August 20, 2024 • 16 mins
Scheana took a seat at the judge's table for the Miss USA pageant and Lala came to support-- and Rachel is so glad they did!
Find out her thoughts on why this was so important, how it really felt to sit on the other side of the stage, and what changes in the world of pageantry still need to be made.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is Rachel Go's Rogue.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome back to another episode of Rachel Goes Rogue. This
is your host Rachel Savannah Levis, and today I am
giving you guys a debrief from my experience judging the
Miss Grand Usa competition in Miami. You probably have seen
me posting some stuff online.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
It's important for me.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
To continue to break the stigma and some misconceptions that
people have on pageant girls, because I feel like it's
heavily stereotyped.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
And not all of the assumptions are true.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I just wanted to give you guys a little insight
into my experience judging the Miss Grand Usa pageant. This
was my first time judging, and it was very cool
being on the other side of this experience. It was
a lot less stressful and a little bit more enjoyable
(01:10):
that way, So I do see myself judging again. I
only have experience with the USI system and the Miss
Grand Usa was a completely different experience. The women that
I got to meet during this experience were phenomenal and
all blew me away, and so judging it was very
(01:34):
difficult because I fell in love with so many of
them very very quickly, and I could see them really
going far internationally. Cutting it down to that top five
was probably the hardest, most painful thing during that whole weekend.
But one of the highlights was the karaoke competition, and
(01:57):
it was pretty intimidating because they had these studio lights
and this stage and a room full of people that
bought tickets to just like tent and watch this show.
And we were debriefed as judges that the contestants aren't
being judged on their karaoke performance by any means, but
(02:23):
they're highly encouraged to participate and take note if somebody
didn't participate. Going into that night, I was like, oh yeah,
I'll definitely do karaoke too. Come to get there and
the studio lights were so bright and it was just
so intense and intimidating. I was like, oh no, like,
I'm not going up there. There's no freaking way. But
(02:45):
every single woman competing went up there, whether or not
they had vocal training or you know, they were just
kind of on a whim doing their best and having
fun while doing it. I really come and the women
for doing that, because it was very intimidating, and I
feel like it was set up to be an intimidating experience.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
So that was cool.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I did get the judges to get up on the
stage with me to sing for Delicious. That was probably
one of the highlights of the whole weekend. It was
really fun. Okay, So I did get some comments, and
I knew this would happen. As soon as Sheena announced
that she was judging the Miss USA pageant.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I was like, Oh my gosh, are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I just bought my plane ticket to go to Miami
the day before they made this announcement, and so I
was like, great, because the Miss USA Pageant is before
Miss Grand USA, people are going to think that I'm
just trying to maybe one up Sheena or like try
to get on this bandwagon and copy her in some
(04:00):
sort of way, which was not the case at all,
because I was already in communication with Rachel, the pageant
director of Miss Grand USA, before Sina made that announcement.
So I think that is one misconception that I would
like to dispel now. Although I do think it's interesting
(04:21):
that Sina did decide to judge. I hope that the
cast members that did go to watch Miss USA got
to see, like, how rigorous of a competition, competing for
a pageant is and got to see, like on the
national stage, these women really take seriously this title at
(04:46):
they won from their state competition and this dedication that
they've committed to themselves and to the cause that they're
passionate about to win that national title. And it's very
apparent when you're in a room full of these women,
And I just hope that that was an eye opening
(05:06):
experience for all of them, because I also know that
La La went as well, and they've kind of boxed
me and labeled me as pageant girl, and so now
it's just kind of funny that they are supporting the
Miss USA system and that is the system that I
(05:27):
chose to compete in when I was sixteen.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
It kind of is full circle.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And hey, thanks Gena for going to judge, because now
we're just making pageants more relevant and more of a
topic to talk about.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So it's kind of perfect.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So this pageant weekend, I really did kind of feel
in my element because I have obviously have pageant experience,
but also it's like the dressing up and feeling confident
in what you're wearing and people that you get to
meet along the way, like I've met so many cool
(06:04):
women through this judging experience because the judges had time
to get to know each other, and it's almost like
this next level of professionalism in the pageant world. And
I feel like with competing and pageants in the past,
I've met incredible young women who are, you know, just
(06:28):
starting to build their own business or just starting to
get situated. Especially as a teenager, you are aspiring to
be something professional, and then in the missystem, most people
are just like just getting started in their professional career.
