April 27, 2025 • 12 mins
We spoke with Miss Connecticut Volunteer Serena Charbonneau about the need for volunteerism.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Miss Connecticut Volunteer Serena Charbonel.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Good morning, good morning, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
I'm so excited for people who don't know about the
Miss Volunteer America pageant tell me about it.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
The heart of the Miss Volunteer America Pageant is truly
the volunteerism. I just came from watching the teens compete
at Miss Teen Volunteer America and soon I'll be competing
myself for Miss Volunteer America in June at Jackson, Tennessee.
And the components of the competition, although the interview is
the most important part, you don't always necessarily see that
(00:38):
or see the work that the girls do leading up
to that year during their reigns representing their states. So
there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes. But
we have an incredible show as well that you get
to watch. There'll be a live streamlink available for that,
and it's glamorous and allows you to show your confidence
out on stage.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Where are you from.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'm from Wilket, Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Ah local girl, and how did you become Miss Connecticut Volunteer.
There was a pageant.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Yes, so I was crowned back in July. It's already
almost been a year, which feels insane to me. I
think because I've been so busy using every opportunity i
have to do something out in the community with this
title that it's just been flying by, and the competition
itself will actually happen again this July. So coming back
(01:27):
from Nationals in June, I will then be looking to
help crown the next Miss Connecticut volunteer.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Tell me about the phases of competition for this pageant.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Absolutely so. Interview has always been my favorite part. The
reason that I got into pageantry was because that love
for volunteerism was already there before I had even found
out about pageants and going in there talking about what
makes you you, what are you passionate about, what's your
service initiative? And for me, I'll get into leaders about
(01:56):
mental health. That's the part where they see, Okay, who
is this person and why are they a good role model?
Then of course we prepare later in the day for
the on stage phases of competition, and that does include
all equally weighted phases of competition, including a swimsuit or
fitnesswaar for our team competitors, evening gown on stage question
(02:19):
as well as finally the most entertaining part our talent
portion of competition, So they truly are looking for an
individual who's well rounded.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
And what do they receive if they win besides the
crown and the sash.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
So you do win cash scholarships, which in only having
been five years since this program has blown up, I
was able to receive two thousand dollars in cash scholarships
for winning the title of Miss Connecticut Volunteer, and now
I helped to fundraise to help build up our program
more and that number is just going to keep going
up for our next title holder. And then of course
(02:52):
the opportunity to put yourself in different events and places
to pursue your service initiative in a space where you
have more opportunities to lead and connect with people. It
actually is something that really helps out with my career
as well.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
So your service initiative project.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Is what So it's called Wings for Wellness spreading mental
health awareness, and that title the theme of using a
butterfly and Wings and transformation actually started when I was
about fourteen years old and first got into pageantry. So
it's been a decade long service initiative in the making,
and it's all surrounding mental wellness, but specifically, when you
(03:31):
think of a butterfly, you think of its unique characteristics
and strengths. So I've actually pulled my education. I'm a
master of social Work. I graduated from Yukon School of
Social Work and hardcore SKIS and I took the theory
of resilience and basically made it simple to be able
to turn it into a presentation for preschoolers all the
(03:53):
way up to senior citizens. Basically involves coloring a butterfly,
imagining ourselves as that butterfly and what gives us strength,
and then of course we'll tie it into what's in
our garden or who's around us when we're going through
a hard time that we can rely on.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I love that the garden. Yeah, sometimes you got to
weed that garden?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
You do.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
You're so funny. So how is NAMI involved or the
National Alliance for Mental Illness.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
NAMMY or National Alliance on Mental Illness. I got involved
in twenty twenty, right during COVID and right around the
time that I really honed in on that theory of
resilience with my initiative, and when I got involved, a
lot of people were going through mental health struggle, struggles myself,
I was going through a lot of anxiety that you know,
(04:45):
hadn't gotten that bad before, to the point where I
had to seek support for myself as well. And being
a part of NAMMY gave me such incredible feeling of
support because they are people who have been affected in
some way some way by mental health issue use, which
is one in five people when we think about it.
