My last post as Miss Beloit

Yesterday, March 25, marked exactly one year ago that I was crowned Miss Beloit 2006. In five days, I'll relinquish my title to the new Miss Beloit 2007. Right now I'm feeling a lot of mixed emotions. It's really hard to describe how I feel at this moment. On one hand, I'm extremely sad that my reign is almost over. I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by, and I'm not quite sure I'm ready for it to be over yet. On the other hand, I'm really excited to pass on this opportunity to another young woman and to move forward with my life. Being Miss Beloit 2006 has been absolutely wonderful, but I know it's time to move on and begin a new chapter in my life. I know many new opportunities and experiences await me.

I've had the honor of getting to know the five wonderful contestants who are competing for the title of Miss Beloit 2007. This year's contestants are Jalisa Hawkins, Sha-Nita Rhea, Andria Sciame, Elise Brancamp, and Naja Jacobs. Elise is a senior at Beloit Turner High School, Jalisa, Andria, and Naja are seniors at Beloit Memorial High School, and Sha-Nita is a junior at UW Parkside. These five girls have worked so hard in preparation for this pageant, and I am so proud of how far they've come in just six weeks. I think they've all learned a lot and have grown from this experience. While only one will win the title of Miss Beloit 2007, I believe all of them deserve to walk away with the crown. It will be so exciting to see who will be crowned our new Miss Beloit 2007!

The 2007 Miss Beloit Scholarship Pageant will be held Saturday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. in the Beloit Memorial High School Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10.00 each. I hope all of you who read this will be able to come out and support the young women who have worked so hard!

For those of you who may not know, I will be competing for the title of Miss Madison-Capital City on Sunday, April 15 at the Madison Senior Center in downtown Madison, 330 W. Mifflin St. Tickets are $10.00 each and can be purchased through me ahead of time or at the door. I would love to have all of you come out and support me in my quest for a new title! Miss Madison-Capital City is a new open pageant this year, which means any Wisconsin resident can compete. I've been working very hard in preparation for this pageant, and I'm so excited to be competing again! While no title will ever mean as much to me as the title of Miss Beloit, I do hope to win another pageant eventually and continue all of the hard work I've done as Miss Beloit.

The past few weeks have been extremely busy! A couple of weeks ago I spoke to over 1,500 students in one week alone! I first spoke to Aldrich Middle School for their Ribbon of Promise Campaign to prevent school violence. I spoke to the students about the importance of making good decisions, being confident in themselves, resisting peer pressure, avoiding violence, teasing, and bullying, and having the courage to report harrassment issues. That same week I spoke to the students at Todd Elementary's after-school EXCELL program. I spoke to the students about reaching their dreams and how they can make their dreams come true. The next week I had the priviledge to go back to BOTH of my elementary schools. I spoke to Converse's Just Say No Club about the importance of making good decisions and staying involved with JSN. A couple of days later I spoke to the entire Townview Elementary about my year as Miss Beloit and of course the importance of making good decisions and staying confident in themselves. It was so great to return to my former schools and see some of my former teachers that I haven't seen in a long time!

The one thing that amazed me about all of these appearances was how intently the students listened to every word I had to say. I know at the elementary and middle school age it can be very hard for students to pay attention and listen to others speak to them. I was expecting to run into that problem, but I had a completely opposite experience! Over 1,500 students heard my message about making good decisions and having the confidence to reach their dreams. I truly feel as if I touched the lives of every student I spoke to. I still can't believe how well they listened to me and seemed to really take in every word I have to say. That is the true power and honor of the title of Miss Beloit. This title and my platform have allowed me the opportunity to change lives and be a positive role model for the students in my community. I'm amazed at how much I've been able to accomplish. I only hope that my words will continue to stay with the students I spoke to.

