On Friday, June 21st through Saturday, June 22nd, the 84th annual Miss Massachusetts competition will be held in Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA, with a Dean College student and alumni participating.
Hope Anderson (left), and Lily Jeswald (right), Photo Courtesy: Ellis Strategies
Hope Anderson, a rising senior, and Lily Jeswald, a Dean alumni, will contend for the Miss Massachusetts title on the 21st, along with 23 other participants. The titleholder of Miss Massachusetts will receive over $33,000 in scholarships and will be able to compete in the 103rd Miss America competition taking place in early 2025.
Anderson and Jeswald were asked a few questions about their candidacy in the competition, their community service initiatives, and pageant experiences.
The first question that was asked was what inspired them to participate in the competition, as well as pageantry. Anderson said that after first watching a Miss Massachusetts competition a few years ago, she was instantly impressed and inspired by the women on stage. After watching, she knew she had to be a part of the program. Jeswald, a 2022 graduate with a major in Theater and English, has been competing in pageants ever since she was nine years old. Originally inspired by her voice teacher Valerie Amaral, who was the 2007 titleholder of Miss Massachusetts, Jeswald has held four titles thus far in the Miss America organization.
The second question that was asked was what they hoped to achieve in this competition, beyond just winning the title. Anderson responded by saying “…my hope is that I achieve an experience that I can learn and grow from…I believe it would give me the opportunity to share a message of hope through my work with the Special Olympics while promoting the Miss America Opportunity.” Jeswald said in her response “…I plan to be the brand ambassador for the program that brings dozens of more competitors and sponsors to our organization. I will focus on college-aged women who need the scholarships to pay back tuition and student loans…if more are out serving in the community, we will gain more traction and attention to sponsors who will donate to our scholarships.”
When asked about any long-term goals they had with their community service initiatives, Anderson said that her community service initiative is Special Olympics: Inclusion is the Revolution. Her goal was to continue working with the Special Olympics and “…to be a representation for the relevance of the program’s mission in promoting inclusivity in sports and society for those with intellectual and physical disabilities.”
Jeswald says that she is devoted to working with her community service initiative: Type 1 Diabetes and Me: Generation Z, where she has partnered with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and has been at the last two annual galas that they have hosted, with them raising over $2.6 billion this year.
“I work with students with diabetes and being able to share my own success has changed the course for their sense of hope and belief in themselves. In the long-term, I plan to continue my work…by sharing my story and being more involved.” Jeswald has also recently published her own work on Amazon detailing her own experience with Type 1 Diabetes, which you can find here.
When asked about their favorite part of the competition, Anderson responded by saying that the talent portion of the competition was her favorite part. “I perform a self-written Herstory detailing my journey and commitment to the Special Olympics. I have always enjoyed public speaking and I love telling my story, so it is the portion of the competition that I look forward to the most.” Jeswald said that her favorite part was the personal development that each woman has, and the support that everyone has for one another. “The point of Miss America is to be a launching pad for your career. The sisterhood of women you meet helps to support you. It is powerful when competitors are technically competing ‘against’ one another but are continuously supporting one another.”
To learn more about the Miss Massachusetts competition and to support our fellow Dean Bulldogs, you can use the link here to vote for Anderson and Jeswald before the 21st for the People’s Choice audience vote, which determines which contestants move onto the Semi-Finals.
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