So you know somebody in your family, in your life
(05:07):
who is in some way affected by mental health. But overall,
our mental wellness is there. Whether or not it's a problem,
we still need to take care of it. So what
I do with NAMY is there a nonprofit organization that
provides education, peer support groups for mental health and they
(05:28):
get involved in advocacy and legislature surrounding mental health issues.
Something that's I'm very proud of that I spoke about
on stage when I won the title of Miss Connecticut
Volunteer is how I set goals for myself in NAMY,
starting out just putting together fundraisers on my own virtual
during COVID so pet photo contests. Anything I could think
(05:51):
of to help fundraise, and I worked my way up
to twenty twenty three where I was invited to join
the board of Directors for this state NAMMI Connecticut, and
I've been in that role now for the past two years,
being able to connect with more individuals in the state level.
And my favorite thing about being part of NAMMY is
(06:11):
our annual walk, which is actually coming up on May third.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Wonderful. I actually spoke at one of their walks several
years ago, about fifteen years ago. I really believe in them.
Tell me, do you have any favorite moments from your
year so far as miss Connecticut Volunteer.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Definitely some tear jerkers for sure that I'll always remember
long after I put this crown away in a box
somewhere or up on the shelf. And one of those
was shortly after being crowned. Actually, I had the opportunity
to go and be a part of the woke at
Country Fair. And the reason why that's so sentimental to
(06:47):
me is because my late grandfather, Robert Bouffard, he was
a woke at Lions member and he's the one who
taught me the importance of volunteerism and giving back my
family runs the Woke Lions Hot Dog and Hamburger booth,
so you can find me behind the counter yelling big vibs,
hot dog and Hamburgers, and we're raising scholarship dollars for
(07:10):
our Woka High School seniors through those efforts. So I
spent years doing that and still due to this day.
So being there with the Connecticut title, I was just
so excited to share that with my community and the
people who've seen me grown up.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
What would you say to someone who considers this beauty
pageant and doesn't believe that it enhances the lives of women.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
I would tell them about myself and my personal journey.
In order to compete in Misconnecticut volunteer, there isn't an
expectation in terms of physical appearance. The only thing I
would say that maybe could be a prerequisite is your
passion for something. Having that passion to volunteer and give
back and to be motivated.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Those are the qualities you.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Need going into your year, because when it comes to
putting on a beautiful gown or walking on stage, those
are all skills that can be trained, can be helped with.
But at the end of the day, they're looking for
a confident women who knows what she cares about and
how she's going to be a good role model for others.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
And why is volunteering so important.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Not only do you get that sense of gratitude seeing
how your work pays off for others, it also could
open up opportunities for yourself too. What I mean by
that is my winks for a wellness initiative that was
created surrounding mental wellness, and that's actually what led me
to my career choices going into college. My undergraduate was
(08:37):
at the University of New Haven. I got my bachelor's
in psychology because I was so interested in how the
mind works and helping people. And then I had pageant
friends actually that were social workers, so I got to
go and shadow some of their experiences and then that's
what actually pushed me to going for my master's in
social work. Social work itself is all about helping the individual,
(09:01):
not just focusing on the individual characteristics and maybe what's
going on inside, but also the macro portion of it,
which is you know, helping the community, resourcing and programming
going on. And it's such a great feel that I'm
not sure I would have discovered had I not had
those previous volunteer experiences.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
It was very brave of you earlier to mention that
you did have anxiety. How are you doing now with that?