Last Saturday I hosted a Princess Party at the YMCA for girls age 4-8. This was one of my favorite appearances I've made all year! All of the girls came dressed up as princesses and all I had been hearing was how excited all of the girls were about the party. It still amazes me how excited little girls get when they see me! The day was a tremendous success. I read a princess story to the girls, taught them how to walk and wave like a princess, had a tea party with cookies, sang to them, and signed autographs for each of them. We even had a princess parade around the YMCA track so everyone could see how they walked and waved like princesses. I've never had so much fun! I hope this is a tradition we can continue with future Miss Beloits! I went back to the YMCA this week to spend some time with the daycare and preschool kids, and many of the girls at the party were there. I ended up staying there for 3 hours! The kids were so excited to have me there and wouldn't let me leave! But I didn't mind at all, it was fun to spend time with them. :)

This is probably the last blog I will write as Miss Beloit 2006. I'll probably post one after the pageant to let you know who won. I hope all of you were able to read my previous blog post. That is the letter I submitted to the Beloit Daily News thanking my community for allowing me to serve as their representative. Once again, THANK YOU to my community of Beloit for allowing me to serve as your Miss Beloit 2006. It has been an honor to share my year with you. This experience is one that I will ALWAYS cherish, and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.

And once again, THANK YOU to my family and friends for all of your love and support! I couldn't have done any of this without you. I am so blessed to have all of you in my life. Thank you for sharing in my year with me. I love all of you so much!

My year as Miss Beloit 2006 has been a dream come true. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone who helped make my dream come true. I love you!

Sara Siekierski
Miss Beloit 2006

‘Most wonderful year of my life'
Posted: Tuesday, Mar 13, 2007
Beloit Daily News

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my community of Beloit for allowing me to serve as your representative over the past year.

On March 25, 2006, I was crowned Miss Beloit 2006. From that moment on, my life changed forever. It has been an honor to represent the city I was born and raised in. I have lived in Beloit for almost 21 years, and I can certainly tell you that this is truly a special community. If there's anything I've learned during my year as Miss Beloit, it's that there's no place like home.

For the past year, I've had the opportunity to represent Beloit and to meet many people in the community. I've enjoyed getting to know many of you over the last year. Thank you to everyone who invited me to make appearances at your various functions. All of you have made my year as Miss Beloit truly amazing and special. I can honestly tell you that my year as Miss Beloit has been the most wonderful year of my life. This is a year I will always cherish and never forget.

Thank you to everyone who helped make my dream of becoming Miss Beloit 2006 come true. I love each and every one of you!

Sara Siekierski
Miss Beloit 2006

Students learn to be confident
By Ashley Rhodebeck
Daily News staff writer













Staff photo by Ashley Rhodebeck
Miss Beloit Sara Siekierski speaks to seventh-graders at Aldrich Middle School Wednesday morning during the building’s annual rededication of the Ribbon of Promise. Siekierski focused on the importance of self-confidence and making good decisions.


Beloit educators know their advice to teens about the value of education and exerting good behavior begins to sound like a broken record, so some have begun using older teens and young adults to help communicate the message.

Students at Aldrich Middle School received such peer-to-peer advice Wednesday morning during the building's annual Ribbon of Promise ceremony - a national campaign to prevent school violence.

“Everyone without exception regrets becoming involved in a gang,” said Doug Reynolds, the district's coordinator of security and safety.

Although Reynolds spoke, the event's featured guests were Beloit Memorial High School seniors Brittany Hereford and Leah Prins, and Miss Beloit Sara Siekierski, who emphasized self-confidence.

“Being confident is what will carry you,” Siekierski told the room full of seventh graders. “Start now. Be confident now.”

Siekierski, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, explained how self-confidence would have helped her during middle and high school. At Turner Middle School, she was often picked on, teased and called names, she said, commenting it was difficult to go to school like that.

“Don't let anyone test your self worth,” Siekierski advised, noting that's when poor decisions are often made. Instead, she told the students to remember they deserve a good education, a good family and a good life. “Never, ever let someone say you don't deserve it.”

Because the teenage years are often about fitting in, Siekierski cautioned the students that while it may seem important now, many of them will have different friends in a few years.

So, she said, start making good decisions now, including treating others with respect and speaking out when someone is or might be planning a violent act.

“I'm not Miss Beloit just because I won a pageant,” Siekierski explained, “but because I made good decisions.”