#47 Crowned & Candid: Stephanie Finoti, Miss Ohio 2024

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What does it truly mean to wear a state crown when life's hardest moments don't pause for your title? In this deeply moving conversation, Miss Ohio 2024 Stephanie Finoti reveals the raw, unfiltered reality behind the sparkle.

As a biomedical scientist, first-generation American, and daughter of immigrants, Stephanie brings an unexpected perspective to her role. Growing up in poverty with big dreams that seemed impossible, she transformed obstacles into stepping stones—but winning the crown brought challenges she never anticipated. From battling crippling imposter syndrome during her first week to surviving a serious car accident just before Miss America, Stephanie candidly shares how these struggles became her greatest teachers.

"The crown feels big at first to allow room for growth," she reflects, describing her journey from self-doubt to confidence. We explore the business aspects of title-holding—booking appearances, seeking sponsorships, managing finances—and the profound mindset shift that came when she realized true strength sometimes means asking for help. Her insights on battling burnout will resonate with anyone who's ever poured themselves empty serving others.

Stephanie's most powerful message emerges through her vulnerability: perfection isn't the goal, excellence is. By embracing her authentic self, including her struggles, she's redefined what being a state title holder means. Her story proves that our backgrounds and circumstances don't determine our worth—our choices and resilience do.

Have you experienced moments where life's challenges forced you to grow in unexpected ways? Share your story and join our conversation about finding strength when everything feels impossible.

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Episode Transcript

Raeanna Johnson (00:00):
All right, welcome back, sash and Soul
family.
It is another episode ofCrowned and Candid as part of
this special series that we'reputting together for all of you
so that you get a realisticperspective of what it looks
like to be the title holder.
Before I dive into today'sepisode, I do want to disclose
something really personal.
I am not where I'm usuallyrecording.

(00:23):
I left my house at 6 am onMonday morning and got to the
other side of the state asquickly as I could.
It was a three-hour drive to mydad, who suffered a stroke on
Sunday night, and so he iscurrently in the neurology
department at the hospital thatwe're in neurology department at

(00:44):
the hospital that we're in, andI stayed here last night barely
slept and just kind of takingon that role of caretaker for a
parent, which is just a reallyinteresting transition in life,
if you're listening and you'veever experienced that.
But I just wanted to disclosethat with you and my message
behind that and the reason thatI'm sharing is because we all
have so much going on in ourlives and many of you are

(01:07):
preparing for a competition thatis taking up so much of your
time and energy, and I know thefeeling of wanting to pour
everything that you have intothat.
And then sometimes life happensand your priorities need to
change and my gentle reminder isthat you need to prioritize
your loved ones and your ownwell-being.
For example, I told myself thismorning, as I almost got up at

(01:31):
4 am, that, nope, I needed totry and sleep some more because
it was already going to be along day and I needed to try and
get that rest week.
I really need to prioritizetaking care of myself while I'm
doing my best to take care of mydad and everyone around me and
kind of being the main go-toperson for information for all
of his friends and family aswell.

(01:51):
So, taking care of yourself,taking care of the priorities in
your life and knowing that,even if you have something
traumatic going on, if you'redealing with a crisis or if
you're dealing with a personalstruggle, that all of those
things are still acceleratingyou toward reaching all of your
goals in some way, shape or form.

(02:13):
When you are experiencing whatmaybe you would consider as a
setback because you have tofocus on something other than
specific pageant prep, it'sactually helping you grow and
will age you as a title holderlater on, or age you in,
whatever it is that you're doing, because the compassion that
you gain, the understanding, theempathy, the resilience, all of

(02:34):
those things go into succeedingin any area of life and any
goal that you want to achieve.
And so that is my gentlemessage for you today, and with
that, whatever your beliefsystem is, if you feel so
inclined to send up some prayers, send some positive vibes, some
positive energy my way, somehealing energy to help me keep

(02:56):
going and to pour into my dad sothat he recovers.
We do keep getting good news,and so I feel very blessed,
counting my blessings With thesituation.
It could have been much, muchworse.
It could have been a verydifferent phone call at 5 am on
Monday morning, so I'm feelingvery blessed about that.
So with that, let's move intothis.
I did not want to cancel thiscall.

(03:18):
I'm working really hard tomaintain all of my interviews
this week because they fill meup and I need things that fill
me up right now.
So with that, I'm reallyexcited to introduce you to Miss
Ohio 2024.
This is Stephanie Finovi, andbefore we started recording, I
just said Stephanie, what do youwant everybody to really
understand when they get to theend of this episode and she said

(03:38):
really, the overall message isthe reality of the title holder,
which is the purpose of Crownedand Candid, that it's not just
about the glitz and the glam.
It's not going to be sunshineand roses every day.
It's hard, it is a lot of workand people really underestimate
the hard work.
So I'm really excited forStephanie to share her
perspective today and to poursome of that insight into all of
you so that you feel much moreprepared for the job that it is

(04:01):
to be a state title holder.
So, stephanie, welcome.
Thank you for being here.

Stephanie Finoit (04:06):
Hi, thank you so much for having me and just
thank you so much for yourstrength to come on to this
podcast today and be able toshare that really strong message
.
While I was listening to you, Iwas feeling so inspired by you.
I've definitely I can relate toall that you said.
You know there have beenmoments during my year where
things that have happened thathave had nothing to do with the

(04:29):
job of being a title holder,nothing to do with being Miss
Ohio, just life.
Life happens and you cannotalways prepare for that, and
there were moments where lifejust got so hard in the way that
I thought you know, I don'tknow if I can do this.
I don't know if I can continueto prep for Miss America,
because there are so many otherthings, and it's making that
decision to get up and keepgoing.

(04:50):
That's really what makes youstronger and I think that's what
helped me grow so muchthroughout my year as a title
holder.
I am absolutely not the sameperson that I was when I got
crowned last year in June and Ithink it's a really beautiful
thing.
You know there are so many upsand downs through your year of
being a title holder.
It's 365 days, but it feelslike it was 10 years long, but

(05:14):
also only like a week ago that Igot crowned.
It's so weird how, like thetime happens when you're a title
holder because you're so busyand you know you go through so
many different phases ofyourself, because you're growing
so much in such a short periodof time.
But, yeah, I just wanted tothank you for your message.
I personally felt very inspired.
I know all your listeners aregoing to feel very inspired

(05:35):
today and, excuse me, of course,you know get back on your horse
and you know keep running therace, keep doing your thing, but
know when it's time to stepback and take care of yourself,
take care of your loved ones.
You know um cause that's alwaysso important.

Raeanna Johnson (05:51):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
And uh, you know what I?
What I hold true to my heartand the way I live my life is
you can't teach resilience.
It is not something thatsomeone can teach you.
It is something that you buildby going through struggles, and
that is why, by the end of youryear as a state title holder,
you are not the same person asyou were at the beginning of the
year.
And before we get into all that, can you just introduce

(06:12):
yourself a little bit?
Tell us about who Stephanie islike, even outside of pageantry.
Who are you?

Stephanie Finoit (06:19):
So I'm this year's Miss Ohio, of course, but
outside of pageantry, I'mactually a biomedical scientist.
I just graduated from theUniversity of Cincinnati with my
degree in biomedical scienceand I work as a scientist in
fetal therapy.
So I work with mothers andpremature babies.
I come from a Latina heritageso my parents are immigrants.

(06:44):
I'm a first-generation American, first-generation college grad,
first-generation a lot ofthings.
So you know, talking aboutresilience, talking about grit,
I've been there, I've done thatand I think just all of my life
experiences from you know,having my parents be so new to
this country and me having tofigure a lot of things out at

(07:06):
such a young age, really haveprepared me for Miss Ohio, for
the unexpected, for the ups anddowns.
So you're completely right,resilience is not something you
learn, it's something you.
You grow and you developthrough life experiences.
Um, but yeah, that's all aboutme.
You know, I think I really liketo be raw and I like to share

(07:26):
with people.
You know things that I normallywouldn't expect a title holder
to share.
So I grew up very poor in a verylow income community.
I grew up doing like littlehometown pageants when I was
younger and I would watch theMiss America girls on TV and
wish that that would be me.
But I didn't know if that wastruly possible just because of
the community I came from.

