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14/10/2020
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SHIRLEY MCMARLIN | Wednesday, October 14, 2020 10:17 a.m.
Victoria Piekut is going to Graceland — but not to pay homage to The King.
Crowned Miss Pennsylvania 2020 in November, the Irwin resident will be traveling to Memphis for the Miss USA 2020 competition.
Piekut will arrive in Memphis around Nov. 1 for a round of rehearsals and promotional events, with the pageant’s preliminary round, featuring swimsuit and evening gown competitions, scheduled for Nov. 6.
The final round will be televised Nov. 9 from the iconic home of Elvis Presley on the FYI Network.
Even in the midst of a whirlwind of preparations, the 24-year-old says she’s not nervous — at least not yet.
“Maybe I’ll feel more nervous once I get there and it feels more real,” she said. “It was supposed to be held in May, but it was pushed back because of the pandemic, and it seemed like it was never going to happen.”
Because of the pandemic, “it’s a little different preparation process than the usual,” she said.
Preliminary interviews are being held via Zoom, and hers is scheduled for Oct. 21.
There will be a limited number of hair and makeup artists available to contestants in Memphis, so she’s been taking lessons and watching YouTube videos to insure that she’ll look her best.
Choosing outfits for the various events is almost a job in itself.
“I’m basically packing up my whole life and hoping it’s enough,” she said.
One item that will be handled with special care is the evening gown by designer Sherri Hill.
“Sherri Hill designs all the gowns for the pageant,” Piekut said. “I got to sit down with her in Atlanta last December and custom-design my gown. It’s my dream gown come to life. It’s very classic, yet bold, and very representative of my personality.”
Practical purpose
Piekut is a 2014 Norwin High School graduate who entered her first pageant in 2012 at 16 with a practical purpose in mind.
National American Miss had an optional talent competition that she thought would look good on her performance resume. At the time, she was studying opera during weekend sessions at Duquesne University’s City Music Center, thinking at the time that she would major in vocal performance there.
She was named first runner-up.
Since then, she also earned the title of 2015 International Junior Miss Teen, along with that competition’s talent title for singing opera. As the International Teen, she travel throughout the United States and to Europe and the Bahamas.
Piekut served as a pageant judge and coach and modeled at the Atlanta Apparel Mart and New York Fashion Week. She also is co-founder and co-owner of Wight Elephant Boutique, launched online in 2016 and since expanded to storefronts in Irwin and Greensburg, offering specialty women’s wear and accessories.
If she wins the Miss USA title, Piekut said, she will move to New York City to begin her duties and to prepare for the next step, the Miss Universe pageant.
“It’s a paid job with a salary,” she said. “One of the great things about it is that it allows you to promote causes that are important to the organization and to the individual.”
The organization’s nonprofit causes include Best Buddies and Smile Train, she said, while her personal causes include Save the Elephants Foundation and Dysautonomia Youth Network of America. She has advocated for awareness of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome, conditions that affected her in her earlier years.
She said she won’t worry about the boutiques while she’s in Nashville or if she wins the title.
“The business is my baby, but in the meantime, I have great babysitters,” she said, including staff and her business partners, her parents, Jeff and Chris Piekut, and her brother, Zachary Piekut.
Remembering the big picture also helps her to stay grounded.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I try to remember that it’s not just about me,” she said. “For me, it’s also about shedding light on invisible illnesses.“
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