Teen Beauty Queen Alexa Brunetti (Miss New Jersey Teen 2009)

In October 2008, Alexa Brunetti was crowned Miss New Jersey Teen 2009. It was a fairy tale ending—complete with a beautiful gown and a crown—for the shy teen that hoped she could.

Late last month, during the final days of her reign, she spoke with Homegirl magazine about her experiences.

Alexa, now 19, grew up on the island of Brigantine, New Jersey, located right next to Atlantic City. “It’s really homey, there are a lot of houses, not really much to do, but in the summer it’s gorgeous,” Alexa said. “We have beautiful beaches and I’m a surfer so I absolutely love it. It’s a great island,” she said. So how did this surfer start competing in beauty pageants? Well, it happened almost by accident.

Her First Pageant

When Alexa was four, she began taking jazz and tap dance classes. That year, her dance teacher told the class about a beauty pageant for girls their age. Alexa went home and begged her mother to let her enter. Her mother said no, worrying that the competition would be too much for her shy daughter, but Alexa was persistent. When her mother finally caved in, Alexa told her, “Mommy, I’m going to win.” And she did.

But the learning curve was steep.  Alexa wore a flower girl dress from a wedding, the other girls wore gowns; Alexa did have that much make-up on, the other girls did; Alexa wore her hair in loose curls, the other girls didn’t. “We didn’t know anything about pageants but we just went and winged it,” she said. “I happened to win.”

The Spotlight

Alexa also gained confidence on stage. “I was really really really shy as a little girl, like I wouldn’t even say my own name,” Alexa recalls. “But when I went on stage, I still remember, they actually couldn’t get me off stage,” she said. “It was funny.”

After her first beauty pageant, Alexa was hooked. “I just loved going on stage,” she said, “It’s like when I go onstage, a switch turns on.” And the shy girl, literally, lights up. So Alexa continued to compete and she continued to win. “I’ve competed in a ton of pageants ever since then and I’ve won every single one I’ve entered except for one,” she said.

Then, when she was eight years old, she stopped. “It got big into the fake teeth, the tan,” Alexa said. “It was just really craziness and the money was insane.”  Apparently it’s also really expensive to compete in pageants- the gowns, the make-up, and the hair.

Alexa began to explore other interests like cheerleading and sports. She wouldn’t compete again until she was 17.

Showstopper

When Alexa was in high school, she wanted to get into modeling, so she started to compete in pageants again. She entered a “practice pageant” and had fun, so she entered a few more. Then, there was the pageant that almost ended her career.

“I did the pageant my senior year. I had a bf at the time and I gained a lot of weight— for me,” she said. “The pageant was around April and we didn’t think anything of it.” That is, until she came in last place. Alexa was so embarrassed by the loss that when she got the letter about competing in Miss New Jersey Teen USA, she almost didn’t enter. “I was like, ‘No mom, I’m not in shape and it was really embarrassing that I came out on stage like that,” she recalls. “I want to retire, I don’t want to do this anymore.” Her mother convinced her that this would be great exposure and a good career move, so she reconsidered.

Miss New Jersey Teen 2009

Entering Miss New Jersey Teen would require a big commitment and Alexa’s mother reminded her of that. “She said, ‘Alexa, you have to really be serious if you want to win or want to do well.” That meant she had to lose the weight, spend less time going out with her friends and going out to eat, and spend more time studying questions and working on the pageant. She would have to sacrifice. “At first I was like, ‘yeah, yeah, yeah,’” Alexa said, “And then, I don’t know, I got this fire in my belly. I worked out everyday, I studied questions every single day and I was really focused on the pageant.” She lost the weight, dedicated the time and even got her friends to help quiz her on pageant questions. “It was a really big accomplishment,” she said. And it paid off; Alexa won.

“On my website there’s a clipping of when I got crowned,” Alexa said. “It’s so amazing.”

“When the MCs asked me, ‘how do you feel right now,’ I could not talk,” she said. “It felt like my brain fell out, but it was just incredible!”

“I never worked so hard for anything and it was just incredible. It was my first time, so if I was in the top 15, I would have been so thankful and grateful and proud of myself, but I actually came out winning,” she said, “It was such an amazing feeling.”

As Miss New Jersey Teen 2009, what did you win, besides the title and the crown?

You win $30,000 in cash and prizes. You do a year’s worth of reign, meaning you go to different places, you volunteer, you help, and you get to travel.

Do you pick your own community service projects or does the pageant choose them for you?

Well, it’s kind of half and half. They provide you two appearances every month and once you complete those two, you can reach out and do other things as well, if you want.

What was your first appearance?

I did the Snowflake Awards, in North Jersey, for underprivileged children. I got to help judge a tree-decorating contest, take pictures, and sign autographs for little kids.

Did you do any community service projects on your own?

I did a lot. I volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House and that was my choice. The Ronald McDonald House lets families of sick children stay there if a child is getting surgery, is very ill or has cancer. It’s a good price for them in difficult times. We go in and make them dinner or breakfast. The first time I went, I burned the eggs, it was very embarrassing, but thank God we had leftovers. But after that I definitely got better, ever since I was going there.

