Nandy Lamptey 0:00
Okay, okay, my name is Nandy lamptey. I am a junior here at Sam Houston State University and this is for my honors seminar class about histories. I'm here today with Miss. Dr. Rachel Val. She is the current pageant director, and also the Director of Student Activities.

Rachelle Valle 0:18
Hi. It's actually associate director I know my boss to come back. Thank you though I appreciate you.

Nandy Lamptey 0:27
Okay, so we're gonna start with the first question. I'm not gonna say like Question one, question two, I'm just going to continue to go. Okay, as the current pageant director who has overseen the Mr. Newsome pageant for over eight years, what would you say has contributed to the ongoing success of this pageant slash tradition?

Rachelle Valle 0:44
So I think this will be my eighth year here at Sam's, I think this is my this is going to be my eighth year. So I think that the success has been based on you know, we assess every time we have an event and then figure out what worked and what didn't. And then we make those adjustments and go from there. A lot of the adjustments that we make come from the Miss America system and I love that they switch to like got rid of bathing suit, they went more modern and I love that because I personally feel like that's a better approach. You know, we're modern women, you know, moving from there. And so I think that's, that was really great. But honestly, the success really comes from program counsel. They're the ones who are directing, who are doing all the things I'm just advising them and so honestly, between the assessment of what worked, what didn't, and then the advisement from the Miss America system, I think program counsel really is where the success comes from. And I'm very proud to be associated with them.

Nandy Lamptey 1:39
So you would say it's like more of like a team, Team thing, not more individually, you oversee everything.

Rachelle Valle 1:45
Absolutely. I mean, I do advise all of them and I do oversee everything, but I could not it would not be a success. If it were just me. I'm not. I'm not that great. I'm not gonna I refuse to take that credit. I give all that credit to the Miss to the program counsel students, they are just so inventive and innovative and they're just so they're visionaries. You know, the music the the wit the dances, the clothing, the looks everything the color scheme, everything is religious them honestly. Yes, right. Okay.

Nandy Lamptey 2:17
pageants according to many people are frowned upon, due to past beauty expectations. How do you think the missing husen pageant defies beauty standards to focus on within

Rachelle Valle 2:28
and that was honestly when I took this job I had never done pageants. I never overstay and never even been to a pageant. I consider myself a nerd and I appreciate that and but I do respect people to do them very much so and so to balance my my feelings students like me, and other people who you know, are into beauty pageants and stuff. My middle ground is that I make this into a developmental experience, right. And so, a normal pageant students show up or the contestants show up the day or the day before and they learn the dance and do all that stuff. And then they compete. Right away, as we start a development process. And we started in November, and it goes all the way through February when we have the show. We meet twice a week with the girl with the contestants and everything is really great with that because it's not just about showing them how to walk and how to do the show and the choreography and everything. It's about building competence. It's about teaching them how to interview it's about teaching them how to speak out in public and that those are things that are crucial for life beyond Sam Houston CRC. So even if they don't win or even if they do, they learn something through this and that was my purpose with this okay, if we're going to do a you know, a pageant which many people consider beauty, okay, yeah, sure. But all of these ladies who I think are equally amazing are going to get something out of this. If that was my whole thing. That's what we've always strived for. And my team, I'm so proud of them. They always really strive for that

Nandy Lamptey 3:47
as well. That's really like good to know that like, you don't have to have like the full package to win. You can just be an ordinary person that's just trying to make themselves better. And that's

Rachelle Valle 3:59
the majority of our students like the I don't know that we've had anyone who has necessarily been the beauty pageant system before and all of our students are just down to earth people just you know, looking for a new experience. From the most part I think everyone is told or all the feedback I've gotten and so you know, they enjoy the experience. And I love that. I mean, some of the ladies come to us and they don't even know how to walk in heels and I appreciate that because I wear flats every day. You know I am so we helped them and get them so that they feel confident on that stage because I couldn't do what they do. I am so proud of them and I worked so hard on my team work so hard to make sure that everything looks great. So it's really it's not just developmental for them. It's developmental for my team.

Nandy Lamptey 4:35
Okay. Over your last eight years as pageant director, what quality is most commonly seen in winners of the missing Houston pageant?

Rachelle Valle 4:44
Oh, um, I think the quality that I must see is in line with our university model, right? The miserable life isn't service and all of the winners, the title holders that we've had both Miss piney woods and Miss Sam Houston are in tune with that they want to do service they want to help make the world a better place than when they got here and I think that's important for us for sure to make sure that our missing customers Piney Woods really embody that

Nandy Lamptey 5:11
they care about the university and not only just the title Yes, exactly. Yes, absolutely. So Mr. Houston is considered an ambassador for Sam Houston State University in all aspects. What should prospective candidates do slash conduct themselves on and off social media to be considered a good role model?