But on the judges side, it's like everyone is established,
(06:52):
everyone has a successful career that they've embarked on, and
like extreme knowledge and experience in that specific field. So
it was it was just very cool being on that side,
like oh wow, like these these now are my peers,
and it really did feel like an up level in
(07:15):
the way that that was reflected back to me.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
So that was super cool.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
And I just feel like I've like consistently you meet
incredible women through this experience, and the judges that I've
befriended this weekend, I know I will continue to be
friends with them on social media and reach out whenever
we're in the same area and definitely hang out because
they're really cool and they've got great personalities and we've
(07:44):
we really did bond through the weekend. As a judge,
my eyes have been open to some of the things
that I would like to see changed in pageantry. Right now,
(08:07):
we're in a very strange time in pageantry with the
Miss USA system. Before they just crowned the new title holder,
their miss resigned with only two months left of her reign,
and then the teen followed shortly after, and they weren't
able to be very forthright with the reason for giving
(08:31):
up their title and resigning, but it had something to
do with a level of exploitation and not being compensated
for their time. And I would want to see that
women who are taking.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
The title of the.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
National competition or even international competition are getting compensated for
the value that they bring to the table, because I
hate hearing that people are being taken advantage of and
getting like a smaller percentage of what they should be
entitled to. So there are some issues that need to
(09:14):
be worked out, and hopefully with the new titleholders they'll
be able to kind of like pave that way for
the people in the future. But I think that's the
biggest thing right now. Also, one thing that I really
did appreciate about rachel Slawson's pagant was the fact that
(09:34):
she had on set mental health advisors at all times.
That's something that I've been advocating for on set for
unscripted TV series and also scripted TV series are all
having mental health advocates on set and licensed counselors on set,
(09:56):
and so really taking a look at like this is
a rigorous competition, and as much as I encourage the
women to like relax and just be in your power,
the reality of the situation is there's a lot being
put into the time, energy and effort in competing in
(10:16):
a pageant and the kind of like extreme pressure that
you feel you're more susceptible to breaking point, and so
having those resources available to the women who are competing
is so so important. And not only that, but like
after the pageant as well, because that's when you know
(10:39):
the reality of the situation sets in and there really
can only be one title holder, and so a lot
of these girls are coping with the fact that they
haven't won, and there's a lot of heavy feelings that
come with that. So just making sure that everyone's taken
care of mentally through that process. So my mindset going
(11:02):
into judging this past weekend, you know, I knew that
I was chosen to be a judge for a reason,
and I've been very consistent with my messaging through my podcast,
and obviously I have experience with pageants, so I've been
in the same shoes that these women.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Are in when they're on stage.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
So for me, I knew that just me showing up
is enough, and that's obviously a newer mindset that I
have adopted into my life, like I am enough and
there's a reason why I was chosen to be here.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
I have an area of.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Expertise that is unique and like very exceptional for the
job that I now have as a judge. So I
just felt very like I felt like I was right
for this role. I just wanted to have open ears
and an open mind and really hear what the women
(12:01):
had to say and just choose who I felt was
best in my heart, and it's all so subjective, and
also like knowing that other people on the panel may
be gravitating towards somebody else and that's okay too. I
did notice that some of the judges would go harder
(12:21):
on the women competing, especially an interview. They would ask
those hard hitting questions just to see if they could
handle answering in a way that was diplomatic and was
authentic to who that woman is. There was a judge
that would ask about, what is a moral dilemma that
(12:41):
you've had to face and how did you handle it?