Does the pageant exacerbate that? Does it help?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
It's funny because people think going on stage is something
that's maybe one of the most terrifying things you can do,
But even before pageants, I actually grew up doing competitive
cheerleading as well. So going on stage and either talking
about or showing something performing something that I love is
such a safe space for me. And in twenty twenty,
(09:51):
when my anxiety was really bad, something that.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I did was compete in a pageant.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
It was a national level pageant, and being up there
on stage it gave me so much comm confidence because
I thought, you know, if I could do this, then
I could get over those day to day anxieties and
work through those using therapy and other tools. So in
a way, it kind of motivated me to keep pushing
because I knew that I could do it and knew
that I could better manage my anxiety.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I know there's a lot of serious questions that you'll
be asked in your interview, but this is one of
my favorites. What cereal best describes your personality and why.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
That's so funny.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I've gotted so many funny questions through pageantry too, and
when you talk about cereal, Honestly, I don't eat cereal,
so that would be kind of hard for me to answer.
But I do like Lucky Charms.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Because it's magically delicious.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Magically delicious.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
When I was little, I used to eat all the
yucky parts or the plain cereal first, and then I'd
save the best part, the marshmallows for last. So since
that's the only cereal I've really loved, I'd definitely be
Lucky Charms.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I love that well. I think you don't need any
lucky for this national pageant that's coming up in June.
I'm speaking with Serena Charbonneau, miss Connecticut volunteer, a Wilket
girl who serves the community. And you're gonna win this
pageant in Joane, and you're gonna come back and give
up your crown. Thank you so much for being here today.
How can we follow by the way if people want
(11:18):
to see what happens.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Absolutely so. I'm on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Easiest way
to find me is probably searching up my Facebook page
Miss Connecticut Volunteer or Instagram Miss ctvol vol and you
can also go to Miss Connecticut Volunteer dot org. We're
accepting contestants right now for our teen and our Miss program,
(11:41):
and also we have a fabulous Princess program that's a
mentorship opportunity, So not really about competing, but about that
sisterhood and building those important leadership skills.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
My little one was a princess and my older one
because they're eight years apart, she mentored her. Oh it
was so wonderful.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
That's such a highlight of the program.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Well, again, I wish you nothing but the best. Thank
you so much for being here.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Thank you
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Miss Connecticut Volunteer Serena Charbonel.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Good morning, good morning, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
I'm so excited for people who don't know about the
Miss Volunteer America pageant tell me about it.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
The heart of the Miss Volunteer America Pageant is truly
the volunteerism. I just came from watching the teens compete
at Miss Teen Volunteer America and soon I'll be competing
myself for Miss Volunteer America in June at Jackson, Tennessee.
And the components of the competition, although the interview is
the most important part, you don't always necessarily see that
(00:38):
or see the work that the girls do leading up
to that year during their reigns representing their states. So
there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes. But
we have an incredible show as well that you get
to watch. There'll be a live streamlink available for that,
and it's glamorous and allows you to show your confidence
out on stage.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Where are you from.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'm from Wilket, Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Ah local girl, and how did you become Miss Connecticut Volunteer.
There was a pageant.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Yes, so I was crowned back in July. It's already
almost been a year, which feels insane to me. I
think because I've been so busy using every opportunity i
have to do something out in the community with this
title that it's just been flying by, and the competition
itself will actually happen again this July. So coming back
(01:27):
from Nationals in June, I will then be looking to
help crown the next Miss Connecticut volunteer.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Tell me about the phases of competition for this pageant.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Absolutely so. Interview has always been my favorite part. The
reason that I got into pageantry was because that love
for volunteerism was already there before I had even found
out about pageants and going in there talking about what
makes you you, what are you passionate about, what's your
service initiative? And for me, I'll get into leaders about
(01:56):
mental health. That's the part where they see, Okay, who
is this person and why are they a good role model?
