LOUIS, MISSOURI — Just three weeks before I turned 16 around 20 years ago, I was crowned Miss Silliman, representing the High School department in one of the world’s longest-running beauty pageants.
A decade earlier, my cousin Leslie, representing the College of Nursing, swept most of the awards, and finished as 1st runner-up.
Our Miss Silliman portraits held a special place on my paternal grandfather’s bedside table, who had traveled from Tanjay to Dumaguete to watch the pageant.
Unlike Leslie, I didn’t collect most of the special awards, but I did win two that mattered most to me—Best Speaker, and Darling of the Press.
Growing up, I had always dreamed of representing my college, driven by an irrepressible desire to participate in the question & answer portion of the pageant. Beauty pageant questions may seem deceptively simple, yet they demand answers that are both concise and profound. After all, there is so much to unpack from being asked what the essence of a woman is.
Two years before my own pageant, my close friend Juliana Alano, who also represented the High School department, brought home the crown, leaving the audience in awe with her unmatched eloquence, and ability to craft clever and intelligent answers. She was only 14 at the time, making her the youngest Miss Silliman in the Pageant’s history.
From that moment on, Juliana became the gold standard by which I measured a beauty queen’s ability to communicate. Frankly, Catriona Gray or Pia Wurtzbach could never.
Unlike larger and more widely-known pageants like Binibining Pilipinas or Miss Universe, Miss Silliman places a greater emphasis on a woman’s ability to articulate her thoughts and convey her ideas with clarity and depth. While beauty and poise are certainly valued, the heart of the competition lies in the candidates’ capacity to engage thoughtfully with questions, demonstrating both intelligence and insight.
This is why a press conference and pre-pageant focused on the candidates’ public speaking skills make up a large chunk of the pageant.
This focus on substance over spectacle sets Miss Silliman apart, making it not just a test of grace and elegance but a celebration of eloquence and critical thinking.
In many ways, Miss Silliman has always been ahead of its time. While other pageants of the past often defined beauty by superficial standards like height or waistline, Miss Silliman recognized early on that true beauty goes beyond physical appearance. It championed a more holistic approach, valuing intellect, character, and the ability to inspire others.
Long before the broader pageant industry began to shift its focus, Miss Silliman was celebrating women for their intellectual prowess, their voices, and their potential to make a difference in their sphere of influence.
Being a candidate, while at the same time bearing the responsibility of being a full-time student, is no walk in the park. Mastering the art of walking gracefully in high heels was in itself literally a pain. Balancing the demanding training schedule, intense practices, and academic commitments was a juggling act, especially for a high school student with a full course load.
After late-night practices and a whirlwind of events, I still had to be ready for my 7:30 a.m. classes the next day, and fully prepared for exams. There were no excuses, no exceptions—it was a constant test of my discipline and resilience.
However, nothing compares to the immense pressure of organizing the pageant, a role my friends and I took on in college.
Behind the scenes, the workload is staggering—coordinating with participants, managing schedules, marketing, handling logistics, and ensuring that every detail is meticulously ironed out.
The responsibility of making sure everything runs smoothly, from the rehearsals to the final event, can be overwhelming. Every decision, every misstep, creates a ripple effect on the entire production, and the weight of that responsibility is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
The stakes are high, and the pressure to deliver a flawless event is relentless. It’s a true test of leadership, time management, and the ability to perform under intense scrutiny.
Organizing the pageant was a demanding, unpaid endeavour, offering no tangible rewards except an expanded skill set, a broader network, and countless memories that we still cherish and reminisce about today.
Every organizing committee faces its own unique challenges, shaped by the circumstances of its time. For those of us who took on the role from 2005 to 2009, our struggle was to reassert the Pageant’s relevance, restore the integrity of the selection process, and reignite enthusiasm for participation.
Despite its longstanding tradition, Miss Silliman in those years faced persistent calls for abolition, after a controversy in the first half of the 2000s severely undermined the Pageant’s integrity.
In fact during my coronation year, the number of candidates plummeted—from nearly all colleges being represented to fewer than the fingers on one hand, as the majority of colleges chose to boycott the event in response to the scandal.
When a close friend and I later took the helm as chairperson and co-chair of the Miss Silliman Organizing Committee, our team faced an incredibly daunting challenge. The real battle wasn’t just about addressing the concerns of critics; it was about restoring trust after a serious breach in 2002, when the final question of the pre-pageant was allegedly leaked by a pageant coach.
This incident tarnished the selection process, and led to a widespread boycott by several colleges, including some of the Pageant’s most steadfast supporters.
Compounding this issue was the vocal opposition from the Dean of one of the University’s largest colleges, who argued that the pageant undermined women’s rights.
She invited our team to defend the Pageant’s relevance in a debate held in their home court, in front of a hostile audience. We stood in the middle of the court, surrounded by a jeering crowd, feeling like gladiators about to be thrown to the lions in the Colosseum. It was public humiliation at its worst.
The outcome of the “debate” was a foregone conclusion, given the overwhelming imbalance of power. Yet, we still showed up to present our case, out of respect for the Dean, even though none was extended to us.
Despite the intense opposition, that very College would send a candidate before the turn of the next decade, marking a significant victory in our efforts to rebuild the Pageant’s integrity and restore its place in the University community.
In addition to this College, a smaller group from a department in another sizable College was also vocal in their calls to abolish the pageant. They claimed it undermined women’s rights, yet struggled to provide a clear explanation of how. Composed of both students and faculty members, the group challenged me to another debate on their home turf. I attended, listened to their arguments, addressed each point, and then promptly left for my next class. Despite their fervent opposition and dramatic protests, the Dean of their college still chose to send a candidate to that year’s pageant.
