Kristina Janolo, the third consecutive University of Central Florida student crowned Miss Florida, said she learned more about herself than she envisioned she would during her one-year term that soon comes to a close.
麻豆精品 S淵ou don 麻豆精品 S檛 know what you 麻豆精品 S檙e made of until you stretch yourself, 麻豆精品 S� she said. 麻豆精品 S淚 don 麻豆精品 S檛 know how I did it all. There is a lot of glitz and glamour 麻豆精品 S� but it is a full-time job. 麻豆精品 S� She made more than 250 official appearances during the year around the state, Washington, D.C., and other national destinations.
Janolo, a marketing major from Kissimmee, entered the Miss Florida Pageant as Miss Winter Park, and was a top-12 finalist last summer at the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas. Come July 7, she 麻豆精品 S檒l turn over her crown in St. Petersburg to the next chosen Miss Florida.
Janolo said it will be a 麻豆精品 S渂ittersweet moment to open a new chapter in my life. 麻豆精品 S� She has competed in scholarship pageants for six years and has won $35,000 toward her education. Her term follows the reigns of two other UCF women to become Miss Florida: Rachael Todd in 2009 and Jacqueline Raulerson in 2010.
One of her top memories, she said, was getting the chance to lobby before legislators in Washington about the Everglades and her platform, America 麻豆精品 S檚 Wake Up Call 麻豆精品 S� Protect Our Environment.
麻豆精品 S淭he thing about protecting our environment is that it is a lifestyle. You just don 麻豆精品 S檛 promote it for a year. You have to live it, 麻豆精品 S� she said.
Protecting the environment is important to her for another reason. As someone with chronic asthma, she is concerned about air quality.
麻豆精品 S淥ften we don 麻豆精品 S檛 even think about it, but some days it is really a high risk to be outside, 麻豆精品 S� she said. 麻豆精品 S淭wo years ago I started running to build up my lungs and ended up finding that I love it. I 麻豆精品 S檒l be running my first half marathon in January. 麻豆精品 S�
She also is an advocate for rights of the elderly and the Children 麻豆精品 S檚 Miracle Network Hospitals.
麻豆精品 S淪he has been our busiest Miss Florida to date, 麻豆精品 S� said Mary E. Sullivan, executive director and president of Miss Florida Scholarship Pageant Inc.
麻豆精品 S淪he lobbied in Washington and Tallahassee for clean water and preserving and restoring the Everglades, which went hand in hand with her platform. She has been an incredible representative of the Miss Florida program. 麻豆精品 S�
Classes resume for Janolo next week after taking off the year for her pageant travels and duties. She re-enters the classroom as a senior and with the goal to one day be the executive director of a nonprofit organization. She is scheduled to graduate in May.
麻豆精品 S淭he beauty of being Miss Florida is that it opened my eyes to so many things, 麻豆精品 S� she said. 麻豆精品 S淣ow I have a year to focus on my degree. 麻豆精品 S