Rachelle Valle 5:30
That's a great question. I think, um, I think again, it's embodying that you know, the model, the university model, the measure, but life isn't service. I think it's it's, you know, things like just kind of being out there with students and helping others and you know, just being that ideal Sam Houston State University student and interacting

Nandy Lamptey 5:50
with like the students. Yes, absolutely.

Rachelle Valle 5:54
This person will definitely have to interact with a lot of people. So yeah, the person a little bit. Yes, I will say, you know, I have sometimes had a lot of introvert or extroverted introverts, and that works to whatever works for people. And a lot of people do this just to get out of their comfort zone, which is really cool because I feel I can identify with that and so I respect that. Okay.

Nandy Lamptey 6:14
Those swimsuit calm those swimsuit competitions have been at an all time low. Would you consider reinstating the swimsuit category for the pageant and if not, why?

Rachelle Valle 6:26
Absolutely not. I was uncomfortable with it to begin with. But I you know, that's my personal opinion. And that's aside from Sam Houston. I think, I think student wise, you know, fitness is very important and I respect that but I think for what we're trying to do is developing somebody I don't know that that necessarily helped. Right and so I think the winner has to you know, have spirit and so we have the spirit portion of the of the competition but I don't, I don't, I would not I just I can't you know, I I was so thrilled when they got rid of it. I have always you know, I just was not it just was it was just don't me wrong. Our students when they did the swimsuit portion. Women of all kinds sizes however, were phenomenal. They all look gorgeous, and they all did such a great job but I just I don't think it's necessary and I for what the position and the position not Olympus, Sam Houston but in this tech system as America needs to be

Nandy Lamptey 7:22
right. Okay. Huntsville is a pretty small town compared to others in Texas. Do you think the combination of Miss Sam Houston and Miss Huntsville has decreased opportunity for girls who do not attend St. Houston but live in Huntsville?

Rachelle Valle 7:36
So I think it might be a common misconception we don't have a miss Huntsville. Okay. There wasn't as Huntsville this past year but that was done by the Miss Texas organization completely separate from us. Right. That winter is not even a student here. So to answer your question, I don't I don't think there is a miss Huntsville that's done here in Huntsville. But we do have a missing Houston we do have a miss piney woods. I don't think that it decreases opportunity for ladies because there are a lot of students who go to Sam Houston who also are able to compete at Miss Texas. The student doesn't necessarily have to live in the vicinity of the title which they receive. They can go a lot of them compete in several different one right? For instance, there was a Miss America maybe she's the so she was in the Miss United States. Her name is she she works in I'm sorry, I'm the current I believe the current president of the Miss United States pageant or miss us essay pageant. She actually competed in five or six different state, you know, state or local titles and she won I think the fifth time and then went to state and then won Miss USA. And now I believe I think her name is Crystal and she now is President over the Miss USA pageant or whatever. And so I think that goes to show you that like these these ladies who do want to compete in the pageant system, they compete several different times. And it's rarely it's very rare that I've seen that a girl when I'm sorry a student will win and then go and compete and then when that right off the bat and it's I don't know that I've ever been the closest I've ever seen it was just as shorts 24 teen I believe and she plays top five and she's made she was our student she was missing Houston. Phenomenal student, phenomenal young lady. But it's they go through several different systems. And so I think a lot of them just kind of connect through and

Nandy Lamptey 9:33
I guess people didn't know that you don't have to necessarily live where you compete.

Rachelle Valle 9:37
Correct. It depends on the pageant system, but for the most part, I know ours is closed and so we require them to come to Sam Houston, but most of them aren't and so

Nandy Lamptey 9:45
yeah, okay, so pageants are common throughout the United States, but what would you say separates the missing Houston pageant from others around the country.

Rachelle Valle 9:53
I think that's you know, when we go back to that whole university motto, the measure of a life it's it's isn't service and so it's not just about the pageantry, in fact, you know, according to Miss America, it's actually in the Miss Sam Houston competition. We just haven't changed it from pageant because that's been our history. And so I think what separates us is that whole development piece, you know, our contestants, whether they win or however they go through the process, they learn how to interview, they learn how to speak to others, they learn, you know, public speaking, they learn, they gain competence, they gain all of that stuff. And so I think that's really what makes us different, right? And last year, I don't want to brag but after bragging my students because they won Best Production. Yeah. Oh, that's production. Council. Thank you. We won. In 2022. Yeah, we won 2020 Best Production. Yes, we did Miss Texas.

Nandy Lamptey 10:43
Okay, winners of the pageant are held in the highest esteem in their communities and around the school. Do you think the responsibilities that the winners of the pageant perform are excessive?

