Makayla Moody, Candidate, Miss Provo Competition

Makayla Moody

Interview with Makayla Moody, Candidate, Miss Provo Competition

Darrel Introduction: One of the highlights in the lives of young people is the competition in athletics, academics, drama, science fairs, and a host of other areas. One of the competitions coming up is the Miss Provo Competition, which is affiliated with the Miss America Organization.

I had the privilege of connecting with one of the candidates, Makayla Moody, from Provo, Utah. She was one of our missionaries who served in the California Riverside Mission.

Darrel: Makayla, I am so excited to talk to you to hear about and share your story. We enjoyed watching you grow and develop on your mission, and now you are extending yourself even more. Congratulations! What an exciting opportunity you have before you! For those who do not know you, please tell them a little about yourself.

Makayla: Thank you! I am currently a student at BYU studying psychology. I grew up Kaysville, Utah. I’m the second oldest of five children. I love listening to music as well as singing and playing the piano. In my free time, I can be found baking or sleeping. I have a major sweet tooth and almost always have some sort of sugar on hand. One day, I hope to own a horse, but first I have to learn how to actually ride it. My main goal in life is to find ways to help and serve others.

Darrel: What is the name of the competition you are a contestant in?

Makayla: The Miss Provo Competition.

Darrel: What is the history of this competition?

Makayla: The Miss Provo competition is part of the Miss America organization. Recently (I believe in 2018) they made a few changes, and now rather than being called a pageant, they call it a competition!

According to the Miss American website (https://www.missamerica.org/ ), “The Miss America Competition has a 100-year history of looking ahead! Miss America was the first competition to offer a talent category and soon after scholarship awards for young women to be able to go to college and further their education….The organization stands for empowering young women across the country to be the best they can be through leadership, talent, communication skills, and smarts.”

Darrel: I love the focus on “empowering young women across the country to be the best they can be through leadership, talent, communication skills, and smarts.” Is there a website where people can learn more about the Miss Utah Competition?

 

Makayla: Definitely! You can also check out the Miss Utah website although it doesn’t have as much information. https://missutah.org/

Darrel: What motivated you to decide to participate in the Miss Provo Competition?

Makayla: Recently, I have been trying to push myself and do things outside my comfort zone. This has been something I’ve thought about trying for the past few years but never actually went through with. After talking to a friend, who is the current Miss Provo, I decided that it could be a really great learning experience for me and a great opportunity to go outside my comfort zone.

Darrel: How does your family feel about you participating?

Makayla: My family is very excited about and supportive of my participation. They encourage me every day. When I initially talked to my mom about participating in the competition, she said, “I think that will be really good for you!” From then on, she has been very encouraging and helpful. I also talk to my mom periodically about my impact initiative and my plans about what I am going to do. I love running my ideas by her to capture her input.

Darrel: What does it take to become a participant? Paperwork? Interviews?

Makayla: There is not really too much to it. Anyone can participate as long as they meet the age and residency requirements. After that, you just need to show up to workshops and prepare for the events.

Darrel: Speaking of the events, what are the various components/events of the Miss Provo Competition?

Makayla: There are four main events in the competition. The first is a private interview with the judges that happens during the day of the competition. They ask questions based on your résumé and social impact initiative as well as current affairs. To start off the evening events, there is a big dance number with all contestants involved. Then, the first event of the evening is the talent portion where each candidate performs a 90-second talent of their choice. The next event is the on-stage question and answer, which, in reality, is a continuation of the interview we had during the day. Plus, during this onstage question period, the contestants discuss their social impact initiative. The final event is the red carpet. This is where you get to dress up and show the judges how well you present yourself.

Darrel: Sound pretty intense. Which of the components do you feel the most comfortable doing? Why

Makayla: I feel most comfortable with the talent portion. I have spent a lot of time practicing and performing over the years, so it is something that I am pretty used to.

Darrel: What about the event you feel least comfortable with? Why?

Makayla: I feel least comfortable with the interview and onstage question. This is an area where I feel very underqualified, and it gives me the most anxiety.