Then of course we prepare later in the day for
the on stage phases of competition, and that does include
all equally weighted phases of competition, including a swimsuit or
fitnesswaar for our team competitors, evening gown on stage question
(02:19):
as well as finally the most entertaining part our talent
portion of competition, So they truly are looking for an
individual who's well rounded.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
And what do they receive if they win besides the
crown and the sash.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
So you do win cash scholarships, which in only having
been five years since this program has blown up, I
was able to receive two thousand dollars in cash scholarships
for winning the title of Miss Connecticut Volunteer, and now
I helped to fundraise to help build up our program
more and that number is just going to keep going
up for our next title holder. And then of course
(02:52):
the opportunity to put yourself in different events and places
to pursue your service initiative in a space where you
have more opportunities to lead and connect with people. It
actually is something that really helps out with my career
as well.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
So your service initiative project.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Is what So it's called Wings for Wellness spreading mental
health awareness, and that title the theme of using a
butterfly and Wings and transformation actually started when I was
about fourteen years old and first got into pageantry. So
it's been a decade long service initiative in the making,
and it's all surrounding mental wellness, but specifically, when you
(03:31):
think of a butterfly, you think of its unique characteristics
and strengths. So I've actually pulled my education. I'm a
master of social Work. I graduated from Yukon School of
Social Work and hardcore SKIS and I took the theory
of resilience and basically made it simple to be able
to turn it into a presentation for preschoolers all the
(03:53):
way up to senior citizens. Basically involves coloring a butterfly,
imagining ourselves as that butterfly and what gives us strength,
and then of course we'll tie it into what's in
our garden or who's around us when we're going through
a hard time that we can rely on.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
I love that the garden. Yeah, sometimes you got to
weed that garden?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
You do.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
You're so funny. So how is NAMI involved or the
National Alliance for Mental Illness.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
NAMMY or National Alliance on Mental Illness. I got involved
in twenty twenty, right during COVID and right around the
time that I really honed in on that theory of
resilience with my initiative, and when I got involved, a
lot of people were going through mental health struggle, struggles myself,
I was going through a lot of anxiety that you know,
(04:45):
hadn't gotten that bad before, to the point where I
had to seek support for myself as well. And being
a part of NAMMY gave me such incredible feeling of
support because they are people who have been affected in
some way some way by mental health issue use, which
is one in five people when we think about it.
So you know somebody in your family, in your life
(05:07):
who is in some way affected by mental health. But overall,
our mental wellness is there. Whether or not it's a problem,
we still need to take care of it. So what
I do with NAMY is there a nonprofit organization that
provides education, peer support groups for mental health and they
(05:28):
get involved in advocacy and legislature surrounding mental health issues.
Something that's I'm very proud of that I spoke about
on stage when I won the title of Miss Connecticut
Volunteer is how I set goals for myself in NAMY,
starting out just putting together fundraisers on my own virtual
during COVID so pet photo contests. Anything I could think
(05:51):
of to help fundraise, and I worked my way up
to twenty twenty three where I was invited to join
the board of Directors for this state NAMMI Connecticut, and
I've been in that role now for the past two years,
being able to connect with more individuals in the state level.
And my favorite thing about being part of NAMMY is
(06:11):
our annual walk, which is actually coming up on May third.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Wonderful. I actually spoke at one of their walks several
years ago, about fifteen years ago. I really believe in them.
Tell me, do you have any favorite moments from your
year so far as miss Connecticut Volunteer.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Definitely some tear jerkers for sure that I'll always remember
long after I put this crown away in a box
somewhere or up on the shelf. And one of those
was shortly after being crowned. Actually, I had the opportunity
to go and be a part of the woke at
Country Fair. And the reason why that's so sentimental to
(06:47):
me is because my late grandfather, Robert Bouffard, he was
a woke at Lions member and he's the one who
taught me the importance of volunteerism and giving back my
family runs the Woke Lions Hot Dog and Hamburger booth,
so you can find me behind the counter yelling big vibs,
hot dog and Hamburgers, and we're raising scholarship dollars for
(07:10):
our Woka High School seniors through those efforts. So I
spent years doing that and still due to this day.
