She hasn’t been competing in pageants very long, but that hasn’t stopped senior public relations major Carrie Sunde from scoring some impressive victories.

The 20-year-old Syracuse University student and Charlestown, Mass. native began competing in pageants the summer after her freshman year of college. Since then, she’s been crowned Miss Cambridge 2013, and she recently competed in the Miss Massachusetts pageant for the Miss America Organization on June 29. Though she won’t be moving on to the national competition, she was named one of the state’s top 10 competitors. And she said she’s not planning on slowing down any time soon.

The Daily Orange talked with Sunde after Saturday night’s pageant to learn about her experiences so far.

The Daily Orange: What’s it like competing in pageants?

Carrie Sunde: It’s a really great way to express yourself on stage and to get awesome feedback. A lot of people think you’re being judged and that’s it—but I like the feedback and the judgment because it makes me a better person. Especially being in public relations, you have to be able to take criticism and be able to utilize it to better yourself.

The D.O.: What’s your favorite aspect of competing?

Sunde: My favorite part about competing is the fact that you never know what’s going to happen. You go into the room wanting to be a winner, but if you’re not a winner it’s not a worst-case scenario because you gain so much from your experience. After I started competing in the Miss America organization, I learned that it’s about building your experience through competing.

The D.O.: So how did you come to be Miss Cambridge?

Sunde: It was actually a pretty long trek of pageants before I won a Miss America local. I started competing last year in upstate New York with the Miss Finger Lakes Pageant in Corning and Miss Greater Rochester/Upstate New York. But then I went back home and competed in Massachusetts because I felt more comfortable representing the place I was from. I competed in Miss Taunton, which is in Massachusetts, then Miss Fall River. Then, I competed for Miss Boston and Cambridge and won Miss Cambridge.

The D.O.: What’s it like to have won that crown?

Sunde: The community is huge and people know who you are, and there are a lot of appearances that you have to make. So, you have to be a very qualified titleholder and a good representative. It’s basically like a part-time job for me. But it’s a wonderful job. At a moment’s notice, I can get up and talk to a crowd of a thousand people, or I can go to an appearance at a school and make children happy. I’ve had the opportunity to go to the hospital and go to patients’ rooms and make them comfortable. There are really heartwarming appearances that you do, and they’re unique appearances that most people don’t get to have.

The D.O.: What was it like competing in the statewide competition?

Sunde: It’s kind of like a marathon. We get there on Wednesday and it accumulates until the very end with the culmination being the crowning of Miss Massachusetts. You do appearances, you have rehearsals, you don’t really have time to eat much, you get tired, and you just want to know who the winner is. But the experience brings all the girls together. You meet some of the most wonderfully talented and beautiful girls in the industry.

The D.O.: What are your goals for the future?

Sunde: Well, of course the goal is to become Miss America. But first I need to be Miss Massachusetts, so I’ll have to continue to win another local to qualify to compete for next season—which will be awesome.

Published on July 1, 2013 at 10:11 pm

Contact Lara: lsorokan@syr.edu