In the end, we adopted what we felt was useful in reinventing the Pageant, and demonstrating that Miss Silliman had evolved to reflect the changing roles and significance of women in society.
Our mission was to show that the Pageant was not just a relic of the past, but a platform that could celebrate the modern, multi-faceted woman.
Our organizing team had to go far beyond simple event planning; we actively engaged with each college, meeting with deans and council presidents to collaborate on selecting the right candidate—someone who truly embodied their college’s values and aspirations.
We weren’t just looking for a contestant; we were searching for a role model, a woman who embodied the University’s core values of character, competence, and faith, even when the cameras weren’t pointed on her.
Another unexpected event shook the Pageant during my term as president of the SU Student Government. Our team was thrilled to have secured at least 10 candidates that year, including representatives from colleges that traditionally did not participate.
However, the excitement quickly soured when the candidate from another large and influential college failed to win the crown—or even place in the Top 3. Her Dean was outraged, filing a formal complaint, and challenging the results of the Pageant, accusing the organizing committee of unfairness, insisting that her candidate was the best, and alleging irregularities in the tabulation process. In her view, her candidate was the rightful queen.
While it’s understandable—after all, the most passionate supporters often believe their candidate deserves to win—the situation escalated. The Dean took her grievances to the highest levels of the University, demanding that my team and I be disqualified from receiving Latin honours, and insisting on a public apology.
However, as with all contests, the Judges’ decision was final and irrevocable.
To address the Dean’s concerns, we had the results retabulated in her presence by a different set of professional tabulators from a respected firm. The outcome was the same, confirming the original results. No public apology was issued, and we ultimately graduated with the Latin honours we had earned.
And let’s not even get started on the drama surrounding the Pageant coaches. All I can say is that everyone needs to take a step back and calm down. At its core, the Pageant isn’t about the crown or the prizes; it’s about bringing people together, and celebrating the enduring spirit of the Silliman woman through the years.
Regardless of the circumstances, organizing the Pageant is an immense challenge, especially for students who are, at best, amateur project managers and event planners.
When we’re thrust into these roles, there’s no formal training or preparation; we’re simply expected to hit the ground running. Mistakes and missteps are inevitable as we learn on the fly, and navigate the complexities of managing such a large-scale event.
Given these realities, the least we hope for is a bit of understanding and grace as we strive to do our best under pressure.
In my experience, grace was, ironically, often beyond the reach of some who had once walked in our shoes. In those moments, it fell on us, the students, to demonstrate the utmost equanimity and fortitude, even in the face of such challenging and difficult characters.
Despite this, my team and I followed simple rules: Listen actively, take action urgently, have each other’s back, apologize when needed, learn from the experience, and move forward. Also, always take the high road, and set an example even for adults to follow.
Reigniting the excitement for Miss Silliman required the collective effort of the entire University, but its enduring charm was largely sustained by the Miss Silliman queens themselves, who continued to embody character, competence, and faith long after their reigns had ended.
During the decade of rebuilding the Pageant, the majority of Miss Silliman queens were honor students, consistently ranking in the Top 10% of their class, while also serving as active student leaders in campus.
Many had championed meaningful advocacies before joining the Pageant, and countless others went on to become successful and accomplished professionals after leaving the halls of Silliman.
It was, in fact, during the Pageant’s darkest years that the true essence of Miss Silliman shone brightest.
Faced with challenges that could have easily led to its demise, the Pageant found its resilience not in glamour or tradition, but in the strength and character of the women who competed.
These were the years when Miss Silliman evolved from being just a beauty contest into a platform for showcasing intelligence, leadership, and integrity.
The adversity the Pageant faced became a crucible, forging a new generation of queens who were not only beautiful but also deeply committed to their communities, and to causes greater than themselves.
This period of struggle tested the Pageant’s very foundation, and which emerged stronger, more relevant, and more inspiring than ever before.
The Pageant wasn’t just a learning experience for the candidates; it was also a profound teaching moment for those of us in the organizing committee.
As we worked through the complexities of planning and executing the event, we gained invaluable lessons in leadership, teamwork, and resilience. The challenges we faced—whether logistical hurdles, managing different personalities, or responding to unexpected crises—taught us skills that went far beyond the classroom. It was a crash course in real-world problem-solving, forcing us to grow both personally and professionally, and leaving us with lessons that would serve us well after we left the University.
In this way, the Pageant is more than just a tradition; it’s a vital training ground—a real-world laboratory where future student leaders can hone essential life skills.
May it continue to serve this purpose, equipping new generations with the tools they need to create positive ripples that extend far beyond our campus by the sea.
Long after the klieg lights dim, and the confetti from the year’s pageant is swept away, many organizing committee chairpersons, and team members often look back with pride, convinced that the event they orchestrated was the best one yet.
This notion, while amusing, misses a crucial point: there is no singular “best” pageant. Each year’s event is shaped by its unique challenges, circumstances, and resources, all of which are constantly evolving.
What truly matters is not the fleeting spectacle of that year’s production but the unwavering dedication and effort put forth by everyone involved.
The true measure of a pageant’s success lies not just in the flawless execution of a show but in the resilience, creativity, and teamwork demonstrated in overcoming the obstacles that arise. It’s about the memories created, the connections forged, and the sense of accomplishment that lingers long after the last curtain call.
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Author’s email: [email protected]
