Some students in the School of Public Health hope to one day wear the scrubs of a physician. Others hope to don the white coat of a laboratory scientist. Kristena Wright hopes to wear a crown and sash soon.
Wright, a senior student in the SPH’s Department of Family Science, competes regularly in the world of pageants, and currently holds the title of Miss Hampton Roads, a regional crown in southeastern Virginia.In June, Wright will compete for the title of Miss Virginia. If she wins, she will draw one step closer to entering the rarified air, experiencing the moment dreamed of by little girls everywhere--winning the title of Miss America.
Growing up in the Tidewater region of Virginia, Wright won her first pageant in 2004-- Hal Jackson's Talented Teen Virginia, and soon moved up to the larger pageants that feed into Miss America. She won Miss Southern Maryland in 2007 and Miss Fairfax in 2008, but after falling short of becoming a finalist at the state level both times, she hopes to go further this year.
“I’ve very excited to compete again this year,” Wright said in a recent email. “I hope I can take all that I’ve learned and really wow the judges, as well as make my family, friends, and pageant team really proud.”
But it’s not all about pageants and crowns for Wright, who has recently founded a non-profit organization—the Wright to Dream Foundation—which promotes the arts and offers scholarships to high school students.
“I remember how hard it was to find scholarships that didn’t focus on lengthy essays or that I felt didn’t really get to know me,” Wright said. “With my scholarship, the students get to showcase the art form that is dear to them as a means of acquiring money for college.”
Her foundation work, she says, and has been informed by her coursework. She calls Children and Families one of her favorite course during her four years in school.
“Not only did this class prepare me for motherhood one day, but it really went in depth with the issues that children face as they group up,” Wright said. “With my foundations focus on high school seniors, it helped me to tie in how I approach this demographic based on the knowledge of the concerns they share during this period of their lives.”
This dedication to others and eagerness to grow and learn has made an impact on many people, including Ashley Downing, the undergraduate adviser in the Family Science department.
"Kristena is a very caring and sensitive student, and is warm and kind to all those she comes in contact with," Downing said. "It's quite obvious that she is deeply committed to her field of Family Science, and that she wants to help others in a big way."
When asked about misconceptions that people have about what she does, Wright seeks to disprove the notion that pageants are simply beauty contests, saying “The young women involved in the Miss America organization are some of the most well-rounded, poised, dedicated, and fun-loving women you could meet.”
Beyond her foundation and coursework, though, lies a circled day on the calendar--June 21. That’s when she will arrive in Roanoke, Va. for the Miss Virginia pageant and spend a week immersed in rehearsals, public appearances and preliminary rounds before the big event.
Friday night, the lights go up on the live televised finals for the pageant. To use her words, if she can “wow the judges,” maybe she’ll be taking another step toward her big goal.
Maybe, just maybe, she’ll soon be wearing the crown of Miss America.
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