World Class Beauty Queens Magazine would like to welcome amazing Queen Skyla Shay Libby 2020 USA National Miss Maine Dirigo Teen.
Full Name: Skyla Shay Libby
Title/Year: 2020 USA National Miss Maine Dirigo Teen
Pageant System: USA National Miss and Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant
Age: 16
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Hobbies: Sports: volleyball, basketball, cheerleading and softball, modeling and pageantry
Platform: Crown CARES/Buddy Benches for Maine
Years Competed: 16
Countries Visited: 2 (Canada and USA)
Likes: Makeup, lobster fishing, babysitting, playing basically any type of sports
Dislikes: Steak
World Class Beauty Queens: Please tell us about yourself.
I am a distinguished honor student in my High School where I am also a three sport varsity athlete. I am a lobsterman and own my own boat and business and have been fishing since 2010 when I was seven years old. The money I make from my business I am saving for college and to buy my first car along with helping purchase items needed to continue competing in pageants. Once I graduate, I hope to attend Maine Maritime Academy, to study Marine Engineering-Operations. I would like to work on a cargo boat and travel the world in a career that I love.
World Class Beauty Queens: What does Women Empowerment mean to you?
Women Empowerment is to live judgement free, to be confident in who you are as a person and what you believe in. There is only one you so be the best version of yourself that you can and make a statement. It means that you have the same freedoms as others and your thoughts are valued and accepted. You should build others up and not tear them down. Women are strong individuals but are even stronger together.
World Class Beauty Queens: Tell us about your pageant history.
My mother put me in my first pageant when I was 6 months old and I’ve been doing them ever since. My mom and grandmother are my biggest pageant supporters and my entire family is truly supportive of my journey. They’ve been with me since the very beginning and I’m so thankful for everything they’ve done. Since then I’ve completed in many local, state and national level pageants. I have won numerous pageant titles and more than a dozen community service awards.
World Class Beauty Queens: What inspired you to do your first pageant?
Since I wasn’t really old enough to decide on my own, my mother decided to put me in my first pageant because she believed that I could do great things in the pageant world. She competed in pageants when she was younger and believes it is a confidence booster that teaches many essential life skills.
World Class Beauty Queens: Why did you choose to compete for your current title?
I wanted to continue reaching for my goal of being a Maine state titleholder. I absolutely love pageantry and what it stands for, especially the Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant.
World Class Beauty Queens: To those unfamiliar with your pageant system, please tell us what it is about?
USA National Miss Maine is truly about positive pageantry. It is an environment that promotes inclusion and respect for everyone while establishing a bullying free zone where everyone can feel comfortable and be themselves. Our state and local directors, titleholders and families all believe strongly and promote the mission of this system which is what truly makes us a unique system that interests people and grows this pageant more and more each year.
World Class Beauty Queens: What are you being judged on during the competition?
During the competition you’re being judged on how well you can speak publicly, the amount of community service and volunteering you do, as well as how you do in the onstage portion(Runway and Evening Gown).
World Class Beauty Queens: Tell us about your experience during the competition.
I’ve always had good experiences during pageants. There are always so many nice girls competing. Competing in pageants, has allowed me to meet so many new people and make lasting friendships. I have friends from all over the US and Canada that I have met through pageants and opportunities presented to me as a result of competing in pageants. Pageants open up so many doors for service opportunities as well.
World Class Beauty Queens: Tell us about your platform or what cause do you volunteer for?
I do a lot of work with Peabody Memorial Library helping with kids programs, community events and I’m a member of the Teen Advisory Board at Peabody Memorial directing attention to getting teens more involved in community activities by presenting them opportunities, I am the Maine director of the Miss Sensational Pageant, and Co- Director of the Maine Lobster Queen pageant. I am finalizing plans for my first presentation of my Buddy Benches for Maine, I promote the Crown CARES and Unite Against Bullying ME in schools, classrooms and with Girl Scout and Boy Scout groups. I’m excited to see what others service opportunities and events I will have the honor of being a part of throughout my year.
World Class Beauty Queens: What appearances have you done with your title?
