Letter to the Editor: There she is, Miss Congeniality

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the MSU Exponent, its editorial staff, advisers, or Montana State University.

By: Adella Harris

What would you do if you had 10 days to meet one person from every state in America? 

Well, hi! I’m Adella Harris, and last month I had the opportunity to do just that by representing the greatest state in the nation as the 76th Miss Montana at the Miss America competition in West Palm Beach, Florida, alongside 52 women from every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

With the biggest smile on my face and an incredibly full heart, I can say that those two weeks were some of the sweetest of my life.

But in an environment built around competition, fleeting moments and material things, I found myself asking what I wanted to make of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It wasn’t until the night before I walked onto the stage for preliminary competition that I stopped in the hotel hallway, still in my heels and gown, and thought: I may only have one chance to stand on a national stage. What from this experience will truly last?

Right then and there, I realized that the things that would truly last were the seeds planted in the hearts and lives of others. So, I made it my mission to invest, encourage, listen to and love on the people around me every chance I had. Here are just a fraction of the moments I was given to do so.

Before my first phase of competition, I sat next to Hannah Roque, Miss Vermont, as we waited nervously to walk into our private interviews with the judges. I am never one to be particularly comfortable with silence, so I looked at her and said, “I love your earrings!”

That tiny compliment turned into a conversation about her family, her dreams and the seven years she had spent working toward becoming Miss Vermont, following in the footsteps of her mother, who was Miss Vermont 30 years prior. What could have been a moment of self-doubt was instead replaced with a calm heart and a new friendship.

The morning of Miss America finals, I walked into an almost-empty breakfast room and sat down next to two of the women who had spent the week helping care for us as delegate coordinators. They asked about my community service initiative, Made for More: The Identity Mission, which focuses on helping people recognize the purpose and potential they have beyond the labels they place on themselves.

Before I could even finish explaining it, the ladies exclaimed that they had been discussing the very same thing before I walked in. “Can we ask you a few questions?” they asked. I got to spend the morning of my finals pouring encouragement, life and purpose into the identities of two women who had been helping take care of me all week.

Minutes before the show began and a new Miss America was to be crowned, my dear friend Deja Fitzwater, Miss Idaho, pulled me into a prayer circle behind the stage. All 52 women began to join hands. Silence passed until one of my fellow sisters asked, “Adella, aren’t you going to pray for us?”

Throughout the week, I had mentioned to others that I would meet by the pool in the mornings before interviews and behind the stage each night of competition to pray. By the final night, the women had come together to bow their heads before the Lord, looking toward me to help lead us in surrender before what could be one of the biggest nights of our lives. It is an honor I will never forget or take for granted.

Before the announcement of the new Miss America, the Spirit of Sisterhood Award, better known as Miss Congeniality, was announced. The award is voted on by the contestants themselves for the woman they felt supported, encouraged and challenged others to be their best throughout the week.

When Montana was called, I looked out to see all 52 of my new sisters jumping up and down and cheering. Before the competition began, I had told my mom that no matter what happened, I wanted to be someone worth cheering for, not because of a title, but because of the way I treated the people around me all week.

When I saw her afterward, she looked at me and said, “Honey, look what just happened. You were someone worth cheering for.”

I didn’t walk away from Miss America with a new crown. Instead, I walked away with something I believe is far more lasting: relationships, memories and the knowledge that the way we choose to treat people in defining moments matters.

Whether you are a classmate, coworker, friend, student, leader or stranger, you have the opportunity every day to make someone feel seen, valued and capable of more.

We don’t always choose the outcome. We do get to choose who we are along the way.

And if my time at Miss America taught me anything, it is this: the greatest thing we can take with us from any experience is not what we accomplished, but who we encouraged, who we loved and who we made feel worth cheering for.