(07:47):
You know, most kids didn't evengo to college, so having a big
dream like that, big aspirations, kind of seemed so out of reach
.
So becoming Miss Ohio, for mewhat was most important was to
really show my authenticity.
My authenticity and show mytrue self that you know,
wherever your circumstances,wherever you come from, it
doesn't define your futuresuccesses.

(08:07):
As long as you're able to pushthrough, have that resilience,
overcome those barriers, youreally can achieve any goal and
any dream that you have.

Raeanna Johnson (08:16):
That is so powerful.
I remember being in that spacetoo, feeling like I didn't grow
up in a pageant world.
I didn't really grow up in apageant community.
I also had a lot of trauma,like a lot of the childhood
stuff where you, you look aroundand you're like what, I don't
know what makes me qualified forthis, and like those limiting
beliefs, those like deeplyrooted limiting beliefs, are so

(08:38):
real.
I mean, what?
What did the work look like foryou to move past these things
that probably felt like anchorsin your mind of, maybe reasons
that you wouldn't succeed, orthat you know the imposter
syndrome that maybe you didn'thave a space, like it wasn't a
space for you.
What was that work like for you?

Stephanie Finoit (08:59):
Of course, I really do think that my whole
life has been about peopleunderestimating me and
overcoming those barriers, andnot just me, just people that
have the same background as mebeing a minority, being a woman,
being a daughter of immigrants,growing up poor, those are all.
There's so many barriers thataffect so many different things

(09:21):
in my life.
But you know, I was a dancergrowing up.
I started dancing when I wastwo at my local rec center, and
when I started getting older andtaking it more seriously, I
begged my mom if I could go to amore professional ballet school
.
I wanted to focus on ballet andbecome a classical ballet
dancer and of course, ballet isnot a cheap sport.

(09:43):
So, going in, we found a reallynice dance studio.
I went there for about a yearbefore my parents realized they
could not afford it any longer.
I have the passion, I have thehard work.

(10:07):
I'm willing to, you know, putmy work to the test and become
the best dancer I can be if sheis willing to help me out in
return and with that my momoffered that me and her would
help clean the studios and helpsew costumes and do all this
stuff if I were able to attendmy dance classes on full
scholarship, and so my danceteacher attend my dance classes
on full scholarship.
And so my dance teacher.

(10:27):
She really appreciated ourhonesty, our hard work, our
resilience.
And from then on, from the timewhen I was, I think, about
eight years old, me and my momwe stayed at the dance studio
after hours.
We cleaned studios, cleaned themirrors, helped with costumes,
helped as much as we could allto afford my dance lessons.
So a lot of that was.
You know.
I recognized there was a barrierin my way, but my mom always

(10:51):
taught me you can either chooseto let that barrier overcome you
or you can overcome the barrier.
And in every situation whenthere is something in your way,
you have a choice.
And sometimes people that comefrom certain backgrounds have to
work a little harder thanothers, and everyone has their
own trials and tribulations.
You know I'm not saying peoplethat don't come from my
background don't have struggles.

(11:11):
Everyone has struggles,everyone faces barriers.
Sometimes there's somethingthat you grow up being aware of.
I grew up knowing that I waspoor, that I had to work a
little harder, especially goingto college I had to write so
many scholarship essays.
But sometimes things happenunexpectedly and in those

(11:32):
moments you have to make achoice to either keep going or
let that experience, let thatbarrier overcome you.
And so I think you know,learning that from a really
young age helped me build thatresilience early on.
And then, going into my year asMiss Ohio, I had our previous
Miss Ohio 2023.
She had told me of all thesestories of unexpected things
that happened during her yearduring her Miss America

(11:53):
experience.
And, for me, I grew up alwaysprepared for the unexpected,
always prepared for chaos.
You know, I always have mytoolkit with me of how to
overcome and navigate difficultsituations, so that was really
helpful for me during my year.
But, you know, that was justthe life that I grew up living.
That was just, you know, mystory.

(12:14):
And I think, going into MissOhio, one big thing that changed
from my first year to my secondyear, when I won, was learning
how to take those stories,stories of times that you know I
might have felt like I wasbeing underestimated or I felt
like I didn't have the resourcesI needed to succeed, taking the

(12:35):
stories of those, the traumafrom those moments, and turning
that into my superpower.
So it was the power ofstorytelling, how to flip the
narrative and say that into mysuperpower.
So it was the power ofstorytelling.
How to flip the narrative andsay all these things happened to
me.
But instead of saying oh, woe isme, I had such a hard life, I'm
going to turn it around and saythis is how it made me stronger

(12:56):
, this is how I developedresilience and this is how I can
make this my superpower andteach students that might be
facing the same thing.
Teach, you know, young womenthat might be in the same
position, that feel that theircircumstance defines them.
Tell them no, it doesn't defineyou.
You define your future, youdefine your success and you
define who you want to become.
It's all about choices and it'sall about the strength that you

(13:17):
have to overcome those barriers.

Raeanna Johnson (13:20):
Yes, and the well.
First of all, I rememberwashing the mirrors after the
studio closed as well, so Icould absolutely relate, at
least on that level of helpingcover the dance expenses.
It is an expensive sport, holymoly, but like.
But that too, like when youhave to work for it and like
earn part of it, it makes youappreciate it and work that much

(13:44):
harder.
So that was definitelysomething that I've learned to
value.
I think the key at least whatwas popping into my head is when
you're going through struggles,it's really difficult to take a
step back and think this ismaking me stronger, because
right now you're struggling.
Like nobody feels resilient whenthey're going through, when
they're in the midst of goingthrough something.

(14:05):
But I think what was sopoignant about what you said is
like knowing that in some way,shape or form, this is helping
you grow, there is somethingthat will come of this struggle
that is going to empower you forsomething else down the road,
and that, I think, is what helpsbuild that resilience, is just
that trust and that faith that Idon't.

(14:26):
I personally don't believe thatthings quote unquote happen for
a reason, like and I say thatliterally sitting in a hospital
right now with my dad right,like I don't believe that things
happen for a reason.
I believe that we createpurpose from the things that
happen to us, and so that's whyI have this faith that, like,
even when we're going throughsomething tough, something like
it's going to make me a betterperson somehow.

Stephanie Finoit (14:47):
Yeah, and also just like to build on that just
a little bit.
Like you said, when you're inthese moments of your trials and
the things are happening to you, you're in the moment and it
seems so hard.
You can't see a light at theend of the tunnel because you're
too focused on surviving.
You can't thrive in light atthe end of the tunnel because
you're too focused on surviving.
You can't thrive in thosemoments.

(15:07):
That's why I think storytellingis so important, because, as
someone that's been through somany of those moments in my life
and now I'm young, I'm going toface so many more trials in my
life Just because I won MissOhio doesn't mean the rest of my
life's going to be easy andbeautiful and wonderful.
But I feel like I have reached apoint of success where I can

(15:29):
look back and I can share mystory, share the times that I
didn't think I was going to getup and keep going and keep going
.
I made it this far and now it'smy turn to share those stories,
to give others hope who may bein those moments right now and
can't see the light at the endof the tunnel.

(15:50):
If I can do anything during myyear, it's to be the light for
them, and it's to show them, nomatter what you're going through
, you have the ability, you haveeverything within you to get
through this and become strongerout of it.

Raeanna Johnson (16:04):
My gosh.
We're so early on and I'malready like tearing up
Beautiful.
Okay, so let's.
Let's talk about the beginningof your year, back to almost a
year ago now, grounding night.
What was going through yourhead?