Teen Advisory Board member to promote Teen involvement in activities, presented awards at our Fall Fest Car Show, end of summer community barbecue and kids day-face painter and Bess the Book Bus helper, Buddy Benches for Maine, Machias Savings Bank “Back to School Supply Drive” donator, Kookies 4 Kids helper(where we baked 50 dozen cookies) and WE Believe to name a few!
World Class Beauty Queens: What are some of your achievements?
Some of my favorite achievements are all or any one that involves my community service or volunteering awards. It’s not receiving the award that I enjoy, it’s the self-satisfaction of contributing to helping others along with the recognition and everyone that I helped while in the act of earning these. I am proud to be able to give back to my community and state and that is the greatest reward. These are some of the awards I have received:
-6 time Presidential Gold Service Award
- Top 5 , National Service Award
-2 Time Crown Cares Service Award recipient
-Christienbury Outstanding Service Award
-6 Time Maine Youth Roll of Honor recipient
World Class Beauty Queens: What makes you stand out from all those other beautiful girls?
I think something that makes me stand out is my personality. I am very outgoing and will help anyone with anything that they need. I grew up always striving to help everyone because my family believes that putting others needs before your own is what’s most important. They have instilled that moral in my brother and I. We have always been blessed with what we have in our lives and want to pay it forward in any way we can.
World Class Beauty Queens: Tell us about the moment your name was called out as the winner.
I have been with Miss Deb and the Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant system for 8 years, 7 years competing. I have never once won a state title until this year. Getting called out as a winner this year was truly amazing and a goal I have spent many years working to achieve. 7 years of dedication and hard work paid off and I’m so excited for the rest of my year! I am thankful for all of my directors, mentors and coaches I’ve had along the way to help me reach this goal and I have worked hard to reach this goal. Not only that but this year I was awarded the Sr. Division Congeniality Award! To me that was HUGE because out of every girl in the pageant, I was chosen as the friendliest, most caring and outgoing person. It truly meant the world to me!
World Class Beauty Queens: What does it mean to you to be a beauty queen?
Most people outside of the pageant world think that “beauty” pageants are just girls getting up on stage and competing to see who is prettiest or who has the best clothes. From a behind the scenes view, being a beauty queen isn’t about just what’s on the outside, it’s truly about what’s on the inside and what every girl has to give individually. It’s about learning others hopes and dreams and what they strive to achieve not only in the pageant world but in life.
World Class Beauty Queens: How has competing in pageants helped your life?
I am a more confident and outgoing person as a direct effect of being in pageants from such a young age. I believe in who I am as a person and love sharing my passions with everyone I meet. Competing has taught me great lessons in losing graciously(having competed 7 times and coming in first or second each year) and how to overcome the negative feelings to turn it into a positive. This is a great life lesson to keep me motivated and always find a silver lining.
World Class Beauty Queens: How did pageants help your self esteem and body image?
I’ve always been a heavier set girl. I’ve never been super skinny. I’ve always had “meat on my bones” as they say. Pageants have helped me and shown me that it’s okay to be who I am. Getting onstage in front of so many people and knowing that they’re judging you can be very very scary. But that’s what helped me realize that just because somebody else may not like what I look like, doesn’t mean that I can’t love myself and do what everyone else is doing. I am proud of who I am.
World Class Beauty Queens: You are an inspiration to all the girls out there. How does that make you feel?
It makes me feel great. It makes me feel unstoppable. Knowing that I have an impact on other people’s thought and feelings, and people of all ages is truly a feeling that should be experienced by everyone. It’s so warming and it’s an honor, privilege and a blessing to be in the position of a role model to others.
World Class Beauty Queens: What is your onstage strategy to win the judges over?
I just love to be myself. I’ve never really had a strategy, I just get out there and show the judges who I am and why I deserve to win. I believe in myself. You have to realize that every set of judges is looking for something different so just because today wasn’t your day doesn’t mean tomorrow won’t be.
World Class Beauty Queens: How did you prepare for your competition?
