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12/04/2019
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Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette Journal Published 4:52 p.m. PT April 11, 2019
Before becoming Miss USA, Nebraska-native Sarah Rose Summers struggled with shyness. (June 15) AP
A woman in a bright goldenrod dress quickly entered through the sliding doors at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno on a Thursday morning, its warm lobby a welcome refuge from the 43-degree weather outside.
“It’s a little chillier than I anticipated, y’all,” the woman said while flashing a big smile.
Just over a year ago, Sarah Rose Summers was planning to apply for a job at a children’s hospital. That all changed last May when she became the first woman from Nebraska to be crowned Miss USA.
“My goal was being top 15 and my plan was to go back to Nebraska and apply for a job at Omaha Children’s (Hospital & Medical Center) or somewhere nearby, and that was completely flipped upside down,” Summers said. “It just goes to show that your plans don’t always turn out how you plan them.”
The reigning Miss USA Sarah Rose Summers, of Nebraska, visits with Jayden Wassmuth at the Renown Children's Hospital in Reno on April 11, 2019. Summers works as a child life specialist. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
Even as Summers' Miss USA duties put her career plans on hold, she says that working with children remains a priority. The child life specialist has visited children at several hospitals in the United States and overseas since winning the pageant, with Renown being her latest stop.
Summers’ experience with children was evident as kids such as Kimberly Fernandez Godines quickly warmed up to her during her visit. Godines, who wore a mask with a shirt that said “Girl with bright ideas,” could only meet Summers by her hospital room's door due to her condition.
It didn’t take long, however, before the 10-year-old and Summers were doing the popular floss dance emote from the Fortnite video game together.
Summers cites her own hospitalization at age 5 as a key reason for her interest in supporting children who are going through treatment. At the time, Summers suffered from a disorder that prevented her blood from clotting properly. The experience taught Summers how difficult being hospitalized can be, not just for kids but their families as well.
“Hospitalization can be so isolating,” Summers said.
First impressions of Reno
These days, Summers’ world is a lot wider than the hospital room she spent time in as a 5-year-old.
Her duties as Miss USA entail plenty of travel, including her first-ever stop in Northern Nevada. Reno will host this year’s pageant on May 2 at the Grand Sierra Resort.
Asked about her thoughts on the Biggest Little City so far, Summers responded that it’s certainly different from Nebraska.
“I was born and raised in the plains of the Midwest,” Summers said. “This morning, we woke up and opened the curtains at the hotel (room) ... so I first saw the snowy mountain tops and it was just so pretty.”
The reigning Miss USA Sarah Rose Summers, of Nebraska, visits with Kimberly Fernandez Godines at the Renown Children's Hospital in Reno on April 11, 2019. Summers works as a child life specialist. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
“There’s just something about being in the mountains and how beautiful and vast they are that make you just sit in awe,” Summers added. “There’s just no other way to describe it.”
Prior to visiting Renown, Summers had a chance to drive around the Midtown area, which she said “looks like a blast” and has a bit of a hipster vibe. Summers also asked for ski resort recommendations but says she won’t be able to hit the slopes this time because she will be in town less than 24 hours.
The area should expect to see more folks leading up to the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, however, as 102 competitors, along with their family members, friends and support teams, arrive in the area.
“I’m getting the lay of land to tell everybody where they have to go,” Summers said. “Right now I know they need to check out some fun spots.”
'We're not just a pretty face'
At a time when more people are questioning the relevance of pageants, proponents such as Summers find themselves fending off claims that such contests are outdated and exploitative.
Summers, however, stressed pageantry isn’t just about looks.
The reigning Miss USA pointed to Deshauna Barber, who served as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve before being crowned Miss USA 2016. Summers, meanwhile, has two degrees, including one in child development, and says she earned them while working two jobs.
“There are stereotypes with everything and, of course, that includes pageantry,” Summers said. “There’s a lot of substance to us and it’s not just superficial. We’re not just a pretty face for the year, we’re the spokeswomen for many organizations.”
Portraying the strength and intelligence of women is especially important in a post-#MeToo world, something that shouldn’t be mutually exclusive to pageantry, according to Summers.
“Being a woman of my generation, we’re all about female empowerment and equality and no tolerance for sexual assault or sexual harassment,” Summers said. “It’s been an amazing era.”
The reigning Miss USA Sarah Rose Summers, of Nebraska, visits with Elijah Roberge at the Renown Children's Hospital in Reno on April 11, 2019. Summers works as a child life specialist. (Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)
Summers also did not sidestep her own controversy, which occurred during last year’s Miss Universe pageant in Thailand. At the time, Summers received backlash alongside Miss Australia and Miss Colombia after a video surfaced showing the three contestants talking about the language challenges faced by Miss Cambodia and Miss Vietnam. Summers posted an apology on Instagram, saying that it was not her intent to be disrespectful of the two contestants and that she was actually admiring their courage.
Even now, Summers still thinks about the incident, which she described as “horribly sad.”
“I was distraught, I still am about some of the things that happened … especially at one of the most exciting times of my life to be representing my family, my friends (and) our amazing country on an international scale,” Summers said. “But it definitely helped me grow and helped me get a little bit of a thick skin.”
Despite what happened, Summers still rated her experience at the Miss Universe pageant as a “100 out of 10.” She was able to meet 94 amazing women, gain a lot of wonderful experiences and also represent causes that she was passionate about, Summers said.
Summers also encouraged anyone who has an interest in pageantry to give it a shot, even it comes with challenges.
“Whether you’re going to apply for a job, or compete in a pageant or do your workout or not for the day … you always have the opportunity to regret something that you didn’t do but it’s highly unlikely you’ll regret trying something,” Summers said. “You never know what skills you’ll gain through pageantry whether that’s for interviews or public speaking or just confidence. It’s all about gaining life skills so there’s really nothing to lose and just so much to gain.”
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