequences of underage drinking. That has expanded to include speaking on decisions made related to alcohol, drugs and personal relationships.

Since it's been almost five months since I've posted a blog, I figured it was about time I updated everyone on what's been going on in my life the past five months!

Life has been very busy between school, work and of course my duties as Miss Beloit. I'm sure most of you know that I transferred to UW Whitewater this fall to finish up my last two years of college. I've been having a WONDERFUL time at college so far, although it has kept me extremely busy! This is the first time I've lived away from home, but it's been a lot of fun. And I make sure to come home often just to bug my parents ;) Besides the normal classes, I've also been keeping busy with UW Whitewater's Cable 19 Channel. I'm the Weather Girl for the news at 6:30 on Thursday nights! My job has been a lot of fun and I'm learning new things all of the time. I've had the chance to meet a lot of great people and gain the on-camera experience that is necessary for my future career. I'm hoping some semester I'll get to try my hand as an anchor. ;)

Being Miss Beloit is still as wonderful as ever! I can't believe how quickly my year is going by! In just four short months I'll be giving up my crown to the new Miss Beloit. It will be exciting to pass on the opportunity to another young woman, but it's going to be extremely hard to give up my title that I truly cherish. I made several appearances over the summer, including riding in parades, Beloit Riverfest, Gospel in the Park, the St. Jude Parish Picnic, singing at First United Methodist Church, and singing the national anthem at a Beloit Snappers game. In early September, I made an appearance at Beloit's Festival on the Rock. I signed autographs for awhile and even got to get on stage with the band that was performing and speak to the audience. The band actually let me play the drums for one of their songs! I found out I'm not too talented on the drums, but it was a lot of fun and the audience loved it.

Throughout my reign as Miss Beloit I've gotten very involved with two youth groups- OAK (Operation Advocating Knowledge) and Rock County Youth 2 Youth. Both of these youth groups operate out of Rock County and serve to educate youth about making smarter and healthier decisions when it comes to drug and alcohol use and relationships. Over the course of the summer, OAK and Y2Y planned a Teen Maze, which took place on Saturday, September 30 at Beloit Memorial High School. The Teen Maze was basically a big game of life. The premise behind the Teen Maze was to show youth the consequences of their actions when they make poor lifestyle decisions. I spent the spring and summer as part of the committee to help plan the Teen Maze and served as a volunteer the day of the maze. Although we did not have as big of a turnout as we had hoped, the day was a lot of fun and a big learning experience for those who did attend.

After becoming involved in these groups, I realized I wanted to take my platform to the next level and make it more in-depth. I wanted my platform to be about guiding youth to make healthy lifestyle decisions about all challenges they are faced with, including drugs, alcohol and sex. My new platform is entitled Guiding our Youth: Better Decisions, Brighter Futures. The goal of my platform is just what it says; I am striving to help our youth make better decisions that will lead them to brighter futures. Being involved with OAK and Y2Y has helped me to spread my message and impliment my platform.

I know this is getting a little long, so I'm going to wrap this up. But not before I mention someone very special. This weekend I attended the 2007 Miss Racine Pageant to watch Briana Lipor give up her crown. Throughout my year as Miss Beloit, I've had the opportunity to get to know Briana very well, and I can honestly say she's become one of my very close friends. She's one of the most genuine and supportive people I've ever met. Briana, you were a WONDERFUL Miss Racine and I know you made your community very proud. Racine could not have had a better representative. Congratulations to Britani Madala who was crowned Miss Racine 2007!

With that, I'll wrap this up. I have quite a few appearances coming up in the next couple of weeks, so be on the lookout for new posts AND pictures! Thank you all so much for your support! I love you!

Sara