Stephanie Finoit (16:19):
So much, so okay.
My first year that I competedat Miss Ohio, I was a direct
entry.
I decided that I was going tocompete three months before
going on the Miss Ohio stage.
And it was all because I met arandom girl on my campus in a
workout class that told me shewas competing for Miss Ohio and
I was like sounds like somethingfun to do.

(16:40):
I was overcoming a lot in mylife at that time.
Like something fun to do.
I was overcoming a lot in mylife at that time and I had just
gotten out of a really, reallyhard period in my life and I was
like you know, I want to dosomething that is just for me.
I want to do something thathelps me focus on bettering
myself, that helps me do good,do service for others.

(17:02):
I just want to have somethingthat I can really devote all of
my energy to and become betterat the end of it.
And so this opportunity cameacross and I was like you know,
miss Ohio, that's something thatI've always dreamed of when I
was younger.
I'm going to take a chance.
I went in not knowing what Iwas doing at all, had no prep,

(17:23):
borrowed gowns from peoplethrifted.
The rest of my wardrobe, had noclue what I was doing at all,
had no prep, borrowed gowns frompeople, thrifted the rest of my
wardrobe, had no clue what Iwas doing somehow ended up
making top 10.
This is important because theentire next year well, okay, so
I made top 10, but before that,on finals night, our director
sits all the girls down andexplains the job of Miss Ohio

(17:43):
and you get the choice to eithersay you would accept the job if
you won or deny it.
And in that moment I was like Ididn't understand that this was
such a hard job.
I didn't understand how muchwent into being Miss Ohio.
I don't think I'm ready forthis.
Throughout the next year it wasall about reflecting.
It was all about finding outwho I was, what I could bring to

(18:06):
the table, if I was a right fitfor the title of Miss Ohio, if
I could do the job justice, if Icould bring something into the
organization that wasn't there.
Before All of this stuff, I hadto really sit back and say is
this right for me?
Am I right for this program?
So, going in my second year, Ifelt so much more prepared just
because I did all that self-workand I had a really strong

(18:29):
mindset going in, regardless ofwhat the outcome was.
I knew who I was, I knew whatmy purpose was and I knew that,
no matter what the outcome was,I would be satisfied because I
had done so much work on myselfto grow in that year, going into
finals night, my first year, Ijust made top 10.
I didn't make top five.
So I was like you know, I reallywant to make top five this year

(18:51):
.
I was the last one to be calledat the top five and I did not
expect it.
I felt like beforehand I hadbutchered so many phases of
competition, didn't feel like myinterview was perfect, didn't
feel like my onstage questionwas perfect, all these things.
But when I made the top five,something clicked and I was like
you know, if the judges seethat I am ready enough to be in

(19:14):
the top five, it's time for meto show them that I'm ready to
be Miss Ohio.
When I was standing there in mytop two, I just kept thinking
you know God, I don't feel ready, but if this is your plan, you
will help me.
You will help me become ready.
You will give me the resources,the people that I need.
You will bring me the villagethat I need to be ready.

(19:35):
So if this is my year, I knowthat I'm having doubts in myself
, but if this is your plan, I'mready.
Oh, this makes me tear up,because it really was such an a
moment.
And the second that my name wascalled as Miss Ohio, I well,
first I looked at Miss Ohio lastyear.
Me and her were really closeand I was like this isn't real.

(19:55):
This isn't real.
And she had to remind me.
You know, this is real, becauseI feel like I had dreamt of
that moment so many times and Iwas oh my God, it's actually
happening.
This is crazy.
But the second thing thathappened is I just looked up and
I almost surrendered myself andI was like you know, lord, I
don't feel ready, but I knowthat you will help me.

(20:19):
I know you will bring me thepeople that I need, you will
bring me the resources that Ineed.
And this year will be amazing,because I know that this is
what's meant to happen at thetime that it's meant to happen
and everything will come intoplace.
So I had a lot of doubtsinitially.
I was so scared, I was sonervous the night that I won

(20:39):
Miss Ohio.
I just kind of sat therestaring at the sash like, how am
I going to do this?
What am I going to do?
I have no clue.
And it's so weird because,going into competition, you have
this plan right, you have yourplan of action, this is what I'm
going to do, this is how I'mgoing to do it, this is what I'm
going to do on social media.
And then you win and you'rejust kind of like, oh my

(20:59):
goodness, now is the time, nowis the time to take action.
So it was so many circulatingemotions and I'm just going to
be completely honest.
The reason why I'm so emotionalright now is because my first
week as Miss Ohio was so hard.
I was suffering from extremeimposter syndrome and this is

(21:20):
something that you know I'm notnew to being a woman in the STEM
field.
I have always felt impostersyndrome.
I have always felt like I don'tbelong in certain spaces and I
have to work extra hard to makepeople know that I'm worthy to
be there, and so my first weekas Miss Ohio felt a lot like I
have to convince people that Ideserve this.

(21:41):
I have to convince people that Iam ready, and then I realized I
cannot convince anyone else ifI don't convince myself first.
So my first week was a lot ofself-reflection, you know,
looking inward and trying toheal myself of some past traumas
that I had, of having all thatimposter syndrome and getting to
the point where I felt likethis happened for a reason.

(22:04):
Now it's time to take action.
I'm ready.
So that just comes to show howmuch growth I had from winning
Miss Ohio, having all thisimposter syndrome, being scared,
not feeling prepared, and thenin six months I went to Miss
America and felt the mostprepared for anything I ever
have in my entire life and itjust, it's been amazing year of

(22:27):
growth and I'm really gratefulfor all of it, stephanie like
there are so many teachablemoments in everything that you
just said.

Raeanna Johnson (22:35):
I'm like, oh, my gosh, preach, this is.
This is so like this.
This idea of like, the impostersyndrome that you feel after
being crowned is so real.
It's a weird shift from goinginto competition feeling like
I'm ready, I can do this, like Idon't really quite know exactly

(22:57):
what I'm getting myself into,but I've got tools.
People will come to me, andthen you win and it's like you
wake up the next day and you'relike oh, oh, okay, like this is
like for real.
Now this isn't just a dream,this isn't just me imagining,
because when you're imaginingthings, you get all excited
about all the cool things thatyou can do, but then the reality
hits and yeah, absolutely,imposter syndrome is real in

(23:18):
that moment.
That that feeling of like Idon't think I belong here and I
don't know that I'm actuallyprepared.
And you're looking at the lastgirl that just crowned you and
you see who she is at the end ofthe year, but you don't see
that she was in your shoes 365days before that, and that is.
It's so honest and it's so rawand I'm so grateful that you
brought that up.

Stephanie Finoit (23:38):
Yeah, and you know, throughout the week before
competing we had all theseluncheons and meeting with the
community and at every luncheonour amazing Madison Miller gave
a great speech.
And I remember at oneparticular luncheon I was
sitting next to one of theelderly members in our community
who has seen a lot of MissOhio's come and go and he said

(24:02):
you know, madison, she was anincredible Miss Ohio.
And he said you know, madison,she was an incredible Miss Ohio.
Whoever wins next has some bigshoes to fill.
And he meant the bestintentions just trying to.
Of course, she's so amazing.
She had a great year.
She did all these things.
After I won, that moment keptreplaying and replaying in my

(24:22):
mind Big shoes to fill, bigshoes to fill, big shoes to fill
.
I called Madison and I saidMadison, I have to be honest,
you had an amazing year and I'mhaving a lot of trouble right
now wondering how I could fitinto this role after seeing how
much you did during your year.
And she told me when a new girlgets crowned, she told me, when

(24:43):
a new girl gets crowned, thereare no shoes to fill, there is
no role to fill.
Every time a new girl getscrowned, she gets her own pair
of shoes and they feel reallybig at first, but throughout her
year she fills them in, shelearns how to walk with them,
she learns how to walk at a pacethat works best for her, how to

(25:05):
take her own strides, shelearns which path she wants to
walk in, and it's so differentfor everybody.
And something that she wrote inher farewell letter that I read
the other day writing mine waswhen you get the sash, it feels
big at first and that's to allowyou room to grow into it.
So that's my message foreveryone listening today.

