Kirsten Haglund '13, Miss America 2008 and Advocate of Women's Inner Beauty

Her Campus Emory decided to sit down with Kirsten Haglund '13, Miss America 2008 and founder of the Kirsten Haglund Foundation, to discuss the work she is doing to help young women realize that beauty is much more than a number on their jeans or the make-up on their face. 

HerCampus (HC): What made you go into pageants?
Kirsten Haglund (KH): I decided to compete in a local pageant, Miss Oakland County, in my home state of Michigan at age 17 when graduating high school -- purely for the purpose of scholarships.  I graduated in 2006 and was headed that fall to University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music (which, like Emory, was a pretty penny!) I NEVER expected to actually win the competition!  I just wanted a few thousand dollars to help supplement tuition costs.  I did win, however, much to my surprise.  I spent the next year being a freshman on the weekdays at UC, and driving back to do my duties as Miss Oakland County on the weekends.  A year later, I represented my county at the state pageant, and again, to my surprise, I won Miss Michigan.  I had to leave school in order to do the full time job of Miss Michigan, and 6 months later found myself standing onstage in Las Vegas, and had the honor of winning Miss America.  While most girls compete for many years and really want 'the crown,' I was only ever in it for the scholarship money!  Of course, once I got the 'job' however, of Miss America, I saw that another great benefit of that experience was not just the money, but the networking, the traveling, the people, the chance to give young women a voice and stand-up for a cause that I really believed in: advocating for awareness of eating disorders and encouraging young women to value themselves based on more than what they look like.
 
HC: Do a lot of your classmates recognize you as Miss America?
KH: Occasionally. I would say two or three per semester. Not that often. Of course, I'm much less recognizable in leggings and boots and a sweatshirt and a hat. Facebook has outed me a little.
 
HC: What is it like to have people on campus recognize you?
KH: It is always interesting, depending on the class. If it is a class where there is a lot of discussion/class participation I don't usually like people to know my 'history,' just because it usually clouds students' perceptions of what I am trying to say.  I don't feel as free to raise my hand an engage in the discussion.  Lots of people have negative stereotypes of pageant girls, and so I sometimes would rather not put myself in the line of fire.  I'm at Emory to finish my education so that I can go back out into the real world and work.  Period.
 
HC: Tell us a little about your travels as Miss America and with your foundation.
KH: Where to begin?  I traveled 20,000 miles a month, going from city to city, hotel to hotel.  I lived out of two suitcases for 365 days.  I visited 48 states, and did everything from sign autographs at Wal-Mart in the middle of nowhere in Alabama, to attend the Inauguration of Barack Obama and share an Inaugural Ball green room with Smokey Robinson and Jordin Sparks.  I spoke in front of and lobbied Congress on Capitol Hill for the passage of Mental Health Parity (which DID pass in September of 2008).  I appeared on every entertainment news show, red carpets, on CNN, FOX, HLN more times than I can count.  I sang national anthems for the Lakers, Pistons, Nuggets (all NBA), Lions and Eagles (NFL), Phillies, Tigers, and Nationals (MLB).  It was an incredible year -- but the most amazing and wonderful work was speaking at multiple universities (including Harvard), and to little girls about body-image, about what TRUE beauty is... sharing my own story of recovery from anorexia and encouraging women that thinness doesn't equal happiness.  You don't have to starve yourself or diet your way to success.  A woman is an incredibly valuable soul, and worth so much more than the measure of her waistline.  Not enough women hear this message, and we need to plant this seed of truth in young girls' minds early. That way, they can be empowered later in life to DO great things in this world -- not just be pretty. That is why, after my year was over, I started my Foundation, which allows me to continue to travel and speak -- and raise money to provide scholarships for eating disorders treatment for applicants.  Treatment costs are around $1500 per day at some treatment centers.... and I want girls to be able to get the care that they need so they can go on to live healthy, productive lives.
 
HC: Talk a little bit more about the Kirsten Haglund Foundation.
KH: We started in 2009, and have awarded 13 scholarships for residential care, outpatient care, valued at $150,000 each.  The Foundation works with treatment centers and health insurance companies to negotiate lower treatment costs and plans.  I have a Board of Directors and we work very hard; we are always looking for new sources of funding, partners and great opportunities.
 
HC: What was your motivation in starting it?
KH: (see above) About a third of young women that struggle with eating disorders die from them -- either from physical complications of the illness, or from suicide. This is tragic, considering that women can offer such incredible gifts to this world -- eating disorders strangle the confidence, ambition, power, beauty, and creativity of women and lead them into lives of fear, depression and despair, sometimes even death.  This is a curable illness!  Women do recover from dieting!  I do not want one women's life potential to be hindered by poor health or an obsession with physical perfection.  It is unattainable anyway, so we might as well put our effort, sweat and tears into something that yields results.  This is why I started the Foundation, to get women access to care and empowered to take care of their bodies so they can go on to live a fuller more beautiful life.
 
HC: Can Emory students get involved? How?
KH: Sure!  Go to our website (Which is getting a TOTAL makeover in the next few weeks!), or the Facebook page, follow KHFoundation or myself on Twitter.  We are doing KHF Walks all across the country (Michigan, Nebraska and California next), so if you would like to conduct a Walk for awareness and fundraising, email us and we will provide a kit and guidelines for how to make the event a success. 
 
One very basic takeaway however, is to be a light and an example to the people around you of self-acceptance and confidence.  So many women tear other women down, constantly compare their bodies, their success, their smarts.  Be comfortable in the skin that you are in -- you ARE enough.  Confidence and beauty truly come from within; from the eternal peace of a joyful, restful heart and spirit.  That kind of emanating light can't come from powder or eyeliner, or an A on the exam or a coveted job.  It only comes from accepting ones flaws, embracing life and loving the people around you.  That kind of light, too, is contagious. I'll steal from Ghandi: "Be the change you wish to see in the world."