Pageant empowers girls with disabilities
WEST HARTFORD — The pageant life is typically characteristic of elaborate dresses, glamorous makeup and competition.
And while getting dressed up for the chance to be crowned is certainly part of the appeal, for the girls and women participating in Connecticut Miss Amazing, it is much more than a stereotypical beauty pageant.
“The goal of Miss Amazing is to be a self-esteem movement, confidence booster for girls and women with disabilities,” said Monica Mordowanec, the state director of Connecticut Miss Amazing.
Miss Amazing is a national nonprofit organization that has been around in Connecticut since 2015, Mordowanec said. And on April 6, Connecticut Miss Amazing is coming back to West Hartford for the Amplify event, a day in which girls and women with special needs come together.
Held at the Mandell Jewish Community Center, it’s a day full of friendship, empowerment and personal growth.
And while Connecticut Miss Amazing uses a lot of the same principles as pageantry, Mordowanec said, what it aims to do for these girls goes far beyond that.
At the Amplify event, the girls will compete in three different areas, starting with a one-on-one interview. They then give a passion presentation, which showcases the pastime or hobby that they are most passionate about.
Participants then have their onstage introduction and share their interests, strengths and ambitions with the audience, a chance to exercise public speaking skills and to share their stories.
If they win their age category, they’re able to go to national competition in Chicago.
“And I think that’s what makes a day like this so important — because they have this one like really impactful day, but then it carries on to so many different areas of their lives,” Mordowanec said.
“They have all these different
skills that they participate in. It’s like a practice interview for a real-life job that they might have one day that they may have never had the experience of seeing before.
“Or just like getting up on a stage and showing what they’re passionate about. To show that people with disabilities can truly do anything.”
Morgan Lazzara, a 21-year-old from Enfield, first signed up for Connecticut Miss Amazing last year.
“We knew nothing about it. We had no idea what to expect,” said her mother, Christine Lazzara. If anything, taking part was just to see if Morgan would like it, she said.
Little did they know at the time that she would end up making it to Chicago for the national event and come home with the title of 2023 Connecticut Miss Amazing Teen.
“To see her actually stand up in front of a crowd of 500-plus
people was just ... tears in my eyes. The only other word to use for that pageant was amazing.”
And this weekend, Morgan is ready to enter again.
“It’s so cool. I can meet friends, I can wear crowns and sashes,” Morgan said.
She especially loves the part of the event where the girls showcase their passion project, which ranges from performing a song and dance to a presentation on a topic of their interest.
“I’m not nervous at all,” Morgan said. “I love to dance, and I love being on stage.”
And while she said she’s always loved to try new things, the decision to sign up for Connecticut Miss Amazing is one that’s really made a difference in her life.
“Since we’ve started this pageant journey, I’ve seen such a growth in Morgan and her confidence,” Christine Lazzara- said. “It’s a great opportunity for these young women to show their talents
and to belong in a world like this.”
She added how being a part of the pageant has given her daughter an entirely new community of people who have become like a family now.
“It gives the girls a group of friends that they would never have. And they all cheer each other on and they’re just really there for each other even after the event is over,” Mordowanec said. “Like these girls are friends for life.”
When Connecticut Miss Amazing first started nearly 10 years ago, only a few girls participated. Now, there are 17 signed up, Mordowanec said. And with different age categories, it’s open to almost all ages, starting at 5 years old.
This year, the youngest girl is 5 and the oldest is 68, Mordowanec said. The pageant is open to girls who have an IEP, IPP, 504 plan, SSI, or a physician’s document proving disability, and participation is free.
The event was previously held in Windsor Locks, but in 2023 it moved to West Hartford, where Mordowanec foresees it staying for a long time.
“We have girls who participate from like all over the place,” she said. “So when we were looking for a central location, we were like, oh, West Hartford would be perfect. And like the stars aligned, essentially.”