Raeanna Johnson (25:27):
All right.
End of episode.
Thanks for joining us.
No, I'm just kidding, I don'tknow.
Oh my gosh, beautiful,absolutely beautiful.
Do you see now at the end ofyour year, like what you saw in
her in so many ways at the endof her year?

Stephanie Finoit (25:46):
Yes, and my first year coming in.
I had met Miss Ohio when shewas at the end of her year.
I had met her after she went toMiss America and she was in,
you know, the prime of her yearand so I didn't really
understand the journey.
But seeing Madison competingnext to her is so funny because
actually at my very first forumI sat right across from her and

(26:09):
I was like, mom, I think she'sgoing to win, miss Ohio.
So seeing her go from acontestant competing alongside
me, growing that year, winning,and then seeing her at the end
of the year completely differentperson, no-transcript she had

(26:40):
this sense of peace, of security, of self-assurance.
A sense of peace, of security,of self-assurance, and it was so
beautiful to see that that sheknew throughout her year she had
given as much as she could.
In every moment that she hadthe opportunity she gave, she
did her best, she put herselfout there and at the end of her

(27:01):
year she felt so much peace inwho she was and what she did
with her year and she was readyto give up that title.
And so now, coming into the endof my year, I feel the same way.
I have put my heart and soulinto this year.
I made a decision at thebeginning of the year that I was
working two jobs at the timeand I made the decision to quit

(27:25):
one of my jobs so that I couldbe Miss Ohio full time, and
doing that.
I do not regret that decisionat all because I have been able
to give everything to this year.
I have been able to pour myselfout to my community, into my
service, into myself.
I've been able to grow morethan I ever thought that I could

(27:45):
in such a small amount of time.
I've been able to impact somany people who, in turn, have
impacted me so much.
And now, coming to the end ofmy year, I am so grateful for
the amazing year that I've had.
I'm grateful for all the trialsthat I've had, because they've
pushed me to become better.
They've pushed me to realizehow strong I truly am.

(28:06):
That I didn't realize before,and now I am at peace, I am
satisfied and I am so ready tohelp the next girl who's going
to take over the crown.

Raeanna Johnson (28:17):
That's so, so beautiful.
Something that's standing outto me that I really don't want
to pass up on talking about isyou went from this beautiful
prayer of I'm feeling scared,I'm not sure that I'm ready, but
I know that you will pour yourresources into me, that prayer
of knowing that that will beprovided to you so that you can

(28:38):
do the best job possible.
But then it was like a nightand day shift to, all of a
sudden, this imposter syndromeof feeling like you needed to
convince other people that youwere worthy, as if the judges
choosing you and the work thatyou poured into it wasn't enough
.
And so can we talk a little bitabout that idea of like

(28:59):
convincing other people that youdeserve this.

Stephanie Finoit (29:03):
Yes, it's really hard when you are a
people pleaser and in the senseof, I'm a healthcare worker and
I've been working as ahealthcare worker since I was 16
.
Everything that I do is forothers and I love that.
It's part of me.
It's a gift that I've beengiven and I love to utilize that
in so many different ways.
But for being a healthcareworker, that in so many

(29:26):
different ways.
But for being a healthcareworker your quote unquote worth,
I guess, kind of is the carethat you give your patients.
How satisfied are they with thecare that you have given them?
And it's like that in a lot ofdifferent jobs, you know.
But coming in with that mindsetbecause Miss Ohio or any title
holder is a community servantfor me, I had the wrong

(29:47):
mentality of my worth isdetermined on how everyone else
sees me, on how I'm able toimpact them during my year, on
how much I'm able to give tothem.
But in the beginning it wasreally hard because through all
that time preparing for MissOhio, preparing for Miss America
, you cannot convince judges,you cannot convince anyone else

(30:12):
that you are the right fit forthis role, that you are worthy,
that you have what it takes, ifyou cannot convince yourself
first.
So I'm here talking about allthis growth and growth and
growth and all that comes fromall of the self-work that I had
to do.
I had to look inward and I hadto convince myself.

(30:33):
I had to find deep within mewhat I had, that I had what it
took to be Miss Ohio and evengoing into Miss America,
convincing myself, lookinginward, finding all of my
strengths, all of my lifeexperiences, what makes me me,
and knowing that I am enough andI am enough to be Miss Ohio, no

(30:56):
matter what mistakes I make, nomatter what flaws I have.
I am enough, not just becauseof the work that I put in to the
job, but because of my lifeexperiences, because of who I am
.
And going into Miss Americasaying, you know, I am enough to
potentially become Miss Americaas well.
And it's really hard.
You face all this impostersyndrome.

(31:17):
You're doing these mockinterviews and you're like, oh,
you know, some days are good,some days are bad.
You're like, oh, do I have whatit takes?
But it's so much more than that.
And what I'm trying to tell thegirls that are my class now,
that are competing for Miss Ohio, is becoming Miss Ohio is not
what you do in the competition.
It's not determined by the timethat you spend on stage or your

(31:39):
10 minute interview.
Becoming Miss Ohio means takingthe spirit of Miss America, the
spirit of Miss Ohio, and puttingthat into your everyday life.
So, preparing for Miss Ohio,when I was at work, I would
think what would a Miss Ohio doin this situation?
She would help a coworker.
She would go out of her way tohelp her patient.

(32:01):
She would go out of her way tohelp a friend.
She would study a little extrahard for her exams because
they're you know, I'm trying tofund my education and I want to
be a scholar.
I want to be a role model forstudents all around me.
She would work a little extrahard every single day, going out
of her way to make someonesmile.
And developing the mentality,the spirit of a Miss Ohio, of a

(32:23):
Miss America, in my everydaylife helped me overcome that
imposter syndrome when I was inmy interview or when I was on
stage or when I was at anappearance.

Raeanna Johnson (32:34):
Because it was like you were already living the
way that you would live as MissOhio.

Stephanie Finoit (32:38):
Yes, exactly, and I kind of had that mentality
, that mindset of the spirit ofMiss America, and I do believe
that that lives in all of us.
Whether you get the crown ornot, you could make a decision
whether you want to do the workof a state title holder, if you
want to become, like, fill thatrole essentially.

(32:59):
And I think you know, at theend of the day one girl gets a
crown and a sash.
But everyone can develop thatmentality, develop the spirit of
a Miss America and go out thereand do the work of a state
title holder.
It doesn't take a crown andsash.
The crown and sash is not whatchanges you, it's who you are
and it's your growth within theprogram.

(33:19):
And I think that's why you knowa lot of people come and they
compete year after year afteryear, because it's really easy
to recognize how much you growevery single year, that you
compete, how much you grow andfall in love with the program,
fall in love with how much youget out of it in return, how
much you grow, how much moreconfident you become in who you

(33:39):
are and how much you're able togive to the community, even as a
local title holder, as a statetitle holder as Miss America.
You know.
That's why there are so manydifferent tiers, because Miss
America couldn't do the job ofMiss America if she didn't have
52 state title holders behindher.
And I know, as a title holder,I couldn't serve my state if I
didn't have all of my localtitle holders behind me doing

(34:02):
their jobs as well.
So I really do think it's aboutdeveloping the spirit of Miss
America and, you know, showingthat in your everyday life,
whether you're wearing the crownand sash or not.

