Riverside, Calif., April, 2002 -- Mixed almost imperceptibly among college students, melding together jean and t-shirt clad as they rush to classes, is a "beauty queen." Wearing her sky-blue evening gown, Heather Woodland, senior education major at La Sierra University, normally as kick-back as any student on campus, is transformed onstage to that elusive mix of beauty and composure attributed to the women of beauty pageants such as Miss America.

To reach the Miss America level, the women must first compete and win regional pageants, the official preliminaries to the Miss California and Miss America pageants. Placing first in the state gives each winner an automatic spot to compete in the Miss America pageant and the chance to win scholarships, travel and fundraising opportunities, as well as becoming a role model to millions of girls across America.

That's the road Woodland is traveling in hopes of reaching the coveted Miss America crown. Earlier this spring she competed in the Miss West Riverside County, placing first runner-up.

Woodland commented on the pageant, "My advantage was that I had a lot of support from my school."

Members of La Sierra University's Admissions and Recruitment department sponsored her and she had plenty of encouragement on the pageant evening as friends, faculty, and residence hall deans attended.

Laughing, Woodland remembers, "I heard my friend Daniella and both Deans (Nancy and Henes) Guerpo yelling when I was in my gown and in the talent (competition)."

No stranger to pageants, Woodland competed in her first pageant, Miss Berrien Springs, at age 15 and won the "Miss Congeniality" award.

Oddly enough her decision to compete in pageants began from the inspiration of sports and her father. When she was in high school Woodland and her father planned their goal of biking across the US.

In the summer of 1994 they began. Starting the first trip in the breathtaking Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, they pedaled all the way to Jackson, Wyoming. The father-daughter team traveled legs of trips each summer, carrying sleeping bags, food, and everything they needed on their bikes.

Remembering her trips, Woodland reflects, “It’s very challenging and at the time I was hurting so bad but afterwards I was like, 'Wow! I just went over six mountain passes.' That’s what gave me the self-esteem to do a lot of things.”

Woodland explains, “I’ve been my height 5'8" since the seventh grade, so to an adolescent who doesn’t want to be different it was horrifying.” Her dad noticed her worries and encouraged her to see the bright side, her athletic advantage over the smaller "twiggy girls" could (and did) shape her way to higher self-esteem.

Now with 700 miles and the states from Ohio to New York remaining to finish biking across the US, this experience and the sense of self she learned from it are the base of Woodland's pageant platform. She's chosen to focus on women and girls in sports. As part of her efforts, Woodland volunteered at the YWCA and is an active member of the Women's Sports Foundation, which encourages girls' activity in sports in many ways, including the promotion of community sponsors for local events by starting CAP's (Community Action Programs).

Woodland hopes to see more girls everywhere participate in sports and get started at a young age, explaining, "If a girl doesn’t participate in sports by the age of 10 she will be doing less or no sports activities by the age of 25.”

After a stressful "Dead Week" before final exams this March, Woodland competed in her second pageant of the spring, the Miss Inland Empire, and ended up not placing. But she's not done yet.

Woodland remains a strong advocate of girl's and women's sports and plans to make her last attempt at regionals on April 14 at the Miss Orange County. Now age 23, this pageant is her last chance to win and move on to compete in Miss California before reaching the contest age limit of 24.

Good luck, Woodland!

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by Kandi White