I’ve truly been preparing for this for years. My mom is a pageant coach with PIA (Professional Imaging Associates) and she has been not only my pageant mom but my coach since the beginning. We prep for interview by watching back my old interview videos and picking out the things that need work. We spend time going over my resume and doing mock interview practice. I prepare my walking patterns and practice, practice, practice daily to my favorite songs that get me in the zone. We make prep more about having fun than stress. I am very picky about my wardrobe so once I have found my favorite outfits and got them approved by my mom (who has an amazing eye for style), my grandmother does all my alterations and is the best pageant Nannie ever.
World Class Beauty Queens: What are your tips for learning better pageant walks?
For me, I always watched other pageant girls and how they walked. I got little tips and things from them and kind of put a little bit of everything they did with how I walked already. I have gotten so many complements on how I’m natural on stage and am very graceful. It’s great hearing that because I’ve practice so, so much and have done it for so long that it feels great knowing people recognize that. The extra work is worth it!
World Class Beauty Queens: What are your tips for choosing the right pageant dress?
You definitely want to chose something that makes you feel comfortable. Not only comfortable but beautiful and elegant. It has to be something that you pick out, not what somebody else may pick. I was always told that the dress doesn’t wear you, you wear the dress. In order to do so, you need to feel comfortable in the style that you’re modeling. Color is also a key component.
World Class Beauty Queens: What are your tips for winning interview?
Going into interview, you have to be yourself. You need to be fully prepared by going over your resume or information sheet and practicing possible questions judges may ask. You have to remember that the judges have a very short amount of time to get to know you as much as they can! First impressions are important so make yourself memorable. Be candid and don’t be so worried about giving the “right answer” that you forget to be yourself. They want to be able to get as much information as they can from you as fast as possible. This year I was the second highest interview score out of the entire pageant (which had 100 contestants competing). That was definitely an accomplishment for me. I was also the highest interview for the WE Believe interview optional and won the trip to Canada in May of 2020 to speak in front of over 87,000 youth, both live and via live stream,for the second time!
World Class Beauty Queens: What is one mistake you’ve done during competing you wish you could redo and fix?
Doubting myself. Before winning my title this year, I competed 6 times and placed either first or second runner up each time. After the first few times I began to doubt my abilities and really felt like I would never be what the judges wanted. But then I spent time reflecting on why I did the pageant in the first place. Not to win a crown but to gain experiences and create lasting relationships which I did. So then I jumped right back in preparing for the next year. It may have taken 7 years to win but that makes it so much more worth it. Each year I’d take the judges’ comments, work on what needed to be worked on and try again. Don’t even give up on yourself and your dreams. No matter how long, believe in yourself and you’ll accomplish what you set out to do.
World Class Beauty Queens: What other mistakes are made by girls during competing?
I know that many girls make the mistake of taking photos in the dressing room. That is a very common one, I see it happening a lot. The ladies need to remember that the dressing room is for getting dressed. There are ladies changing their clothes and in their undergarments in there. You want to feel safe while changing into another outfit for a different phase of competition, you don’t want to have to worry about somebody getting them in the back of a photo with no clothes on and posting it. The dressing room is not a place for photos.
World Class Beauty Queens: Any modeling or acting experience?
I have a bit of modeling experience and that is through being in pageants.
World Class Beauty Queens: What are you plans for 2019 as a queen?
I have a goal to complete at least 30 hours of community service a month. By doing just an hour a day that is a completely realistic goal to meet. Along with my service project “Keys of Change”, that I created in 2017 where I paint keys in the bullying prevention colors, makes them into keychains and sell these to donate all funds to the Crown Cares, I will also be launching my newest service project “Buddy Benches for Maine”. I will present a bench to schools across main to go on their playground. The bench serves as a tool for children who are feeling alone or needing a friend to use the bench to make other children aware and promote inclusion. I will make presentations to each school before donating these benches. While continuing to promote the state and National platform The Crown CARES, both of my projects will go hand in hand with this to promote bullying prevention. I want to make this year memorable with my sister queens and have fun preparing for Nationals.
World Class Beauty Queens: What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
I want others to think of me as someone with integrity and someone that faces a tough situation head on. I want others to be able to learn for me and I want the waves of my service this year to continue rippling for years to come. Not only for this year as Miss Maine Dirigo.