Raeanna Johnson (34:13):
I think that was something that really
grounded me when I was MissWisconsin was, and a local title
to title holder too was lookingaround and seeing the people in
my corner, the people that werelifting me up and they weren't.
They were doing it just because, genuinely, they wanted to be a
part of this, this thing thatfelt bigger and and so it was

(34:34):
grounding for me, because Inever really fully owned my
success as mine, because I wouldnot have been able to do it
without those people lifting meup, without those people wanting
to feel a part of the joy ofjust this whole journey and this
whole process.
I think it touches a lot ofpeople more than we know, and so

(34:54):
in those moments when we feellike we're really alone in a lot
of ways we are, because we'rethe only ones feeling what it
feels to have that kind oflonely position of being the
face and wearing that crown.
But that doesn't mean thatwe're alone in this, because
there's so many others around usthat genuinely are pouring
their love into us in order tobe able to do the work that we
do as title holders.

(35:17):
There is a risk and a trap forthose perfectionists of us out
there, which is most all of usprobably listening and both of
us talking on this podcast, I'msure.
But there's a risk and a trapof asking what would Miss
America do?
How would I handle this as MissAmerica, self-defeating and
self-deprecating, if we'remaking mistakes and thinking

(35:38):
that's not how a Miss Americawould have responded or that's
not how Miss America would havehandled that, or Miss America
wouldn't be quote unquote lazy.
She'd be out there doing things.

(35:58):
So how did you balance thegrace for yourself of being
human and making mistakes andsaying stupid things and being
tired and getting sick andtripping and falling and like
all the things that are justpart of human, with also saying
to yourself like I'm living inthe spirit of this?

Stephanie Finoit (36:19):
Okay, I love that.
I love that so much.
One of my very firstappearances as Miss Ohio, right
off the bat, one of like maybethe third appearance that I ever
did, I met a woman and we weretalking about perfectionism.
She is a business owner, so shehas her own business.
She creates art, and when youcreate art, you put so much into

(36:42):
something and sometimes itdoesn't turn out the way that
you want it to.
So we were kind of talking backand forth about that, how she
handles that, and she told mesomething that this quote, this
piece of advice that I like togive to everybody, and it's do
not strive for perfection,because you will never reach it.
Instead, strive for excellence,because in excellence there is

(37:05):
always room for growth.
And I needed to hear that in thebeginning of my year, and that
is something that I keptreplaying and replaying in my
mind every time that I felt likeI didn't do my best.
I felt like I could have saidsomething better, I could have
worn a different outfit, I couldhave looked better.
All these things, all thesemistakes that I made during my
year, thinking about what woulda Miss Ohio do, what would a

(37:29):
Miss fit?
I could have looked better.
All these things, all thesemistakes that I made during my
year Thinking about what would aMiss Ohio do, what would a Miss
America do?
Miss America isn't perfect,miss America has never been
perfect, miss Ohio has neverbeen perfect.
And in those moments where youdo make mistakes because
everybody makes them what thosepeople would do is to get back
up, own their mistakes and learnfrom them.

(37:49):
You are never expected to beperfect, and that's something I
really had to learn was I'mgiving all these speeches.
Sometimes you stumble over yourwords, sometimes you something
comes out and it doesn't comeout the way that you expected it
to.
You know, you trip on stage,you have a wardrobe malfunction,
all these things, but yourmistakes do not define you.

(38:12):
What defines you is how yourise after the fall.
That is what is important.
In a local title holder, statetitle holder, national title
holder, whatever it may be, youcan never expect yourself to be
perfect and nobody else expectsyou to be perfect.
And what expect yourself to beperfect?
And nobody else expects you tobe perfect.
And what is even moreinspirational and I'll tell you
something that changed mymindset, because for me, it was
really hard for me toacknowledge that I had to take

(38:34):
rest days.
It was really hard for me tosay you know, I'm sick and I
really should just take a daytoday to just focus on myself
and to recover so that I cangive next week or tomorrow or
whatever it may be.
You know, I can't be out thereservicing my community if I'm
not servicing myself first.
And something that I heard wasan interview with Simone Biles,

(38:58):
olympic gold medalist, and theyasked her Simone, what do you do
on your days off?
What do you like to do?
What's your favorite activity?
What's your favorite hobby?
She's like guys, I'm an Olympicgold medalist.
I spend most of my time in thegym preparing to be an Olympic

(39:18):
gold medalist.
So on my days off, I bed rot, Isit in my bed, I eat my
favorite snacks and I watch TV.
Because that's completely okay.
And I needed to hear that.
I needed to hear that fromsomebody who has achieved such
greatness, such success,somebody who is very clearly a

(39:39):
hard worker you can tell by herphysique, by her results and in
all of her successes and evenshe takes rest days.
Even she rots in bed, sits inbed all day, sometimes eating
her favorite snacks, eating herfavorite junk food, watching her
favorite TV shows, because it'sall about balance.
And if you're not able to,what's that movie?

(40:01):
Respect the Balance, thesubstance.
If you're not able to respectthe balance and acknowledge that
, if you're going to have thesedays where you're putting
yourself out there, you'regiving 110% to others, to your
work, to everything, you have tohave those days where you're
giving 1% or 0% and those areyour days where you're filling

(40:24):
your own cup so that you canpour it out for others and let's
dive into a little bit, talkingjust about, like, the business
side of the crown, because youhad said that you made a
decision to make this yourfull-time job.

Raeanna Johnson (40:37):
So what, what is the business side of it look
like for you?
How involved were you in likethe professional aspects of your
role the booking, the, theseeking appearance opportunities
, things like that?

Stephanie Finoit (40:50):
Yeah.
So going in, I expected to bekind of the face of the
organization, to be the personthat's at the appearances, but I
didn't really understand whathappened behind the scenes and
it's different in every state,but specifically in Ohio, we
don't have a booking manager.

(41:11):
We don't have our bookings, Iguess, like pre-scheduled for us
or anything.
It's all about the girl that isthe state title holder.
She defines her entire year,she outreaches for bookings, she
makes those connections, shefinds her own sponsors and I
wasn't aware of all of that.
And so going in, that wassomething that was really hard

(41:34):
for me.
That I had to learn was one howto find sponsors.
That's something that I hadnever done and really, like you
know, going online, figuring outhow to make a sponsorship sheet
, how to outreach cold calls,sometimes getting ready, putting
an outfit on, doing a full faceof hair and makeup and going

(41:55):
door to door to differentbusinesses trying to outreach
for sponsorships For my bookings.
I will say in the beginning itwas a little bit slow because I
didn't have those connectionsmade yet and I was also
finishing up an internship.
So the first, like two months,it was just sending out all
these emails, going online,looking up events near me in

(42:17):
Cincinnati, events in Columbus,events in all these different
cities, things that I couldreach out to try to be a part of
.
And one thing that happened wasI connected with the American
Heart Association early on to bepart of one of their heart
walks and after that event theyliked me so much they gave my
contact to every team of theAmerican Heart Association in

(42:38):
Ohio and it was kind of like aripple effect.
So I went to an appearance.
It was really great.
I got to know everybody, got tokind of you know network, give
them all my business cards, andfrom there I got called, invited
to different appearances.
So it's kind of like in thebeginning it was really slow.
I had to outreach, I had tobook myself, I had to find all

(43:00):
these things.
But once I started getting outthere, putting my name out there
, being on the news, kind ofmaking my impact, I started.
Everything was kind of a rippleeffect and it started kind of
coming into place and then I wasgetting all these booking
requests and then everythingkind of started happening.
So that's something that youknow.
It was kind of like a bridge.
I had to get over somethingthat I didn't really know how to

(43:22):
navigate and I had to figure itout for myself.
But it ended up working outreally well and I'm very pleased
I've had so many bookings.
I'm pretty sure I've set maybelike a record or something for
how many bookings I've had thisyear.
But you know, I have to say Iwas really grateful that I had
money saved up enough that Icould have quit my job, and I

(43:44):
had enough saved up and I hadenough support for my family and
my community had this enormousfundraiser for me to help me
afford, you know, my MissAmerica wardrobe and trip
expenses and all that stuff.
So I had so much support from myvillage, from my people, that I
knew that it was okay that if Iquit my job and really focused

(44:05):
on being a Miss Ohio full-timeso I could have all those
bookings and appearances, that Iwould still be taken care of.
And I know not everyone hasthat luxury, so it's different
for everybody, but for me thatwas something that I had to
learn.
I had to kind of learn how tobe a businesswoman.
I had to learn how to negotiatefor sponsorships, how to, you
know, send out emails, how toleave voicemails with, you know

(44:29):
bookings and requests and allthe things, so behind the scenes
work was definitely very hardfor me, something that I had to
learn how to do over time.

