Flawless skin, perfect teeth and silky hair represent the typical image of a beauty queen. The person behind the outer appearance, however, is not usually thought of as the kind of girl who spends her summers living in impoverished African villages and her spare time tutoring young children and who plans on becoming an elementary school teacher in an inner-city school. This is what stands out about Hampton-born fourth-year drama major Leigh-Taylor Smith.
Smith said she first took an interest in performing when she joined the Hurrah Players, a Norfolk-based theatrical group, in her youth. Through this program, she said she not only strengthened her love for the stage, but by performing in musicals she also developed the talent she would later use in pageants -- singing. This passion for singing followed Smith to the University where she is a member of the Virginia Belles.
She said her mother was the one who got her interested in pageants. While her mother co-directed the Miss Hampton/Newport News pageant, Smith watched the excitement and decided it was something she'd like to be a part of. Consequently, at age 13, she registered for a pageant called the Cinderella Program -- and won. She said she has been competing in pageants ever since.
Now, eight years later, she said she has won the title of Miss Arlington and a thousand dollar scholarship, and she is off to compete for the title of Miss Virginia this June. The winner of Miss Virginia goes on to compete in the Miss America pageant. The Miss USA pageant is a different program that continues with Miss Universe. Smith has experience in this set of competitions as well; she was first runner up to Miss Teen Virginia of the Miss USA pageants twice.
It seems you can't take the word "beauty" out of "beauty pageant," but according to Barbara Chewning, president of the board of public relations and executive producer of the Miss Virginia Pageant, it is inner beauty that they're talking about.
"We're looking for someone who is a good role model, with good morals, who is intelligent, compassionate and not completely oblivious to the world around them," said Chewning. "She should also speak well on her feet."
In the final scoring of the pageant, the talent portion contributes 35 points, the interview portion contributes 25 points and the swimsuit and evening gown portions contribute 20 points each. Smith said her favorite part of the competition is the interview.
"It really breaks down the fourth wall," she said. "It allows you to be very up-front with the judges."
The interviews are based on specific issues contestants are passionate about, and the winner's issue will serve as a platform for her further actions.
"My platform is, 'volunteerism changes lives,'" Smith said, adding that her plan is to get kids volunteering at a young age so that they can get hooked on it like she did. Through this process, she said she believes that they will grow as people and understand the impact they can have on a community.
One specific issue Smith is currently addressing deals with a recognition of community service on high school diplomas. According to Smith, right now only some of the counties in Virginia offer kids a seal for their diploma that they can earn with 40 hours of community service. Smith said she is working on getting a bill passed that would require all counties in Virginia to offer the seal in order to level the playing field.
Smith said she is also a strong believer in practicing what you preach and currently serves as the vice president of philanthropy at Pi Beta Phi sorority and part of the tutoring program at Venable Elementary School.
"You can't advocate something you don't do yourself," she said.
She spent her past two summers in South Africa teaching middle school and high school students about HIV and AIDS. She lived in a hut in a small village and said she had to get accustomed to two minute showers and deal with a certain degree of culture shock. Smith recalled one day when she was extremely hungry, and the only thing that the village dwellers had to eat were "walkie-talkies" -- chicken heads and feet. So she said she tried not to think about it and ate it.
Upon returning from this volunteering experience, Smith said she was changed.
"I was able to appreciate things so much more, even small things," she said as she recalled cringing at a bill for $65 when her family went out to lunch shortly after her return. She said she had thought about how that amount could send a child in Africa to school for a year.
Rather than dwell on thoughts like that, Smith said she thought more about how blessed she was and always remembers to be grateful for what she has.
When asked how to describe his daughter, her father Mike Smith said, "she's very active and never seems to slow down. She really does have passion."
If Smith wins Miss Virginia, she will take a year off from her education to promote her platform and community service, along with Virginia's state platform: "Right Decisions, Right Now." The purpose of this platform is to discourage teens from smoking.
She said she would move out to Roanoke for the year, which will act as her home base. The Miss America program would provide her with an apartment there, along with a car which she will use to travel thousands of miles, pushing to get her legislation passed.
Smith's boyfriend, fourth-year Commerce student Graham Tucker, said that when he first met her, he was unaware of her participation in pageants.
"She really goes against the grain when it comes to the stereotype," Tucker said. "The media wants us to think of girls who compete in pageants as extremely vain."
As a fourth-year who has worked hard to give back to the University community, Smith said she rarely runs into any stereotypes regarding beauty queens, but when she does, it is usually people making snide remarks calling beauty pageants a "waste of time."
Her father begs to differ.
"They don't know everything involved with it," he said. "The Miss America pageant is not vain by any means. It is out there to help in different areas of the community."
Read More
Holding onto every grain in the hourglass
By Mai Hukuoka | YesterdayNow that I’m back at school, I have made it my mission to take note of the sneaky passage of time.
Students brave the cold for a whirlwind sorority rush
By Mia Tan | 3 days agoStudents recount a mix of emotions from rush, with some disappointed after dropping from the recruitment process and others ecstatic to join Greek life.
Top 10 ways to avoid burnout this semester
By Sam Saks | 4 days agoAs you settle into this semester, try implementing these 10 tactics to take care of yourself and wave goodbye to burnout.
