The Miss Connecticut Scholarship Corporation goes way beyond beauty and scholarship. When you talk with people associated with the organization, they briefly mention monetary scholarship but then talk about the heart of the organization–service.

“My personal philosophy, which I know is shared with others, about the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Corporation, especially when asked about whether it’s a beauty pageant or a scholarship pageant, is that it is primarily a community service organization,” says Steve Smith, marketing director of the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Corporation.

Contestants are exposed to community service opportunities, such as Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, veterans’ organizations, schools, medical research and awareness organizations, and more. This enhances the service-mindedness of each contestant.

“[Miss Connecticut] has given me a voice and has allowed me to expand my platform to people and organizations that I wouldn’t otherwise have had a chance to interact with,” says Miss Connecticut 2011 Morgan Amarone.

In fact, Miss Connecticut offers many new experiences and chances to build skills. The young women involved have many opportunities to learn things like public speaking, performing in public, networking, working with others in a nonprofit capacity, and more.

“My involvement in the Miss Connecticut and Miss America system has provided me with valuable skills and greater confidence in myself and my abilities to be successful in life–personal, as well as career,” says Loraine Zdanowski, Miss Connecticut 2986. “It has been instrumental in my teaching career, as well as my new career as a professional development consultant with an online curriculum company.”

In spite of scholarships, pageants, and fun, Miss Connecticut always comes back around to service–at all levels. The volunteers are a group of diverse individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds and ways of doing things, but they all come together and make things work–with the mission of raising up young women in the state.

“Our goal is to continue to expand via our locals to make a program more visible and available to more young women across our state,” says Smith.

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Photo: Miss Connecticut Scholarship Corporation