Raeanna Johnson (44:39):
I don't know about other States, but in
Wisconsin, and it sounds likesimilar to for you too, there's
no on the job training for a newtitle holder.
They just like throw you to thewolves and like figure it out
Good luck, bye.
Like at least for some States.
I mean I think you know thereare.
There are other States thathave a lot more like already
established.
Did you, did you chargeappearance fees for some of your

(45:01):
appearances?
This is a big question.

Stephanie Finoit (45:04):
It was in the beginning of my year.
I felt like I really wanted toget more adjusted to the role.
I wanted to get as manyappearances as possible so I
could get the practice in withall my keynote speeches, really
just do the work at first.
So I did not initially chargefor appearances.

(45:25):
Granted, some people thatinvited me to appearances paid
me.
I did not charge them but theydid pay me for some of those
appearances, especially if theywere dance performances.
They felt like they wanted topay for the entertainment.
So I really did appreciate that.
But it wasn't really until nowhonestly until coming back from

(45:47):
Miss America that I'm startingto kind of more charge for
certain appearances.
For, you know, some likecoaching calls, if I'm ever put
on a panel or anything like that.
And throughout my year in thebeginning it was a lot of
smaller appearances, schoolappearances, but for those big
keynote speeches I had anappearance where I had 13,000

(46:09):
kids at it once and so likethose kind of appearances and
kids at it once and so, likethose kinds of appearances like
500 kids, you know me giving akeynote speech that's an hour
long.
Those appearances I, you know,tend to charge more for.
But I really am here to be acommunity servant so I knew
going in that I didn't expect toprofit from this year.

(46:31):
You know it was really allabout getting out there doing
the work, leaving my impact.
So I am grateful for everydollar that you know anyone has
ever contributed to any of myappearances, whether it was
paying a booking fee, helpingcover gas or travel.
That was more of what I askedfor in the beginning of my year
was are you willing to cover gasand or mileage?

(46:54):
You know travel costs but notreally trying to profit from it
as much, and I know it's sodifferent for every organization
.
Some organizations have itestablished where it's a
specific fee for everyappearance, no matter what.
Some people charge for certainappearances and others don't.
So I think for me it was moreof you know, feeling it out and

(47:14):
recognizing when it was anappropriate time to charge and
when it was just me going outthere and leaving my impact on
my community.

Raeanna Johnson (47:21):
Yeah, absolutely.
I had asked Rachel, ms Nebraska, last week like what her money
mindset was like.
If she struggles with moneymindset, is that something that
you feel you've really had towork through this year as well?

Stephanie Finoit (47:35):
Yeah, I will say.
You know, I've been workingsince I was 16 years old, so
I've always had that source ofincome.
I've always been able to takecare of myself, have been very
independent in that sense.
And this year, while I'm sograteful I had so many people
supporting me and having my back, I had to ask for help a lot

(47:56):
more often and a lot of whatthat looked like was my
financial situation and you know, having, you know, my parents
assist me with maybe covering myrent for the month or you know
all that stuff.
Just because we had thatconversation beforehand of I
only get this chance once in alifetime.
You know I only get one year tobe Miss Ohio.

(48:17):
I want to give it my all.
Looking around at all mysupporters and all my you know,
my village, am I going to beable to not only support myself
but get the support that I needthroughout this year?
A lot of what that looked likewas when I reached preparing for
Miss America.
I knew that one.
I wasn't working my full-timejob anymore, so I didn't have
that source of income and what Ihad saved up was just strictly

(48:41):
for paying my bills.
So I talked to my community andmy high school's alumni
association held a very, verylarge fundraiser over $15,000 to
help my family is very poor.
So they helped my family covertheir expenses to Miss America,
helped me cover my wardrobeexpenses and even helped me

(49:02):
cover those expenses of justdaily living.
So all of that.
You know, I really could nothave done it without all the
people that helped me along theway.
But for me it was really hardasking for help in the beginning
because I've always been soindependent, always taking care
of myself, especiallyfinancially.

Raeanna Johnson (49:21):
Yeah, the struggle that I had with asking
for help was that I thought itwould look weak, thought it
would look like I wasn'tprepared or good at my job as
Miss Wisconsin.
That was definitely an internalstruggle for me too, and I
you've like recorded all ofthese answered prayers right,
like the, the prayer that I'mgoing back to this again,

(49:42):
because that powerful prayer ofI personally, as a human being,
do not feel prepared, but thishigher power you're going to
pour into me and you're going togive me opportunities and
resources.
Like, have you recorded andmade note of all of these
answered prayers that you've hadthroughout your year?

Stephanie Finoit (49:57):
Yeah, definitely.
Now, looking back, it answeredso many prayers that I don't
even remember praying forSomething that I consciously
wanted and hoped happened thisyear, and a lot of that was
because I'm hyper-independent,because I'm afraid to ask for
help.
I sometimes lose a little bitof my sense of community,

(50:20):
especially.
I grew up in Columbus in a verysmall town, whitehall, but I
moved to Cincinnati for collegeso I kind of became a little bit
estranged from my communitymembers.
That I was so close with beingMiss Ohio brought me all of that
back and it was reallybeautiful.
My first year that I was soclose with being Miss Ohio
brought me all of that back andit was really beautiful.
My first year that I competed Ididn't even tell anyone that I
was competing from my hometown,so they had no clue.

(50:42):
They found out that I won MissOhio because I was in the news
and they were like we know her.
So it brought me back mycommunity of all the people that
uplifted me ever since I was alittle girl.
My parents, like I said before,they're immigrants, but I just
want to make it very clear thatall my family lives in Brazil.

(51:03):
Not only are my parentsimmigrants, but they are the
only family that I have here.
It's my mom, my dad and mylittle brother.
That's it.
It was really really hard forme.
You know asking for help,because it's one thing asking a
family member for help but it'sanother asking complete
strangers that become yourfamily over time for help.
But growing up I've had so manypeople, so many members in my

(51:27):
community that have uplifted mein so many different things, and
being Miss Ohio brought all ofthat together.
And seeing that community cometogether to support one
individual, one individual torepresent their city, represent
their state, it was just sobeautiful and I don't know.
I can't say in words howgrateful I am for that

(51:50):
experience, but it definitely isan answered prayer.
It's something that I didn'tknow that I needed, but now that
I've had it, I don't take anyof it for granted anymore.

Raeanna Johnson (52:00):
There is absolutely something to be said
for, like when you have toassess a situation or a
circumstance that you're in andanalyze what control do I have
here?
How can, how can I do somethingabout this?
What solution can I work onhere?
And then also recognizingthere's so much outside of your
control and that level of faiththat you need to have that

(52:23):
somehow, some way, everything isjust going to work out and it's
going to be okay.
Otherwise, I think there wouldbe a lot more falling apart and
hiding under the covers and notgetting out of bed.
You have to have that faiththroughout your year.