Darrel: How are you preparing for this event?

Makayla: I am preparing by staying up to date on current issues, practicing interviews, and practicing my talent.

Darrel: How much time are you dedicating to the competition and is the preparation a daily routine

Makayla: First of all, I dedicate about 7-8 hours a week. And, yes, preparation is a daily routine. I practice piano daily and work on interview prep every day.

Darrel: How do the Miss Provo Competition organizers help prepare you to participate?

Makayla: They hold weekly workshops that help all the candidates prepare for each of the events. They teach us interview skills, help us refine our resumes and social impact statements, and make sure we are prepared for the event.

Darrel: Please tell us a little about the participants.

Makayla: There are ten of us right now. All of us had to fill out an application. The amazing part of the application process is that anyone who wants to participate can as long as they meet the criteria such as being single, being between 18 years up to 24 years old, and meeting the Provo residency requirement. Some of the candidates have gone to school; others have graduated from college; some are working; and others are still attending school. Overall, it is definitely a commitment, and all ten of these young women are very committed.

Darrel: How are you feeling right now about the Miss Provo Competition?

Makayla: I am feeling kind of nervous and overwhelmed but excited at the same time.

Darrel: What excites you most and the least about the pageant Why?

Makayla: I’m excited to try something that I have always wanted to do. I think it will be a great learning and growing experience and will be something that will bless my life. The least has to be because I’m not excited for the nerves and doubt that I know will come up throughout this process.

Darrel: Makayla, knowing you have lots of talents, which one are you going to use for your talent in this competition?

Makayla: I will be performing Chopin’s Etude in c minor on the piano.

Darrel: What do you hope to gain and/or learn from participating?

Makayla: I hope to gain confidence and new life skills such as interviewing and presenting myself in professional situations. Through this process, I am gaining more confidence. Sometimes I wonder whether I am really qualified to do this. Sometimes I think I need to be a certain way or a certain person. What I have really discovered is that I just need to be myself, and that’s what I am trying to do.

Darrel: What leadership qualities come from participating?

Makayla: One of the leadership skills I am learning is how to present myself in a professional manner. Plus, we all learn how to interact with others and how to share what you believe and support. Another important aspect of participating is learning how to look at a certain political situation and see both sides of it.

Darrel: Everyone talks about winning this or that and that winning is important in everything. What would it mean to you to “win”? This question really gets to the heart of “what is winning” in your eyes.

Makayla: To win the title of Miss Provo would be amazing! It is a wonderful opportunity to serve in the community and promote something that you are passionate about. However, I think that just being able to participate is a big win for me. A win for me would be to take away the new skill sets and friendships associated with the process. My biggest win would be being able to challenge myself and face some of my fears and overcoming them. Being able to look back and be able to say that I did it will be worth more than any crown.

Darrel: One of the events is your social impact initiative. What does that entail for you and why did you decide to choose your topic?

Makayla: The title of my social impact initiative is “Embracing Imperfection.” I would like to focus on helping people escape the “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” we place on ourselves in order to be seen as perfect within the societal definitions of perfect. I want to help people feel like they can truly be themselves without constantly worrying about keeping up appearances or what others might think. I chose this because it is something that affects many people and something that really resonates with me as someone who struggles with perfectionism.

Darrel: What would you say to all the young women who think they would like to participate in this or other pageants/competitions but feel they “do not have what it takes”?

Makayla: What I would say to all of the young women who may be contemplating participating in something similar or participating in anything new is this: If you want to do it, then go for it! Not all of us will “win” the competition, but I know, like I said before, that when we face our challenges and fears and overcome them, that’s what is the most important to me and should be the most important to anyone who participates.

Darrel: When is this competition scheduled and where?

Makayla: It is scheduled for September 24, 2021, 7:00 p.m. at the Covey Center, which is located in beautiful downtown Provo.

Darrel: Makayla, so many thanks for sharing with us your thoughts and feelings about being one of the candidates in the Miss Provo Competition. We wish you and all the candidates good luck. We know you will do well.

