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16/08/2018
By TAMMY BAIN Aug 16, 2018 (0)
Miss Nebraska Jessica Shultis will soon head to the Miss America competition, which starts Aug. 30 and ends Sept. 9, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
In between coaching for Miss America interviews and hitting the gym, Jessica Shultis paused Wednesday to focus on the important things, like taking her German shepherd, Django, for a walk.
As they walked, Shultis, 25, spoke to The Telegraph on the phone about her summer so far as Miss Nebraska 2018, and what she’s most excited about when she travels to Atlantic City, New Jersey, Aug. 30-Sept. 9.
“I’m ready to just be there. The anticipation is building,” Shultis said.
To prepare for the competition, Shultis is keeping up on current events, social issues, “the good, bad and ugly,” she said.
“You can be asked anything from what is your favorite color and why, to what is the bean status in China,” she said.
While this year’s Miss America pageant will be the first without a swimwear competition, Shultis still makes sure to fit gym sessions into her schedule.
“That’s such an important part of my life,” she said. “If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be the best version of myself at Miss America.”
Shultis is also excited about her evening gown, a portion of the competition that was reportedly scrapped in June but remains on the 2019 schedule.
“The organization will continue with an evening wear portion and give candidates an ‘outfit of choice’ option for their on-stage interview,” reads an Aug. 10 article from Press of the Atlantic City.
“I know my evening gown is a little edgy,” Shultis said. “I don’t even know what a traditional gown is anymore. This is a ‘Jessica is 25 and needs to make a statement’ gown.”
The changes to the Miss America pageant caused a rift over the summer. On July 9, just about a month after Shultis was crowned Miss Nebraska, representatives of 22 state pageants signed a petition that called for all of the organization’s board of trustees to resign. The chairwoman of the board, Gretchen Carlson, was appointed to her role in January.
In response, 30 former Miss Americas signed a counterpetition supporting the leadership.
The change to the pageant was announced after the height of the 2017 “Me Too” movement. Former CEO Sam Haskell and others resigned in the wake of leaked emails written about former Miss Americas.
On Wednesday, Shultis said the Miss Nebraska Organization largely stayed away from the controversy, not wanting to hinder Shultis’ experience as a state title-holder.
“The whole Nebraska team has just been really supportive of everything,” she said. “We’re kind of just more, go with the flow. There’s nothing we can do about it regardless of the sentiment.”
Shultis, who nearly aged out of competing for Miss Nebraska until the rules changed, is focusing more on her experience and less on the current controversies of the pageant — which she said she reads something new about daily.
“It’s not going to affect me,” she said. “I’m not going to let negativity affect my attitude or my experience.”
Shultis is taking that attitude with her to Atlantic City, where she’d love to win the Miss America title.
Still, “I would rather lose being myself than win with the false persona,” she said. “If I’m not the judges’ cup of tea, that’s OK, and at least I know that I was true to myself.”
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