Stephanie Finoit (52:39):
Yeah, and now that you say that I want to be
completely transparent, this wasmy goal coming on this podcast
was I'm nearing the end of myyear and it's not about proving
myself anymore.
It's not about talking aboutyou know what I have, that it
takes to be the title holder,all this stuff.
It's about being vulnerable.
It's about showing the realityof being a title holder and for

(53:02):
me, the most important thing isto be vulnerable and share that.
It's been hard.
One of the hardest things in myyear that happened was um, I've
always had so.
I was in a couple of caraccidents before Miss Ohio, just
not me driving, but with others.
That gave me a trauma ofdriving, so I hadn't gotten my

(53:23):
driver's license.
I'm 22 years old and I got mydriver's license the week that I
won Miss Ohio.
I made a decision.
I knew how to drive.
I just had never gotten mylicense because I had a fear and
I recognized this fear isholding me back from all of the
work that I could be doing asMiss Ohio.
I'm getting my driver's licensethe week of, so I was a very

(53:45):
new driver this year and I havedriven over 30,000 miles.

Raeanna Johnson (53:50):
Well, you certainly made up for the years
lost of not having your license.

Stephanie Finoit (53:57):
Right before Miss America, a month before it
was in November, I was in a badcar accident.
I was rear-ended by a truck onthe highway and it was
terrifying.
It was such a terrifyingexperience was terrifying.

(54:19):
It was such a terrifyingexperience One I felt
embarrassed because I was a newdriver and I didn't want to.
I didn't want anyone else toworry about anything during my
year and in this moment I had toreach out to so many people to
help support me but also thetrauma that I got from that
experience.
I had to cancel all of mybookings for a week and just
take care of myself and mymindset because I felt like I

(54:41):
was falling apart, to almost thepoint where I told my director
I don't think I can go to MissAmerica and he said we've worked
too hard, you have worked toohard, we need it, we can do this
hard, we need it, we can dothis.
And so really reaching out tomy supporters, my family, my
friends, my board, everyone tocome together and help me get
through that really hard momentright before one of the best

(55:05):
weeks of my life.
You know, getting over that wasvery, very, very difficult for
me trying to get over the trauma.
And even you know, before MissAmerica, after that happened, I
was like I am not going to driveand from that, from that
accident on, I had people,chaperones that drove me to
appearances and all that stuff.
And then, after Miss America,because I was so busy, so caught

(55:29):
up with prepping and all thisstuff, I had to sit back and
really analyze did I actuallyheal from this trauma?
Am I okay?
And so it took, you know, thecouple months after that for me
to heal from that, to take careof myself, to get back to
driving again, feel comfortabledoing that without being afraid
every single time that I got inthe driver's seat of a car.

(55:50):
So that's the kind of thingthat I could have never planned
for during my year, I could havenever predicted, and it's
something that could have gottenin the way of me prepping for
Miss America, gotten in the wayof my mindset or even caused me
to not compete at Miss Americabecause it was that bad.
But that was a really largebarrier where I had so many

(56:12):
people pray for me in thatmoment and they told me you know
, like you said, not everythinghappens for a reason, but you
can find strength in thosethings that happen.
And in that moment I was likethis I'm going to choose to
believe that this is happeningbecause it's going to show me,
one, how much I need my village,how much I need my people

(56:33):
around me to support me.
One, how much I need my village, how much I need my people
around me to support me goinginto Miss America.
But two, it's going to show mehow much strength I truly have
within me that if I can overcomethis, I can do anything.
If I can overcome this, I amready to be Miss America.
Right, like kind of feeding thatinto how can this prep me for
Miss America?
If I can overcome this bigobstacle in my year in my life

(56:55):
and still keep going, still keepdoing the job of Miss Ohio,
still keep prepping, that'sgoing to show me how much grit I
have and that's a truetestament to my character.
So I'll say you know, that's aflaw of mine, that's a mistake
that I guess I made right.
Getting into a car accident andhaving all these things that
could have made me seem weak.

(57:16):
In the moment I felt weak, Ifelt like a failure, but now,
looking back, I can recognizethat it actually made me so
strong.
And getting through that andstill going to Miss America,
still keeping my head held uphigh, still keeping a smile on
my face after all of that reallydid show me how much I've grown
throughout my years there is anunspoken at least not spoken

(57:42):
often enough strength inrecognizing when you cannot do
it by yourself, yes, when youneed other people to help you
through it.

Raeanna Johnson (57:53):
And I'm so glad that I didn't reschedule this
call with you because I neededthis conversation.
I needed the validation fromyou, even in just that story,
that how I'm choosing to handlethe circumstance that I'm in
right now is appropriate for meright now.
I told my mom this morning thatI have actively decided I

(58:18):
cannot show up as this reallystrong woman that has it all
together.
I have to let people know thatI'm struggling when I'm
struggling, and let people helpme, because otherwise I will
just, from the outside, lookingin, it'll look like Rihanna's
got it, she's good, she's goingto keep us updated.
All these things.

(58:39):
No, I need to be reaching outto my family members and saying
who's visiting today, because Ineed to run to the store, do
whatever.
It's not that I don't want tobe with my dad all the time, but
I need to make sure that I'mholding myself accountable.
No-transcript.

Stephanie Finoit (59:03):
That is exactly true, and those are the
things that you need to hearfrom your role models, from the
people you look up to.
I needed to hear that.
You know, like I said, watchingthe interview with Simone Biles
, realizing that she's comingout here, she's being vulnerable
, she's being transparent, thatshe needs days off and like 100%
off, what makes me feel that Idon't deserve that as well, what
makes me feel that I don'tdeserve that as well.

(59:25):
And so, coming on here today,it was my mission.
You know that I wanted to sendthe message of you are not
expected to be perfect.
There are so many things thatare going to happen, whether
you're preparing to compete foryour state title, after you win
your state title, preparing togo to Miss America or even just
life.
And there are moments that togo to Miss America or even just

(59:48):
life, and there are moments thatare going to humble you, that
are going to teach you thatsometimes your strength is
relying on the people around you.
Strength doesn't always comefrom within.
Sometimes it comes from theoutside, and that does not make
you weak.
It doesn't make you weakrecognizing that you need help.
It makes you strong,recognizing that you are able to

(01:00:11):
ask for help, because you havepeople around you that want to
help you, that are there for you, and allowing them to come into
your life to be a part of yourjourney, to be a part of
overcoming that barrier, is astrength in itself.

Raeanna Johnson (01:00:26):
I wanna round this out.
I do not want to end thisconversation I don't but I know
I want to be respectful of yourtime and I'll have to have you
back, because we have not eventalked about your experience at
Miss America and all of thosethings, and I know there's so
much value that you can pourinto, like your preparation and
mindset going into Miss America.
I know that.
But something that you've saidis that you poured everything

(01:00:50):
into this year and you're sohappy with everything that you
accomplished.
And yet you came back from MissAmerica and had a couple of
months there of it sounds likeself-care and some downtime.
And I'm wondering during thattime, did you struggle with any
kind of guilt or frustration,that internal struggle of I'm

(01:01:11):
not doing enough?

Stephanie Finoit (01:01:13):
Yes.
So, coming back from MissAmerica, the same month in
January actually two days afterMiss America finals I had to
start preparing for anotherreally big accomplishment in my
life, something that I've beenworking for for the past five
years, which was presenting myresearch, an oral presentation,

(01:01:34):
at a national science conference, and that was at the end of
January, so two days after MissAmerica.
My entire presentation was due,I had to submit it and I had to
start working with the doctorthat I work under to prepare for
my oral presentation.
So right after Miss America itwas still go, go, go, go, go,

(01:01:55):
but in a completely differentway.
After, that is when I was like,okay, I've done a lot of big
things in just this past month,but you know, I've worked really
hard for the past couple monthsfor these two big moments in my
life.
I'm allowed to give myselfgrace.