Makayla: Thank you! I am looking forward to it.

“From Sharing Trinkets to Building Homes and Schools: A New Strategic View”

From sharing trinkets to building homes and schools in the Dominican Republic tells an enlightening and miraculous story of Louise ZoBell from Stirling, Alberta, Canada, and her Dominican Starfish Foundation.

The Dominican Starfish Foundation

Louise initiated all this after earning a vacation trip with a network marketing company to Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic, with a few other people in 2006. Despite not knowing at first where the Dominican Republic was, Louise fell in love with it. For several years, she returned to Puerta Plata to enjoy the beaches, turquoise water, and the gorgeous sunsets with her family and friends. As she returned, she began seeing the needs of the people living and working there and with family and friends started taking items of clothing, shoes, and hygiene and school supplies to assist those who suffer in poverty.

Louise and Jack ZoBell

After sharing these items with the Dominican people over some years, she realized that this was not enough, especially when she walked out of the resort and across the street and discovered the stark contrast between the four-star resort and the poverty level of those just a couple of hundred yards from the resort. It was then she decided she needed to do more.

Consequently, she and close family and friends created and registered a charity in the Dominican Republic, and the Dominican Starfish Foundation was born, using the starfish and its five arms as its logo. The five arms represent the five humanitarian areas, including shelter/housing, health/well-being, employment, education, and food/clothing. Over time, the Dominican Starfish Foundation’s work has grown significantly, through building homes and schools and supporting and cooperating with other foundations to help the Dominican people.

Since April 2013 when she began her foray into the charity world, the Dominican Starfish Foundation has helped build, renovate, and save 161 homes. According to Louise, “Over the past couple of years, our home-building has really ramped up. Just since August 2020, we have increased from one team of homebuilders to three. This has made an enormous difference to people there who are now improving their skills and providing employment to support their families.” 

Before and after photos

Education is one of the five arms; consequently, the Dominican Starfish Foundation began to support a school for refugee children by partnering with its director, a young Canadian woman from Montreal. Because of this young woman’s work with refugee children in the Dominican Republic, she was awarded the Governor General’s Award, a very prestigious Canadian award for her service.

The five arms of the Dominican Starfish Foundation

In early 2020, Louise and her Board invited this young woman to Canada to attend a fund-raising event for her and her school. The event netted fifty monthly sponsorships for fifty children to attend the school. But for Louise, that was still not enough. She personally made a commitment that one of the Foundation’s focuses in 2020 would be to purchase a new school and property for the refugees because their school was rundown and extremely overcrowded.

School children in their uniforms. Louise is peeking out from among them!

Louise returned to the Dominican Republic and began in earnest to find property for a new school for the 140 refugee children. She was in the Dominican Republic from January 10 to March 12, 2020. Louise hosted ten separate groups at the resort where they stay in Puerta Plata, and every group visited the school. Through these visits, she hoped she could find donors to help with the purchase of property and potentially a building.

On the final visit to the old school, Amarilis, the Foundation’s Dominican director, suddenly stopped just a couple of blocks from the school, saw two of her math students, and asked them if they knew about any property for sale. Surprisingly, they knew of a piece of property with a large building that would be just perfect. Now, the challenge was to find the money to purchase it.

Amarilis and Louise

Amarilis told Louise about the property, and she made a couple of quick calls. Within a short time, she received a comforting call from a Wade Payne who had been with her at the school that morning. He had just talked to Steve and Kay Clegg who had visited the school the week before, and they said they would fund all of it. “Because of one donor,” Louise stated, “we were able to purchase a beautiful property with a building to house the school on March 7, 2020.”

Steve and Kay Clegg at the school

Breathing a sigh of relief, Louise left the Dominican Republic on March 11, and on March 14, everything was shut down in Canada because of COVID, and on March 18 , the Dominican Republic shut down, too. Louise’s response was powerful: “What an amazing miracle!”