Speaker 1 (12:44):
And that's a hard question to answer for sure.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
And then another judge who was a former Miss Grand
USA title holder, was asking the women how they would
handle the international competition because it's thirty days of brutal
rehearsals and competition and all of that. She knows because
she's done it, and so she was just really trying
(13:09):
to make sure that the next titleholder was prepared mentally
and physically for the strain of an international competition. For me,
I obviously have empathy for the women competing because I
have been in their position, but like I also wanted
it to be like a good experience for them, So
I guess I would be more of like a kind judge,
(13:31):
Like if they were being asked some pretty heavy questions
in interview, I would gravitate towards asking them something about
like what their personal style means to them if they
had something very fashion forward that they were wearing in
the interview room, you know, just.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Making it a little bit more lighthearted.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
But then also I was asking things about like how
are they taking care of their mental health?
Speaker 1 (13:57):
And obviously that's something.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
That I care a lot about, so seeing if they
are also people that prioritize their mental wellbeing was important
for me when judging too. So overall, judging Miss grand
Usa was an incredible experience and I definitely want to
(14:19):
judge another pageant in the future.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
I told Rachel, like.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Hey, if you want me to judge again next year,
I am all for it. So I remember when I
was first raising money to compete in my first pageant,
going into the judges panel and feeling intimidated by the
judges asking me all of these questions about myself when
(14:46):
I'm just you know, discovering who I am as a person.
I think it's really cool and it's really full circle
to be in this place that I'm at now, because
I always admired those judges and I always wanted to
to be in that position. I feel like the goal
was ultimately, I mean, besides winning a pageant, Obviously, you
(15:08):
don't compete unless you unless the goal is to win
the competition. But I think for me, like seeing those
judges and knowing that they were hand selected and qualified
to judge this pageant and select the next titleholder was
very inspiring to me, and I feel like ultimately that
(15:32):
was the goal, like to get to the level where
I could be one of those judges in that position
making that big decision. And here we are, We did it.
Thank you so much for listening to Rachel Goesgrogue. Follow
(15:54):
us on Instagram and TikTok for exclusive video content at
Rachel thos Route Podcast
This is Rachel Go's Rogue.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome back to another episode of Rachel Goes Rogue. This
is your host Rachel Savannah Levis, and today I am
giving you guys a debrief from my experience judging the
Miss Grand Usa competition in Miami. You probably have seen
me posting some stuff online.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
It's important for me.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
To continue to break the stigma and some misconceptions that
people have on pageant girls, because I feel like it's
heavily stereotyped.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
And not all of the assumptions are true.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I just wanted to give you guys a little insight
into my experience judging the Miss Grand Usa pageant. This
was my first time judging, and it was very cool
being on the other side of this experience. It was
a lot less stressful and a little bit more enjoyable
(01:10):
that way, So I do see myself judging again. I
only have experience with the USI system and the Miss
Grand Usa was a completely different experience. The women that
I got to meet during this experience were phenomenal and
all blew me away, and so judging it was very
(01:34):
difficult because I fell in love with so many of
them very very quickly, and I could see them really
going far internationally. Cutting it down to that top five
was probably the hardest, most painful thing during that whole weekend.
But one of the highlights was the karaoke competition, and
(01:57):
it was pretty intimidating because they had these studio lights
and this stage and a room full of people that
bought tickets to just like tent and watch this show.