So being there with the Connecticut title, I was just
so excited to share that with my community and the
people who've seen me grown up.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
What would you say to someone who considers this beauty
pageant and doesn't believe that it enhances the lives of women.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
I would tell them about myself and my personal journey.
In order to compete in Misconnecticut volunteer, there isn't an
expectation in terms of physical appearance. The only thing I
would say that maybe could be a prerequisite is your
passion for something. Having that passion to volunteer and give
back and to be motivated.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Those are the qualities you.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Need going into your year, because when it comes to
putting on a beautiful gown or walking on stage, those
are all skills that can be trained, can be helped with.
But at the end of the day, they're looking for
a confident women who knows what she cares about and
how she's going to be a good role model for others.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
And why is volunteering so important.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Not only do you get that sense of gratitude seeing
how your work pays off for others, it also could
open up opportunities for yourself too. What I mean by
that is my winks for a wellness initiative that was
created surrounding mental wellness, and that's actually what led me
to my career choices going into college. My undergraduate was
(08:37):
at the University of New Haven. I got my bachelor's
in psychology because I was so interested in how the
mind works and helping people. And then I had pageant
friends actually that were social workers, so I got to
go and shadow some of their experiences and then that's
what actually pushed me to going for my master's in
social work. Social work itself is all about helping the individual,
(09:01):
not just focusing on the individual characteristics and maybe what's
going on inside, but also the macro portion of it,
which is you know, helping the community, resourcing and programming
going on. And it's such a great feel that I'm
not sure I would have discovered had I not had
those previous volunteer experiences.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
It was very brave of you earlier to mention that
you did have anxiety. How are you doing now with that?
Does the pageant exacerbate that? Does it help?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
It's funny because people think going on stage is something
that's maybe one of the most terrifying things you can do,
But even before pageants, I actually grew up doing competitive
cheerleading as well. So going on stage and either talking
about or showing something performing something that I love is
such a safe space for me. And in twenty twenty,
(09:51):
when my anxiety was really bad, something that.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
I did was compete in a pageant.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
It was a national level pageant, and being up there
on stage it gave me so much comm confidence because
I thought, you know, if I could do this, then
I could get over those day to day anxieties and
work through those using therapy and other tools. So in
a way, it kind of motivated me to keep pushing
because I knew that I could do it and knew
that I could better manage my anxiety.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I know there's a lot of serious questions that you'll
be asked in your interview, but this is one of
my favorites. What cereal best describes your personality and why.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
That's so funny.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I've gotted so many funny questions through pageantry too, and
when you talk about cereal, Honestly, I don't eat cereal,
so that would be kind of hard for me to answer.
But I do like Lucky Charms.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Because it's magically delicious.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Magically delicious.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
When I was little, I used to eat all the
yucky parts or the plain cereal first, and then I'd
save the best part, the marshmallows for last. So since
that's the only cereal I've really loved, I'd definitely be
Lucky Charms.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I love that well. I think you don't need any
lucky for this national pageant that's coming up in June.
I'm speaking with Serena Charbonneau, miss Connecticut volunteer, a Wilket
girl who serves the community. And you're gonna win this
pageant in Joane, and you're gonna come back and give
up your crown. Thank you so much for being here today.
How can we follow by the way if people want
(11:18):
to see what happens.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Absolutely so. I'm on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Easiest way
to find me is probably searching up my Facebook page
Miss Connecticut Volunteer or Instagram Miss ctvol vol and you
can also go to Miss Connecticut Volunteer dot org. We're
accepting contestants right now for our teen and our Miss program,
(11:41):
and also we have a fabulous Princess program that's a
mentorship opportunity, So not really about competing, but about that
sisterhood and building those important leadership skills.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
My little one was a princess and my older one
because they're eight years apart, she mentored her. Oh it
was so wonderful.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
That's such a highlight of the program.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Well, again, I wish you nothing but the best. Thank
you so much for being here.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Thank you
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