Thinking that the world situation would make donations dwindle in 2020-2021 during the pandemic, Louise said, “Surprisingly, the foundations in both Canada and USA more than doubled their donations. In addition to housing projects and more, we raised over $200,000 just to feed the unemployed, starving citizens of the Dominican Republic.”

Food stuffs to be given to the people

In June 2021, Louise felt an urgent need to expand their reach and create greater sustainability. Consequently, the Foundation members and others went through a robust strategic planning process to increase their capacity and ability to serve others through their five arms. According to Louise, the strategic planning session was “miraculous.” This process has helped the members of the Dominican Starfish Foundation in Canada and its two sister foundations, PAL Humanitarian in the United States and Estrella de Mar. Es Amor in the Dominican Republic to meet each other and come together for the same cause and mission.

One of the families helped

She said, “So many wonderful ideas came from our strategic planning session and from the sessions of the various committees that were organized to develop goals and objectives. One of the ideas was to create a home-building club with an initial goal of having $15,000 in monthly donations, which would be enough to build a home monthly without the usual fundraising for every project. So, we created the ‘Home-Building Club’ and have begun receiving donations towards our goal. Plus, we created committees to help us to move forward in other areas.”

The Home Building Club

One of the outcomes that Louise hoped would occur from strategic planning was the emergence of future leaders to guide the Foundation forward. Louise was pleased with this outcome of the planning process: “The committees have already produced future leaders. People have just stood up and taken charge, doing things that they might have never done. Of course, working together as one big team has created comradery, new innovative ideas, and a progressive group with like-minded goals and vision.”

University students who came to teach English

Over the next three to five years, there will be “explosive growth in every aspect of the foundation,” said Louise. “Our home-building program, which is our biggest arm, is expected to grow and increase to include many more teams, thus employing and training additional construction workers. Our biggest growth will be in the area of education and employment as we creatively help train and create jobs. We will be partnering with other organizations to provide much needed education programming in career and technical education. It will change even more lives than it ever has.”

Constructing a home in the Dominican Republic 

Construction workers

The planning process has shown Louise and the Foundation that it has many friends, family, and new contacts  who “have stepped up to help, to plan, and to instigate new ideas for growth! The plan gave us a new view of what we could accomplish. So many people had numerous goals and aspirations for the Foundation, some that opened all of our eyes of what we could accomplish.”

New distribution center 

Louise is one of those inspirational leaders who constantly exudes humility and gratitude for everyone who has helped the Foundation. She states, “I am thankful to be the hands of the Lord in this project. I am thankful my health has allowed me to spend more than full time the past 10 years working in this foundation. I am thankful that I have the drive to continue. I am so thankful for those who have donated. So far, our donors have been mostly friends and family with no large endowments or business supporters. I am so grateful for all of these people who have shared our dream and mission.”

The Louise and Jack ZoBell family--all living in Alberta, Canada

The future for the Dominican Starfish Foundation is bright. Louise sees the Foundation’s future based on its generous supporters continuing to align with its mission to help each individual starfish: “As more get involved with our vision, the little grass-roots foundation we started from our home in Stirling, Alberta, Canada, will make an amazing difference, one family at a time, one community at a time, and more.” 

The new school for the refuge children

We invite all those who possess a passion for helping people who are in great need. Please go to the Dominican Starfish Foundation’s webpage at https://dominicanstarfish.com/ or email Louise at dominicanstarfish@gmail.com.

Making your school year spectacular! 12 principles to help you become more successful in school

It was a bit nippy this morning, a precursor to fall and school beginning. While some schools across the nation have already begun, I suspect many of you are still anxiously anticipating school and what it all means this year—shopping for new school clothes, except those of you who wear uniforms; wondering what it is going to be like being in school in new classes with new teachers; and being in classes, face to face, some with masks, other without. Oh, the excitement of it all!

While you are trying to contain your excitement for another school year, let me share a dozen simple principles to help you to become even more successful in school this year. All these principles I have learned over the past several years, working with all levels of students and from my own experience as a lifelong learner. No matter if you are in fourth grade, a freshman, a senior in high school, or even a college student, they all apply, some more than others, depending on where you are in the school process.