Miss Teen USA 2009

As the winner of Miss New Jersey Teen USA, Alexa automatically qualified to compete in the Miss Teen USA pageant, held in Las Vegas earlier this year. The Miss Teen USA pageant was a three-day competition where the winners of all the teen state pageants met and competed for the title of Miss Teen USA.

“The Miss USA organization is so much fun,” Alexa said. There is a dance on Saturday where all the girls get to mingle and they share rooms for the entire weekend. “That was actually my first time getting to room with another girl, like a stranger, because I didn’t go off to college,” Alexa said. “That was very interesting, she and I get along, and we still talk today. It’s just a great time.”

Competition

But the beauty pageant wasn’t all fun and games; after all, it was still a competition. So just how competitive did it get? Are some of the girls really as catty and vicious as they appear on some T.V. shows? “It tends to get very competitive,” Alexa said. “Of course I’ve run into that. But you just have to stay positive and stick with people who are positive.”

“I’ve never been like that because I want to be a good sport and play fair,” Alexa said. But the intense competition, at the national level, can bring out the worst in some people’s personalities. “You definitely see some of the girls, their true colors come out,” she said. “I’m not trying to talk down to any of the girls, they’re all wonderful, but you see how they are during pressure.”

Spoken like a true winner.

What attracts you to beauty pageants?

The opportunity. I love working with people, I love helping people and doing the charity work, but also I got to go to Vegas in April and if I hadn’t won, I would never probably have gone out there. I went to the Bahamas; it was my first time out of the country.

If you do get into a good pageant system, doors will open for you.

And what draws me in, definitely, is some of the girls, too; you know, meeting new people. I know a girl from every state! It’s so cool to say and I still keep in contact with some of the girlfriends from my state pageant. It’s so much fun, really it is, I love it!

What was your most memorable experience?

There are so many! I would definitely have to say two things, three things-

The Ronald McDonald House, going to Vegas for the first time with my mom and meeting all the girls for the first time, and Virginia. I’d never ridden a horse before or ride on a staple and do the lasso and.  I just did so much that I never ever would think I would ever do. I’ve been to places in New Jersey that I probably never ever would have been to. I didn’t know that North Jersey is mountainous. So when I went there about two weeks ago, I was like omg are we still in New Jersey? I was driving down a mountain and bear ran across my car. I was like, wow, we are not in South Jersey anymore, because South Jersey is very flat and farmland and North Jersey is mountainous, has hills and is definitely above sea level. It’s very interesting.

What was the most difficult part of being Miss New Jersey Teen 2009?

There really wasn’t a difficult part. It was a little challenging being in school at the same time. But since I was in community college, I got to communicate with my professors and get the work I was missing.  Dealing with some of the people was rough sometimes but, other than that, it’s been so positive and enjoyable.

When you aren’t modeling or competing in pageants, what do you do for fun?

I surf. I like to do mixed martial arts. I like to swim and I like to ice skate for fun. I’ve also write poetry although I haven’t done it since I got out of high school. I did happen to get one of my poems published. It was pretty cool, actually, to open a magazine and see my poem was in there, it was really, I would never think of that- that it would happen, but it did and it was really awesome to see that.

So, your reign ended on October 18^th of this year. What’s next for you?

Well, my last appearance of the year was participating in the Columbus Day Parade. It was a lot of emotion, but I didn’t want to get too upset because I had to grasp everything. I was very blessed to have this opportunity in my life, so I just got to take it all in and just be excited for the new 2010 Miss Jersey Teen USA.

I actually am planning on going to the New York Film Academy next year, if I get accepted. I definitely want to do sports announcing, broadcast journalism, or some type of producing.

Your favorite quote is “be the change you want to see in the world,” what does it mean to you?

When I think of that quote I think, if you want to see the world get better, be a better place, it starts from you—just to help out a little bit, just to chip in every once in a while. Some people are like, “I want to see change,” but it starts from you helping out.

Do the skills you’ve learned participating in beauty pageants apply elsewhere?

Yes, definitely. If you’re a pageant girl, you do an interview with the judges and it’s very tough and nerve wracking. I’ve been through a lot of interviews—you can definitely nail a job interview. I know a lot of people think, ‘oh beauty pageants are stupid, the girls are stupid,’ they have this stereotype of stuck up beauty pageant and beauty girls, but that’s not true. I studied and I learned things that I wouldn’t even think about; you read current events and help out with the community, too.

So why should a girl consider entering a beauty pageant?

I think she should do it definitely for the experience— win, lose or draw—the experience is so much fun. I would say if girls are interested, definitely go for it, it doesn’t hurt to try. And from my experience, I thought I was never going to win. I had a hope that I was, but it was my first time around with girls who had been competing for four to five years. I came in and did my best and I won. So you never know.

For more information on the Miss New Jersey Teen Pageant and to learn how you can compete next year, visit their website.

To learn more about Alexa, read her bio and  check out her online photo gallery.