Like any overachieving student, Ashliegh Jarzenski, a freshman Broadcast Communications major, has immersed herself in a multitude of groups and activities. She is Alpha Phi’s social chair, a member of the Habitat for Humanity executive board, a TV2 news anchor and is on the Homecoming committee. On top of all that, Jarzenski gets by with an impressive 3.75 GPA.

However, what sets Jarzenski apart from most AU students is her involvement with beauty pageants. This passion began with some encouragement from her majorette coach back in high school, who wanted members of her team to participate in the local Olde Canal Days Festival pageant.

“My majorette coach was one of the directors of the pageant,” Jarzenski said. “She was always saying, ‘you should be involved with this,’ and I ended up competing.”

Surprisingly, one of the primary reasons Jarzenski decided to enter the pageant was to build her confidence.

“I used to be extremely shy,” Jarzenski said. “I was 15 years old and I wanted to become more outgoing somehow, so I was thinking I might as well compete and see how it goes.”

Jarzenski’s first time as a beauty pageant contestant did not lead to ideal results.

“I competed and actually froze up on stage during my on-stage question,” Jarzenski said.

Consequently, Jarzenski lost the competition. Rather than give up from her newly found interest, she reentered the pageant the following year.

“I realized, ‘this is ridiculous, I shouldn’t be freezing up.’ I came back the next year and actually ended up winning,” Jarzenski said.

This victory gave Jarzenski the boost she needed to continue pursuing beauty pageants in hopes of growing as an individual.

“It’s all about bettering yourself and I really like that,” Jarzenski said.

Although Jarzenski enjoys competing, there is a considerable amount of work and dedication involved.

“I work out a lot. I’m at the Rec Center four to five times a week for about an hour,” Jarzenski said. “I take Turbo Kick [classes] or go swimming or use the treadmill.”

While it is clear Jarzenski is driven to stay in shape, she does not go to extreme lengths.

“Beneath it all I’m a normal person, so I’m going to eat that cookie at fat bar. I’m not going to restrain myself too much,” Jarzenski said. “[But] I try to stay away from carbs a little bit. The Miss America system is all about being healthy and being toned.”

The actual competing component of beauty pageants isn’t exactly a cakewalk, either. According to Jarzenski, contestants must compete in various categories, such as evening gown, talent, swimsuit, and on-stage question. However, it seems that the final component to the pageant-an interview-could be the most nerve-racking part.

“The interview is 10 minutes long. You have a panel of about seven judges, and they ask you questions about anything,” Jarzenski said.

Some of the questions fired off at contestants range from seemingly harmless inquiries about one’s favorite color to politics.

“I was asked, ‘describe a color to a blind person.’ How do you do that?” Jarzenski said.

Unlike the interview portion of the competition, Jarzenski is more confident about the talent section. As a dancer, she takes full advantage of her abilities.

“For talent, I do a jazz dance,” Jarzenski said. Alternately, she could have utilized her baton-twirling talents as a former majorette, but decided against it.

“I would love to do a baton routine, but unfortunately, it’s looked down upon because of the stereotype that beauty queens all baton-twirl,” Jarzenski said.

A facet of pageants that some might not be aware of is the platform every contestant must take. A platform is a contestant’s position or statement on a social issue that carries personal importance to her.

“Mine is the benefits of volunteering. I’m trying to tell people how they can benefit from volunteering, such as résumé building,” Jarzenski said. She added that people are not likely to volunteer unless they see how it can help them. She feels that through raising awareness to the public about the rewards of volunteering, the amount of people willing to engage in community service will increase.

Currently, Jarzenski has participated in four pageants, with the next one taking place March 26, the last pageant of the season in Ohio.

“If I don’t win that one, then I’ll just compete next season!” Jarzenski said.

The beauty pageant contestant aspires to work her way to Miss Ohio and then hopefully to Miss America. According to Jarzenski, one must win a local title first before getting into the more prestigious competitions.

In the meantime, Jarzenski is simply enjoying her experience as a contestant.

“The best part of competing is trying to better yourself. It’s bettering yourself through interview, physicality, [and] the mental level [required for] competition,” Jarzenski said.

It takes an impressive amount of determination to leap over the obstacles associated with beauty pageants, though that is why Jarzenski is drawn to them; it makes her become stronger as a person.

“You have to be comfortable with yourself,” Jarzenski said, referring to the difficulty of resisting comparing herself to other contestants. In time, Jarzenski learned to accept herself and stop measuring herself against her competition.

Because of her involvement with pageants, the shy person Jarzenski claimed she once was has dissipated and been replaced with an individual far more confident and self-assured.