Q&A: 2018 Miss Stanton Contestant #10 Rachel Bitutsky
FARAH BROWN AND ANGELA VILLANUEVA | FEB. 22, 2018 | Q&A
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (SCPDA) — With the Miss Stanton Pageant around the corner, the pressure is on for all the young women who are participating to represent Stanton. To understand their hopes for the pageant and what they have taken away from it, the Devil’s Advocate interviewed them and got their side of the story.
DEVIL'S ADVOCATE: Why did you decide to run for Miss Stanton?
RB: I wanted to run for Miss Stanton ever since 8th grade when our middle school toured Stanton and I saw Miss Stanton speaking. She was so eloquent and confident that I wanted to participate in an opportunity that would give me that kind of chance because this pageant is something that is so completely out of my comfort zone. It's something that I never thought I would be able to do. And also, because as I’ve been thinking more about it lately, I think it’s so important that a first generation American served as a symbol for a school that is so famed for its diversity. And I as a first gen, would love to have that opportunity.
DA: What is your family background?
RB: My family’s from the former Soviet Union.
DA: Do you remember who was Miss Stanton when you saw that person?
RB: It was Emily Hart. She was class of 2015.
DA: How would you describe your personality and how would it help you to win?
RB: I think my personality could be described as very self motivated, very ambitious, very hardworking and very creative. So, I think that the combination my personality embodies can help me win because I will be very focused on achieving my goals in the pageant and doing my very best.
DA: You said you are very self motivated. Where did that come from?
RB: I think it’s just always been a work ethic that my parents fostered in me, coming to the United States and starting at ground zero. It’s something that I’ve always taken with me. A love of hard work, knowing that work ethic will get me somewhere in life.
DA: Are you a little nervous?
RB: I’m not quite nervous yet, but I will be soon.
DA: What have you contributed to Stanton in the past that would be helpful to you winning?
RB: I’ve had a lot of leadership positions in various clubs at Stanton. I’ve served as the president of Stanton's Youth and Government chapter starting from my sophomore year up until now. And I’ve also taken over the Great Decisions program at Stanton. I’m also a member of a multitude of honor societies. I’m just very active in the community.
DA: What do you want people to know about Miss Stanton before the pageant on Saturday?
RB: Well, I want people to know that it’s more than just a beauty pageant, because I think there’s this stigma surrounding beauty pageants. A lot of people are cynical about it because they believe it’s simply a competition that shows who’s the most attractive, but in reality, it’s a lot more than that. I just want people to know that it takes a lot of guts to be there on that stage, speaking in front of 600 people, performing a talent, answering a question. It takes a lot of courage.
DA: Do you think the concept of beauty has evolved over time in pageants?
RB: I definitely think the concept of beauty has changed over time in pageants in a good way. I think in the past it served its main purpose of showcasing outer beauty. Like when pageants started, they were all about demonstrating who’s the most attractive woman. But now in Miss America, the pageant has a lot of other aspects like the question and answer segment where the contestants actually need to be knowledgeable about current events and have an opinion that they are able to eloquently express.
DA: Who is your biggest role model?
RB: My biggest role model is [John F. Kennedy] because I really want to go into politics one day and his presidency was surrounded with a lot a turbulence with foreign affairs and I think he was able to manage them in a way that was looked up upon at the time. I also was really inspired by what he said in his inaugural address, “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Those words really transformed the definition of public service into what it means today.
DA: If you win, how would you make a difference to the school and to society?
RB: If I were to win Miss Stanton, I just kind of think that I would be breaking the stereotype a little bit of who Miss Stanton is just because my main focus at this school is academics. Because this is a pageant a lot of people don’t necessarily think that the type of people who are super focused on academics could be participating in this type of event. So I hope as Miss Stanton, I could possibly inspire girls and the underclassmen to have the courage to participate in this kind of opportunity in the future.
DA: Do you have little siblings you want to inspire?
RB: I don’t have little siblings, but I have a lot of younger friends and I hope they could gain the courage to [participate in] Miss Stanton when they are juniors.
DA: How do you respond to negative comments?
RB: I think the most important thing is not letting it affect you and knowing your worth, knowing that there are people who will always support you and who will always have your back, just valuing yourself.
DA: What does the title Miss Stanton mean to you?
RB: Miss Stanton means to me a young girl who is able to handle pressure in a confident manner, who is able to represent this school and what it stands for. A girl who is ambitious and has dreams and wants to make an impact in her community and the world.
DA: What do you think this school stands for?
RB: I think the school stands for diversity. I think the school stands for Ubuntu within tolerating each other’s different cultures and different backgrounds. And I also think the school stands for academic prestige and working hard to achieve your goals.
DA: Do you think it’s more about tolerating or accepting each other?
RB: I think it’s about acceptance more than just tolerating. I mean those words are really similar, but it’s about finding beauty within the diversity rather than letting it just stand alone.
DA: In big pageants, contestants always support a cause. What would be the cause you would support?
RB: One cause I’m really passionate about is the Sustainable Development Program of the United Nations because it overarches a lot of different world issues, not just one. So, for example, some of the goals in the UN Sustainable Development Program are to end poverty in all its forms everywhere, ensure equality education for all and to combat impact of climate change. So, the reason I really love this program is because it has a really wholesome focus on the world’s problems, and it doesn’t really ignore any of the issues prevalent on Earth.
DA: Are you interested in foreign politics and the United Nation affairs because of your background?
RB: Definitely yes, because I have Russian-Jewish heritage, I’ve always kind of been interested in the cultures of other countries, and I would really love to work for the UN one day or to open my own non-profit.
DA: I know you talked about this already, but just to get a bigger idea, what is the impact pageants have on girls in general?
RB: I think the type of impact pageants have on girls depends on the girl and whether that girl chooses to be inspired by the way that those women who participate in pageants are choosing to empower themselves and step out of their own comfort zone and show themselves in a vulnerable way, or whether that girl chooses to be cynical of that pageant because of the traditional stigma surrounding it.
DA: Other than yourself, who do you think is the most deserving to win the title of Miss Stanton?
RB: I think every girl that I’ve had the pleasure of competing with thus far deserves to win Miss Stanton because every girl has contributed to this school and somehow holds a piece of Stanton’s identity within her. I think each of us would do a phenomenal job as Miss Stanton.