Principle 1: Surround yourself with a great support group and seek out supportive friends.

They should be the ones who cheer you on, motivate your, not drag you down or convince you to do reckless or foolish things that may impede your progress or shove you down life’s paths that will lead to sad things. They will be your lifelines. 

Principle 2: Establish great relationships and rapport with your teachers.

You will need letters of recommendation. It may surprise you, but a good letter of recommendation goes a long way in helping college reviewers look favorably on your application. Teachers are very good at writing excellent recommendations—if they are warranted.

Principle 3: Become friends with the higher school counselor or scholarship coordinator.

This one may be a new one, especially for those of you entering juniors and seniors. It’s time to be thinking about graduation and all the stuff that needs to be done prior to graduation, particularly scholarships and college applications.

Principle 4: Do your very best.

This goes without saying. You have heard this from your parents and teachers since the day you began school. Doing your best every day will help you move forward. Granted, some days will be downright challenging. That’s just the way school is, especially high school. The key is just plowing forward every day, every day, every day

Principle 5: Learn to love learning.

If I had a dollar for every time someone said: “I hate school. It’s so boring,” I would be a semi-rich man. We study so we can learn to pass the quiz or exam. The key to learning, though, is that it never ends. If we do not continue to learn, we will end up in jobs and lives that are really boring and that don’t earn us enough money to do what we had hoped. Learning is the key to success in the long run, and you are the puppeteer of your own learning, meaning you are responsible for your success in school.

Principle 6: Always be prepared and do your homework first.

Part of doing your best is doing your homework first. Yes, it is easy to put off. There’s that favorite YouTube video you have been dying to see or the video game you have been playing all summer. Don’t put off the inevitable. Just do your homework first. It will definitely reduce your stress and not make you panic when you get up in the morning and realize your homework isn’t done. Your grades will definitely reflect how you do your homework and the preparations you make each day. Plus, your parents will be very happy!

Principle 7: Reinvent yourself and become who you need to become to reach your goals.

If you haven’t been doing very well and have wanted to change forever, now is the time to reinvent yourself. It can be done. You may have to change your way of thinking and doing. Some of the changes will be challenging. But changes must happen if you want to become your best self.

Principle 8: Find some service to do to help others.

I know your schedules are full but find someone or some organization to help. Most scholarship applications want to know if you have done service and how much. Plus, many companies today have a humanitarian/service component in their mission. Service will help you grow and develop in ways you never thought possible. Instead of becoming selfish, you actually become selfless—all part of that reinvention thing.

Principle 9: Be kind, gracious, and compassionate. 

Unfortunately, bullying has become a rampant problem in our schools and in our society. People pick on the weak and the less fortunate. Rise up and be kind, gracious, and compassionate. Don’t allow others to be bullied. Make sure you and your group are ones who champion those who need championing.

Principle 10: Be a cheerleader, mentor, and leader.

All of you possess leadership qualities, some hidden within your personality. As you reinvent yourself, allow your leadership quality to emerge and embrace it. Part of being a leader is being a positive and a motivating example, someone who inspires others to do good things. Some may see this as too much responsibility. Interestingly, it is all of our responsible to be good examples.

Principle 11: Practice resilience.

Resilience is the ability to overcome challenges. In today’s world, the challenges seem to come in waves, washing over us at times. Sometimes, we even feel like we are drowning. The amazing thing is that you have an incredible support group, family, and friends. Reach out to them. Just remember who you are and what you are capable of doing. You can do this!

Principle 12: Challenging and hard things teach us lifelong principles. 

You have heard this before, and your eyes have rolled to the back of your head. The irony is this: Today may be full of challenging things that cause you great grief and consternation. In the long run, though, you will learn important principles that will help you in the future, short term and long term.

Overall, school should be a challenging yet marvelous time to learn something that will stick with you throughout your life, make new friends, challenge yourself, become better than you thought, grow up, and have fun. All of these can be done simultaneously if you plan and go and do. Promise!

Good luck this year! Make this the best year ever!