Hannah Jo Weisberg, a senior Musical Theatre major with a minor in Theatre, is the pageant queen on the Baldwin Wallace University campus.
She has won two out of three pageants, and will be competing for Miss Ohio this coming June 2015.
Weisberg began her pageant days in February of last year. She was with some fellow musical theatre majors when their director, Victoria Bussert, approached them telling them she wanted one of them to compete in the Miss Vacationland pageant.
“I live my life by that Eleanor Roosevelt quote that you need to do one thing every day that scares you, and I saw that flyer and I thought, ‘well that sounds terrifying, so I have to do it,’” Weisberg said.
The  Miss Vacationland pageant is composed of fourteen women competing for the title. The competition was the initial event that sparked Weisberg’s newfound love for pageants. Since then, she has participated in two more pageants, and is set to compete for her fourth in June.
Weisberg is set to compete in Miss Ohio for a second time June 2015. If she wins this title, she will go on to compete for Miss America.
In all pageants, there are five portions: swimsuit, evening gown, onstage question, talent  and a ten minute interview. The swimsuit, evening gown and onstage question portions make up the smallest portions of the scores.
The second highest score is the ten minute interview, conducted in front of seven judges. All questions must be answered, and the last thirty seconds are left for participants to explain why they should be the next Miss Ohio.
“One woman saw I was into Musical Theatre, so she came in with a list of four Hollywood directors and said ‘now tell me what they have in common,’ and at the time I had no idea,” Weisberg said. “I told her I don’t know, but I will look them up after and give you a bio on them later. It’s all about having an answer.”
Every pageant girl needs a personal platform, and Weisberg is no exception. She has been doing work for dating violence since 2009, which she took on as her platform statement.
Weisberg also mentioned that once she got a crown, she had to take on a second platform, which is the Children’s Miracle Network.
This means going to downtown Cleveland to do service work at the UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.
“That’s the whole point of the pageant system, the scholarship money and making a difference for these small children,” Weisberg said.
Weisberg mentions her major and pageants go hand in hand. The mock interviews she does for music theatre master class have helped her build confidence for her pagaent interviews, and she is able to practice her talents every day during class.
After almost two years of experience, Weisberg encourages everyone to sign up for a pageant.
“I want everyone to know they can just enter a pageant and win. I had no previous experience, didn’t spend anything on my wardrobe, and I won,” Weisberg said. “Anything is possible.”