Mastering the everyday life of a typical collegiette™ is no easy feat. Balancing classes and extracurricular activities, we all have full schedules. Now, imagine squeezing in a few hours of pageant preparation every day. Welcome to the hectic life of Hope Driskill. As a junior here at Mizzou, Driskill is a member of Chi Omega, Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honors Society and Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity. Even with all of this on her plate, she made time to prepare for the Miss Missouri USA pageant last November. At only her second pageant, Driskill was crowned Miss Missouri USA 2011. Her Campus Mizzou sat down with the beauty queen to find out all the details about Miss Missouri USA before, during and after the pageant.
Her Campus Mizzou: Before the Miss Missouri USA Pageant, had you ever competed in a pageant before?
Hope Driskill: Actually, I competed in a pageant my ninth grade year of high school. I didn’t do very well. I didn’t even make the top 15. Then I became busy with other things and high school and coming to college, so that was the last pageant I had competed in. A girl from Jefferson City, my hometown, was Miss Missouri USA 2010, and she called me this past summer. She said, ‘Hope, have you considered competing in the Miss Missouri USA Pageant?’ She was trying to recruit girls for the next year’s competition. When she told me about it, I kind of took it as a joke. It was never something I thought that I could do. But after that, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I decided to try it and see what happened. It was all so new to me because it was my first pageant in five or six years.
HCM: What was the process of getting ready to come back to the pageant world?
HD: I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was just busy on campus with all sorts of clubs and activities, and my classes got really hard this year just being an upper classman, and I have a really high GPA because I spend a lot of time studying. The toughest thing was trying to manage my time. I had to eat healthy, work out, practice my interview and get all of the outfits. You need the dress, the swimsuit and the interview outfit. So getting all of those things together while going to class and doing everything I was normally doing was pretty time-consuming. Especially since I didn’t know what I was doing at all. I definitely could have used a lot more practice and a lot more preparation, but it all turned out OK.
HCM: With adding all of the new activities onto your schedule, how did you manage everything?
HD: Every single day I was waking up early, going to the rec, going to class, coming home and getting all of the reading and work done that I could do during the day. Then I would practice interview. At night, all of my roommates would read me questions and help me practice. Every weekend my mom and I were traveling around to find a dress and all of the outfits. We went to Kansas City probably every single weekend last semester. It was ridiculous. It was pretty tough just fitting everything in because I had felt like even before deciding to do the pageant I was pretty busy. By adding that on, I was even busier. I didn’t get to hang out with friends as much, so my social life suffered last semester.
HCM: It sounds like you had a lot of help getting ready for this pageant.
HD: Yeah, my friends and family are the most supportive, amazing people. I would not have been able to do it without them, that’s for sure. At the pageant, I had 20 or 30 friends and family that came to watch with T-shirts, signs and air horns. I really don’t think that I would have been able to win without hearing them there because I was just so new, nervous and inexperienced. Whenever I walked out on the stage, I was so nervous. But when I would hear them out in the audience yelling for me, it would make me want to have fun and do well for them and give them a good show. They are definitely the reason that I was able to win. With their encouragement, it gave me enough confidence to see that it was something I could do.
HCM: What went through your mind when you were crowned Miss Missouri USA?
HD: I don’t even know how to explain it because there was not a thought going through my mind. I just remember we were all holding hands, and I had my eyes shut. I remember thinking and praying that I didn’t hear my name. They call the fourth runner up, third runner up, and so on and then the winner last. I just remember sitting there thinking, ‘Please don’t say my name, please don’t say my name.’ When I was being crowned, it was something that I hadn’t expected. It was so shocking and so surreal. I am probably the least emotional person, but when I was crowned, tears just started flowing. I didn’t know what to do. I was so happy, but I was in shock. It was amazing. And it was so fun. I really just didn’t expect it because there are about 40 girls, and a lot of the other girls were really practiced and really knew what they were doing.
HCM: How has your life changed since you were crowned Miss Missouri USA 2011?
HD: Every single part of it has changed. I am not taking classes right now because I am doing an internship this semester at the capitol. I am originally from Jefferson City, so I moved back home, and I am getting six hours of credit to work in the governor’s office. I work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Then Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday I am traveling, doing appearances and events. There is always something scheduled and planned. It is all so different, but I love it.
HCM: Does someone help you plan all of these events and appearances?
HD: The Miss Universe organization has state directors in every single state. My director schedules all of the events, plans everything and helps me out. Any appearances, events, photo shoots and boot camps on the weekends go through her, and it keeps me busy. I get to travel all around though. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I have just been making the most of it. It has been a lot of fun, and I have gotten to meet a lot of really great people.
HCM: Are the components of the Miss USA pageant the same as the Miss Missouri USA pageant?
HD: Yes. In both, there is an interview portion, an evening gown, a swimsuit and an onstage question.
HCM: Have you found your gown?
HD: I actually just decided on my gown for Miss USA. I would tell you about it, but it is a surprise. I actually just decided last week, and they are custom-making it. I get it back in four or six weeks, so I am excited to see it.
HCM: Has your internship interfered at all with getting ready for Miss USA?
HD: No, actually I think it benefits me. Being involved in state government really helps keep me up to date with current events, which is a huge portion of what the interviews are. It keeps me informed. I am also only doing it part time, so I still have time to travel and do everything that I need to do.
HCM: Do you have any closing comments?
HD: I am just looking forward to [Miss] USA because I am looking forward to representing Mizzou and Chi Omega. I feel really blessed.