(01:02:17):
I'm allowed to take a period ofrest, relaxation, so that I can
get back up on my feet andfinish the rest of my year out
strong, up on my feet and finishthe rest of my year out strong.
And it was really difficultbecause for the first time I
faced burnout, truly trueburnout, and I thought that I
was burnout sometimes in college.
Just things got a little hard.
It was harder to study somedays than others, but I never

(01:02:40):
knew what true burnout felt, andit was.
It looked like me getting sickevery week.
Every other week I was sicklike very, very sick, can't get
out of bed, sick.
My immune system was justfailing because I was so
exhausted.
I was mentally exhausted,physically exhausted.

(01:03:00):
I wasn't eating enough to takecare of myself because I was
trying to always be go, go, goand it was just a lot and I felt
like I was crashing.
I felt guilty for taking thatmoment to myself.
But reaching out to my boardand having a very honest
conversation with I want to endmy year out strong.

(01:03:22):
I want to be strong for myclass that's going to go and
compete for the title Miss Ohio.
I want to be there for them.
I want to be strong for myclass that's going to go and
compete for the title Miss Ohio.
I want to be there for them.
I want to be that strong MissOhio that can give those
speeches, give that motivationfor them.
I don't want to be burnt out atthe end of my year.
So I need this month, and thatwas the month of February.
I need this month to just takesome time to myself.

(01:03:46):
Before Miss America, I was doingan average of eight appearances
a week.
The month of February.
I did probably threeappearances in that entire month
and it was really hard.
It was really hard for me torecognize that I needed time,
that I needed a break.
I needed a time to just takecare of myself so that I could
be there for others at the endof my year.
But now I'm really gratefulthat I took that time because I

(01:04:09):
feel like I have beenrejuvenated.
I feel like I'm ready to end myyear out strong.
I'm back to my appearanceschedule, I'm doing all these
bookings, I'm ending my yearwith a bang and I'm so grateful
that I was able to kind of takemy pride away for a moment and
recognize that if I'm going tobe there for others, if I'm

(01:04:31):
going to show up as the MissOhio that others want me to be,
that others expect me to be,that they, you know, look up to,
I need to do that for myself.
I need to put the work intomyself.
I need to take care of myselfso that I can be that person and
that's being a.
That's the life of being atitle holder.
Honestly, you need to takethose days for yourself so that

(01:04:52):
you could show up for others.
But even in your situation, youknow to show up for your dad.
You need to take those days foryourself and you might feel
guilty, but give yourself grace.
We all deserve it.
You, you would give that adviceto somebody else.
If somebody else was taking aday off, you would tell them
that they deserve that, thatthey shouldn't feel bad for it,

(01:05:15):
that they should take as muchtime needed.
Like I told you today, if youneed time, take it.
But when we give advice toourselves or when we're looking
on ourselves, we don't giveourselves as much grace as we
give others.
We say, oh, if others take abreak, that's fine, but me, no,
I can't take a break becausethat's lazy and it really came

(01:05:35):
to.
You know it's treat others theway that you'd want to be
treated, but kind of theopposite.
Treat yourself the way youwould treat others.
And as a title holder, you'resuch a community servant.
Your year is all about givingand giving and giving.
But I will pour out my cupuntil it's empty and there's
nothing left.
And when there's nothing left,I have nothing left to give to

(01:05:57):
others.
So if I don't fill that cup upfor myself, I have nothing left
to give, and it's equally asimportant.
The balance is so important.

Raeanna Johnson (01:06:07):
Oh, my goodness , like I said, I think you and I
could sit and talk for hours,days, and I absolutely want to
have you back on Sash and Soulso we can dive in even more into
some of these key themes thathave come up throughout our
conversation.
But as we're coming to a closetoday, I want to give you the
mic to speak directly to ourlisteners, to this beautiful

(01:06:31):
Sash and Soul community, thisfamily, these women from across
the country, around the world,that may be going through a
difficult time right now, thatmay be preparing for a
competition, that have thisdream in front of them, that
maybe it's their lastopportunity to achieve it, and I

(01:06:51):
want you to speak directly tothem from your heart and what
your message is for them.

Stephanie Finoit (01:06:55):
From now until the time where you are
competing, where you are on thestage, or for any goal that you
are trying to achieve.
Starting from the moment thatyou listen to this, I want you
to recognize that, first off,what will happen is already
written.
What will be will be.

(01:07:15):
There is nothing that you cando to change an outcome that is
already written.
And in saying that you areenough, something I had to learn
was that there was nothing thatI could do to be more than who.
I was right.
But really, hearing that andrecognizing that you are enough

(01:07:39):
just the way you are in thismoment, you are enough to hold a
state title.
You are enough to achievewhatever goal you are trying to
achieve and in that, whateverfear that you have that is
holding you back, know that yourdream is bigger than all those
fears, bigger than all thosebarriers in your path.

(01:07:59):
You have exactly what it takesto achieve that goal, to achieve
that dream.
So, by overcoming those fears,by overcoming that self doubt,
that imposter syndrome,recognize that you are enough
and you are ready and releaseyourself from any outcome that
you are tied to and know thatthere are so many other things

(01:08:22):
that you can gain from thisjourney, and the biggest thing
is knowing that you have what ittakes.
You are strong enough toovercome those barriers and, no
matter what happens, at the endof the day you are enough.

Raeanna Johnson (01:08:35):
There's nothing else to say for today except
for thank you.
Thank you so much, stephanie,for being here, for truly
pouring your heart into thisconversation.
If no one else found value fromit, I did, and I certainly
needed to hear a lot of yourmessaging and, just like the
inspiration that I feel from youand knowing like man, you have

(01:08:58):
spent a year pouring that samelevel of love and heart into
every single person that youhave met along the way, like
there is a trail behind you thatis just covered in light and
love and there is wide openspaces in front of you to
continue doing the same thing,and I'm so excited for the next

(01:09:19):
chapter for you and can't waitto see what you accomplish and
to have you back on the show toshare more of your vulnerability
and insight, becausevulnerability begets
vulnerability.
Vulnerability was the theme ofmy year as Miss Wisconsin
because I knew that it opened upwindows of opportunity for
others to share their hearts andfeel connected, and that's
exactly what you do and what youdid today, and it's a gift.

(01:09:40):
So thank you.

Stephanie Finoit (01:09:42):
Thank you so much, and I just want to thank
you, of course.
Starting off the conversationstrong and vulnerable and honest
really helped open the door forme to be vulnerable and honest
as well.
So thank you so much for doingthat did.

(01:10:06):
Coming to the end of my year,these are all the things that
I've been holding back, thatI've been too afraid to say
because I didn't want to be seenas weak or that I wasn't
prepared enough, like we saidover and over again.
But now, at the end of my year,looking back, I know that if
there's one thing that I wantedto hear, it was that you don't
have to be perfect, and itreally is how you respond to
situations, how you respond toall the things that happen, that

(01:10:29):
make you strong, that defineyour character.
So this conversation healed me.
I'm so glad that we got to havethis conversation.
I am looking forward to ournext call, our next conversation
that we have, and, of course,I'm sending you my best wishes,
my prayers, my good vibes, allthat you need to help you get
through this time in your lifeas well.

Raeanna Johnson (01:10:49):
Thank you.
Oh I appreciate that and Iappreciate all of you in the
Sash and Soul community and thisbeautiful family.
Thank you for tuning in, forlistening to, following along,
reach out on social media, reachout on Instagram.
I want to hear, like, if you'regoing through something and
what's helping you get throughit and what, what are your

(01:11:09):
little wins?
We have to celebrate the littlewins, even in those times of
darkness and in struggle.
So please tag Sash and Soul,hashtag Sash and Soul, dm me.
I want to hear from you.
This is a community and it isfull of love and support, no
matter where you're at on yourjourney and what your goals are.
So thank you for tuning in.
We'll be back again soon withanother episode from our crowned

(01:11:32):
and candid series and we'lltalk with you then.
Until then, be well, take careof yourself, find that balance,
practice that self-care.
We'll talk to you soon.
Bye.