And we were debriefed as judges that the contestants aren't
being judged on their karaoke performance by any means, but
(02:23):
they're highly encouraged to participate and take note if somebody
didn't participate. Going into that night, I was like, oh yeah,
I'll definitely do karaoke too. Come to get there and
the studio lights were so bright and it was just
so intense and intimidating. I was like, oh no, like,
I'm not going up there. There's no freaking way. But
(02:45):
every single woman competing went up there, whether or not
they had vocal training or you know, they were just
kind of on a whim doing their best and having
fun while doing it. I really come and the women
for doing that, because it was very intimidating, and I
feel like it was set up to be an intimidating experience.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
So that was cool.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I did get the judges to get up on the
stage with me to sing for Delicious. That was probably
one of the highlights of the whole weekend. It was
really fun. Okay, So I did get some comments, and
I knew this would happen. As soon as Sheena announced
that she was judging the Miss USA pageant.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I was like, Oh my gosh, are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I just bought my plane ticket to go to Miami
the day before they made this announcement, and so I
was like, great, because the Miss USA Pageant is before
Miss Grand USA, people are going to think that I'm
just trying to maybe one up Sheena or like try
to get on this bandwagon and copy her in some
(04:00):
sort of way, which was not the case at all,
because I was already in communication with Rachel, the pageant
director of Miss Grand USA, before Sina made that announcement.
So I think that is one misconception that I would
like to dispel now. Although I do think it's interesting
(04:21):
that Sina did decide to judge. I hope that the
cast members that did go to watch Miss USA got
to see, like, how rigorous of a competition, competing for
a pageant is and got to see, like on the
national stage, these women really take seriously this title at
(04:46):
they won from their state competition and this dedication that
they've committed to themselves and to the cause that they're
passionate about to win that national title. And it's very
apparent when you're in a room full of these women,
And I just hope that that was an eye opening
(05:06):
experience for all of them, because I also know that
La La went as well, and they've kind of boxed
me and labeled me as pageant girl, and so now
it's just kind of funny that they are supporting the
Miss USA system and that is the system that I
(05:27):
chose to compete in when I was sixteen.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
It kind of is full circle.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And hey, thanks Gena for going to judge, because now
we're just making pageants more relevant and more of a
topic to talk about.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So it's kind of perfect.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So this pageant weekend, I really did kind of feel
in my element because I have obviously have pageant experience,
but also it's like the dressing up and feeling confident
in what you're wearing and people that you get to
meet along the way, like I've met so many cool
(06:04):
women through this judging experience because the judges had time
to get to know each other, and it's almost like
this next level of professionalism in the pageant world. And
I feel like with competing and pageants in the past,
I've met incredible young women who are, you know, just
(06:28):
starting to build their own business or just starting to
get situated. Especially as a teenager, you are aspiring to
be something professional, and then in the missystem, most people
are just like just getting started in their professional career.
But on the judges side, it's like everyone is established,
(06:52):
everyone has a successful career that they've embarked on, and
like extreme knowledge and experience in that specific field. So
it was it was just very cool being on that side,
like oh wow, like these these now are my peers,
and it really did feel like an up level in
(07:15):
the way that that was reflected back to me.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
So that was super cool.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
And I just feel like I've like consistently you meet
incredible women through this experience, and the judges that I've
befriended this weekend, I know I will continue to be
friends with them on social media and reach out whenever
we're in the same area and definitely hang out because
they're really cool and they've got great personalities and we've
(07:44):
we really did bond through the weekend. As a judge,
my eyes have been open to some of the things
that I would like to see changed in pageantry. Right now,
(08:07):
we're in a very strange time in pageantry with the
Miss USA system. Before they just crowned the new title holder,
their miss resigned with only two months left of her reign,
and then the teen followed shortly after, and they weren't
able to be very forthright with the reason for giving
(08:31):
up their title and resigning, but it had something to
do with a level of exploitation and not being compensated
for their time. And I would want to see that
women who are taking.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
The title of the.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
National competition or even international competition are getting compensated for
the value that they bring to the table, because I
hate hearing that people are being taken advantage of and
getting like a smaller percentage of what they should be
entitled to. So there are some issues that need to
(09:14):
be worked out, and hopefully with the new titleholders they'll
be able to kind of like pave that way for
the people in the future. But I think that's the
biggest thing right now. Also, one thing that I really
did appreciate about rachel Slawson's pagant was the fact that
(09:34):
she had on set mental health advisors at all times.
