When a person thinks of a pageant queen, “relatable” and “down to earth” are most likely not the first descriptions that come to mind. But when it comes to our very own Miss Kansas, Amanda Sasek (@realmissks2014), there couldn’t be a better way to put it. Amanda is a beautiful, driven, and successful woman that truly cares about the impact she is making on not just the Kansas community, but to women and young girls all over world, and we’re lucky enough to call her a fellow former Jayhawk.
Amanda didn’t have the ideal “happy” and “carefree” childhood that so many of us take for granted. When I asked what drove her to compete for Miss Kansas in the first place, she answered:
“I’ve been watching the Miss America Pageant with my mom since I was three years old. I grew up in poverty. I didn’t have a lot growing up, and it was tough. My parents divorced at a young age, my father committed suicide when I was seventeen, I suffered from depression and an eating disorder, I even worked four jobs to put myself through college. I always dreamed of one day becoming Miss Kansas or Miss America, but I never imagined I would have that opportunity based on my circumstances. When I realized that it didn’t matter what your background was, that you could still compete in these local pageants while gaining confidence and winning scholarship money to work towards a degree, I knew I wanted to do it. I wanted to do that because I wanted to show people that you have a story to tell and you can share that in your life. That’s what this organization gives you the opportunity to do; pursue your education, and share your story. I hope that people can see my story and know that you don’t have to be a model of perfection, or grow up with the perfect life, to be able to have a voice that extends to millions of people.”
Amanda has not only overcome these incredible hardships in her life, but she uses these experiences to show people that where you come from does not define who you become. It’s inspiring to see Kansas represented by someone who knows the value of working for what you have, and appreciating every opportunity that is thrown her way. Amanda is clearly a driven and hardworking woman, so it’s no surprise that while attending The University of Kansas in her first year of graduate school (pursuing a degree in Political Science), she was going, in her own words, “100 miles an hour.”
“The thing I love about KU is that I really had the opportunity to go 100 miles an hour if I wanted to, and that’s just my personality. Truly, it’s what I do! I rarely sleep! I love to be on the go! While I was at KU, I was taking all of my graduate classes and I had the opportunity to teach. Then I got involved in the Lawrence community, as well as some campus ministry programs. This was nice because I was able to pursue my faith as well as my education. I think the ability to have and learn a balancing act in order to do all the things I wanted to do really prepared me for the job of Miss Kansas. As Miss Kansas, people have NO idea what I do, what our program does all over the country. It’s really a full-time job. I’m going non-stop, traveling all over the country, maintaining numerous relationships with people from all over, I’m just always on the go! I feel that I am so much better at maintaining and balancing what I do because of the opportunity KU gave me to go 100 miles an hour and to do whatever I really set out to do.”
As fellow KU students, I’m sure most of us know exactly what Amanda means when she talks about going 100 miles an hour. We’re no strangers to sleepless nights!
Because Amanda is an empowered woman of the KU community, I asked her if she had any advice to women taking leadership roles on campus and/or in the community. She responded:
“Absolutely! My service platform that I have been working on this year is all about empowering women. It’s called: Find Your Strength: Engage to Empower. Out of all the research I’ve done and all the experience I’ve had, one thing remains true; That women have such a problem with self-confidence, and it affects every single area of your life. So many women are not willing to just stand up and try if there is any potential to fail, or potential that you might look stupid, or whatever. I truly don’t think men have that approach in life. So I just want to say to every woman: Don’t let your definition of yourself impact what you choose to do. One of my favorite quotes from a former competitor/friend really speaks to me: “You might be afraid to do something. Just. Do it. Afraid.” I think so often we as women don’t believe we can do things out of fear, so just do it afraid! You don’t have to be filled with the most confidence in the world with every step.”
As a female, I’m sure I can speak for us all when I say Amanda nailed it. I, as well as women all over the world, share the struggle of confidence, but Amanda couldn’t have supplied us with better advice. Don’t be afraid, to be afraid. It’s natural, and fear is a part of life. Confidence takes baby steps, and the more you face your fears, the easier it becomes to conquer them.
As Amanda mentioned, her service platform “Find Your Strength: Engage to Empower” is all about helping and providing women with inspiration to overcome obstacles, pursue their dreams, and obtain helpful resources in order to do so. In conjunction with this platform, Amanda has started what she calls the “Women of Kansas Project” to help empower women through engaging and sharing their life stories. If you’re interested in sharing your own story of empowerment or reading about other empowered women of Kansas, you can visit Amanda’s blog www.engagetoempower.tumblr.com or her personal website at http://findyourstrength.webs.com/. You can also keep up with her on Instagram: realmissks2014.
I encourage all my fellow Jayhawks, or anyone for that matter, to use Amanda’s story as a source of inspiration. No matter what you’re going through or have experienced, there is a better life waiting for you. Just don’t be afraid to pursue it. We may not all dream of becoming the next Miss Kansas or Miss America, but regardless of what our dreams are, the only person who stands in the way of you achieving that dream is you. Go out there, and chase your dreams, because if Amanda doesn’t show you that anything is attainable with hard work and determination, then I don’t know what will!