When she was younger, Elana Chomiszak would watch the annual Miss America pageant on television. "You'll be there someday," her relatives would tell her.
That someday is here. Chomiszak is representing Rhode Island in the annual Miss America pageant, the finals of which will be televised Saturday, Sept. 14.
Chomiszak began competing in pageants at the age of 13, when she lived in New Jersey. "I've always been involved in dancing," she said over the phone during a break in rehearsal last week. "My dance instructor introduced the idea [of competing] and suggested I try the Miss Preteen New Jersey pageant because it incorporated talent."
She wound up winning, and since then has competed in three other pageants. She was named Miss Rhode Island April 21, after coming in third in last year's competition.
Scholarship money offered by the Miss America pageant is a definite attraction, Chomiszak said. As Miss Rhode Island, she won $5,500 in scholarship, which goes toward her bachelor of science degree in psychology.
If Chomiszak wins the Miss America title, she would take a year's leave from Brown, where she also is co-captain of the women's track and field team, to tour the nation to do interviews and speak about her platform - early childhood intervention for learning and behavior disabilities.
Even if she doesn't win the national title, Chomiszak will continue to work on behalf of her platform. She is a volunteer therapist at Bradley Hospital in East Providence, where she works closely with children who have such disabilities. She also is working on a pamphlet that would help first-time parents understand normal developmental milestones of their infants and would list resources for parents who have questions or concerns about their child's development. "Developmental problems are often compounded if left untreated too long," Chomiszak said, "and parents as well as children are stigmatized." Ideally, such a pamphlet would be distributed during childbirth-preparation classes, she said. -- Tracie Sweeney
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