That's something that I've been advocating for on set for
unscripted TV series and also scripted TV series are all
having mental health advocates on set and licensed counselors on set,
(09:56):
and so really taking a look at like this is
a rigorous competition, and as much as I encourage the
women to like relax and just be in your power,
the reality of the situation is there's a lot being
put into the time, energy and effort in competing in
(10:16):
a pageant and the kind of like extreme pressure that
you feel you're more susceptible to breaking point, and so
having those resources available to the women who are competing
is so so important. And not only that, but like
after the pageant as well, because that's when you know
(10:39):
the reality of the situation sets in and there really
can only be one title holder, and so a lot
of these girls are coping with the fact that they
haven't won, and there's a lot of heavy feelings that
come with that. So just making sure that everyone's taken
care of mentally through that process. So my mindset going
(11:02):
into judging this past weekend, you know, I knew that
I was chosen to be a judge for a reason,
and I've been very consistent with my messaging through my podcast,
and obviously I have experience with pageants, so I've been
in the same shoes that these women.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Are in when they're on stage.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
So for me, I knew that just me showing up
is enough, and that's obviously a newer mindset that I
have adopted into my life, like I am enough and
there's a reason why I was chosen to be here.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
I have an area of.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Expertise that is unique and like very exceptional for the
job that I now have as a judge. So I
just felt very like I felt like I was right
for this role. I just wanted to have open ears
and an open mind and really hear what the women
(12:01):
had to say and just choose who I felt was
best in my heart, and it's all so subjective, and
also like knowing that other people on the panel may
be gravitating towards somebody else and that's okay too. I
did notice that some of the judges would go harder
(12:21):
on the women competing, especially an interview. They would ask
those hard hitting questions just to see if they could
handle answering in a way that was diplomatic and was
authentic to who that woman is. There was a judge
that would ask about, what is a moral dilemma that
(12:41):
you've had to face and how did you handle it?
Speaker 1 (12:44):
And that's a hard question to answer for sure.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
And then another judge who was a former Miss Grand
USA title holder, was asking the women how they would
handle the international competition because it's thirty days of brutal
rehearsals and competition and all of that. She knows because
she's done it, and so she was just really trying
(13:09):
to make sure that the next titleholder was prepared mentally
and physically for the strain of an international competition. For me,
I obviously have empathy for the women competing because I
have been in their position, but like I also wanted
it to be like a good experience for them, So
I guess I would be more of like a kind judge,
(13:31):
Like if they were being asked some pretty heavy questions
in interview, I would gravitate towards asking them something about
like what their personal style means to them if they
had something very fashion forward that they were wearing in
the interview room, you know, just.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Making it a little bit more lighthearted.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
But then also I was asking things about like how
are they taking care of their mental health?
Speaker 1 (13:57):
And obviously that's something.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
That I care a lot about, so seeing if they
are also people that prioritize their mental wellbeing was important
for me when judging too. So overall, judging Miss grand
Usa was an incredible experience and I definitely want to
(14:19):
judge another pageant in the future.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
I told Rachel, like.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Hey, if you want me to judge again next year,
I am all for it. So I remember when I
was first raising money to compete in my first pageant,
going into the judges panel and feeling intimidated by the
judges asking me all of these questions about myself when
(14:46):
I'm just you know, discovering who I am as a person.
I think it's really cool and it's really full circle
to be in this place that I'm at now, because
I always admired those judges and I always wanted to
to be in that position. I feel like the goal
was ultimately, I mean, besides winning a pageant, Obviously, you
(15:08):
don't compete unless you unless the goal is to win
the competition. But I think for me, like seeing those
judges and knowing that they were hand selected and qualified
to judge this pageant and select the next titleholder was
very inspiring to me, and I feel like ultimately that
(15:32):
was the goal, like to get to the level where
I could be one of those judges in that position
making that big decision. And here we are, We did it.
Thank you so much for listening to Rachel Goesgrogue. Follow
(15:54):
us on Instagram and TikTok for exclusive video content at
Rachel thos Route Podcast
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