Rachelle Valle 10:55
We try not to make them that way. Yeah, I mean, I can only speak for our titles, right. And our title holders we know that their students and in our opinion, their success comes first right they have we want them to be successful. We want them to graduate and do great things and so we work on their schedules if they can't make the appearance or an event or something. That's fine. Class comes first always is

Nandy Lamptey 11:17
so good to hear because I know a lot of girls that want to do the pageant but are worried like what will happen like after like, will they be able to balance work, school and passion duties as well?

Rachelle Valle 11:28
Absolutely, absolutely. My the goal of our division, my department, Program Council is to make sure that students succeed we are there to support you guys outside of the classroom as well as and, and so I think it's important we would be crazy if we said no no, you must do this outside of you know, class or no class. No, no, not at all. All right, I believe and under our direction of our amazing vice president, Dr. Drew Miller. He's even further gone beyond and said, you know, the students classes come first we want to support them however I can. And so it's a really exciting time to be in our division. That's

Nandy Lamptey 11:58
for sure. Okay. Inflation has definitely gone up and prices for things have gone excessively high for basic needs. For those who can't afford to have the most expensive dress or shoes is the Paget pocket friendly.

Rachelle Valle 12:10
That is a great question. This is actually something that I have really looked at the last few years because, in my opinion I as I look at it, pageants are expensive. They're they're a pocket of they can be expensive, and they can be considered a pocket of privilege, right? Because if you don't have that kind of money, you can't compete and that's to me that's awful. That's, that's an equity gap. And so my goal has always been to try and work with the students to do you have friends with dresses do it you know, how can we reuse things? How can we shift things around you know, how can we be thrifty about this? Do you you know, did you not wear this dress last year Great. Can you you know work with the student or the student can borrow it or buy it at a budget you know, lower cost. Our goal is to get or can you rent your dresses right you know our goal is to get that cost as low as possible. It I don't know that we've been successful but it's definitely something that I am very, very aware of and working constantly to try and you know, bring down that cost. One thing that other parents have that we do not as of yet are sponsors was able to the contestants are able to do that. Unfortunately, we don't have sponsors because you know, the university setting our title holders can go get them right unfortunately, it's just been hasn't been the case. And so you're absolutely right. That is something we struggle with and we I consistently work with the students to try and get that cost down but it's not anywhere where I would like it to be we do pay for their travel. In addition to the what they when we do pay for their travel to Miss Texas we pay for their headshots we pay for their makeup for their headshots. You know I pay for as much as I can out of my out of the program Council funding but there's a there's a large cost also that the student takes on and so our goal is to get that down as we progress with this. If we can't, then there's no point in having it because it sets that student up for failure. So

Nandy Lamptey 13:58
Okay, so Sam Houston State University has so many well known traditions. Why do you think this President should continue to go on?

Rachelle Valle 14:06
I'm not sure. I think I think that's really for the program council to decide. Program Council brought it back in 2010. I think Program Council builds events for students for the student body and they're representative of the student body. And I think really, the biggest thing is if the students believe it should continue on then it does and if the students don't then it shouldn't. It's not relevant. I don't know that we should have programming that's not relevant.

Nandy Lamptey 14:29
Because the events are for the students anyway, so the students should have a say in what programs go on in the school. Absolutely. I agree. Women are the backbone of society, whether people like to admit it or not. How do you think this pageant showcases women's empowerment?

Rachelle Valle 14:44
We try to do the best that we can every year we try to get you know, try to work it in. I think that it should show women's empowerment. I think I think that you're fine. I think I think that that's a big deal. And I think that's really should be the cornerstone of this whole thing. I don't I don't know if they have or not. I don't know if that. We make it work every year but we do our best to do that. For sure. It's I'm all about women's empowerment and I fully support that.

Nandy Lamptey 15:13
Okay. In conclusion after directing the pageant for so many years, how has an accepted acceptance of the pageant changed throughout the Huntsville area?

Rachelle Valle 15:23
So I'm not sure about the Huntsville area and on campus. It's been very successful. It's been well attended. We sell a lot of seats every year. We don't sell them but yeah, we run out of seats every year. And so it just it just really depends, but I think the community enjoys it. And I think that the the contestants are really supported most the time but, you know, we'll just continue to assess it every year and decide if it's something that we continue or something that we adjust or something that we don't have, like we talked about, you know, it's really what the students want. All right,

Nandy Lamptey 15:53
so I want to thank you so much for conducting this interview with me. I appreciate your answers. And I'm looking forward to the Miss Amy said pageant of 2023. Thank you for your time. Thank you

Transcribed by https://otter.ai