As Miss Socastee contestant Senior Kiarra Daymiel performed a Polynesian Dance for the talent portion of the pageant, she looked out into the crowd to see her family waving a Filipino flag.
“My culture is really big on pageants, and I just love that I had a great support system with my family,” she said. “If it wasn’t for them, I would not have been able to go on that stage.”
Kiarra went on to win the People’s Choice Talent, People’s Choice Overall, and Miss Congeniality awards. She was one of six contestants in a pageant for the first time.
Social Studies Teacher and pageant organizer Miss Zeneta Carr said the 72nd
Miss Socastee Pageant, which took place on Jan. 6, had the most diverse group of contestants she has seen in over 20 years.
”Many stepped out of their comfort zone because they have never done a pageant before,” she said.
Junior Victoria Byrd, who was named Miss Socastee, was one of them. She received her crown from 2022-23 winner Senior Laney Barno, whose “Triple Threat” platform was the theme of the pageant.
Victoria said she never expected to win.
“My mouth just dropped,” she said.
She decided to compete to step out of her comfort zone.
“I did Mock Trial in middle school, but even that was a struggle for me,” she said. “I definitely never liked playing dress up.”
She had to practice three weeks to learn how to walk in heels, but ended up feeling powerful on stage.
“It was a lot of self growth and self love,” she said. “I learned that I can still be this powerful person, even if I just want to dress up; I do not always have to be this tough person.”
Victoria is the president of the One Love Club, and her platform will be to spread the club’s message about healthy relationships as she performs her duties at local schools and other places over the next year.
Her talent in the pageant was reciting a monologue from “The Barbie Movie” about struggles women face in society.
“It is inspired by the One Love Club, and the aspects that we teach,” she said.
The 11 contestants who competed displayed a diverse range of talents – from playing instruments to storytelling to archery.
Miss Junior and Talent winner Lillian Pham performed “Winter” from Viviladi’s “The Four Seasons” on the piano.
“I was not nervous at all [during my talent] because I did a recital not too long before,” she said. “I was just going to…have fun and not think what people think about me.”
In addition to performing, Pham said she enjoyed bonding with the other contestants. Instead of focusing on winning, they seemed more focused on forming friendships, she said.
“We had to vote four times for Miss Congeniality,” she said, “because every contestant this year was amazing.”
Sophomore and returning contestant Anna Whittaker, agreed, saying her favorite moment was having lunch with the other contestants.
“We moved all the tables all together in the library to make this big table,” she said. “And Miss Tippins, the head person of the pageant, somewhat started crying because this is the first time she saw a group of contestants get together in her thirty years of helping.”