National Director: Jackie B. Watson
State director: Deb Landry
Your Local Director: Yvonne Hayward World Class Beauty Queens Magazine would like to say thank you for this amazing interview.
Skyla Shay Libby 2020 USA National Miss Maine Dirigo Teen, World Class Beauty Queens Magazine, Mandy McQueen Photography. Makeup Flawless Pros , Stephanie Lyman and gowns by Blush Bridal and Formal.
Maine State Director and Executive Director of Crossroads
Deb Landry is the president, founder and executive director of Bryson Taylor Inc., Crossroads Youth Center and is a bestselling, award winning children's author. With over 40 years of experience in business administration, management, coaching, consulting and publishing, Deb specialized in operational and organization management and holds certifications in life and parent coaching, wedding and event planning, professional image and etiquette consultant.
As a coach, she specializes in social awareness behaviors, personal growth, professional development and character education with a focus on developmental education to raise resilient and respectful youth. Over the past 17 years, she has added extensive pageant coaching experience specializing in interview and resume skills.
A humanitarian, Deb is the co-founder, President-Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Crossroads, a 501-c3 nonprofit scholarship community art based organization, and has been recognized with several awards for her work including A Presidential Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Honorary, Rotary's Paul Harris Award, National Collegiate Director of the Year, National Director of the Year UNM, Best in Pageantry Awards for 3 years and the STAR Community Service Award, Deb has been interviewed and featured on NBC, CBS, national radio, and several publications including The Phoenix, USA Weekend Magazine, Raising Maine Magazine, Seventeen Magazine, Women's Day Magazine, and Child Magazine. She is the host of the new podcast Raising Cain, named for her blog of many years.
www.deblandry.com About our platform and our organization.
Crossroads Youth Center is a 501c3 not-for-profit youth program that is organized and operating exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Their largest program, the Maine Academic Scholarship program, developed a scholarship pageant system 11 years ago as their major fundraiser and it has taken on a world of its own.
Crossroads also host many programs focusing on character education and bullying prevention. They produce the Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant , USA National Miss Maine, American Women of Service, American Women of Service ME, Young Maine Women of Service, Miss Maine Elementary, Primary and Preschool, Miss Sensational, and is has recently added Canada in 2019 with the North American Women of Service.
The state pageant, largest in the state of Maine with over 100 contestants annually, is proudly affiliated with USA National Miss Scholarship Pageant and the American Women of Service National Pageants to provide pageantry opportunities of the highest quality to females of all ages beyond the state level. It is their goal to provide girls and young women with the tools to enhance and develop communication, self-presentation and interview skills, allowing them to become resilient, community minded adults. Crossroads is proud to offer opportunities to earn college scholarships at the national level to assist them in their academic journey, striving to provide an opportunity that guides their participants to be community minded, resilient, strong and respectful citizens while learning to give back to the community where they live.
The pageant itself and the executive director have been awarded top 5 honors with the Pageant Planet three years in a row for best pageant , best prize package and best state director. “Our first pageant had only four contestants,” states Executive Director, Deb Landry, “and now 11 years later we are servicing over 100 women and young girls across the state with 13 local pageants. We have grown into a movement to serving over 16000 hours of community service annually.”
Crossroads Youth Center is a 501c3 charitable organization whose mission is to raise resilient children, youth, and teens by providing innovative programs that serve Maine youth to envision and navigate a course for a rewarding future that is characterized by achievement, independent thought, and social responsibility through education, mentoring and volunteering. For more information visit www.missmainepageant.com. About our platform and our organization.
Crossroads Youth Center is a 501c3 not-for-profit youth program that is organized and operating exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Their largest program, the Maine Academic Scholarship program, developed a scholarship pageant system 11 years ago as their major fundraiser and it has taken on a world of its own.
Crossroads also host many programs focusing on character education and bullying prevention. They produce the Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant , USA National Miss Maine, American Women of Service, American Women of Service ME, Young Maine Women of Service, Miss Maine Elementary, Primary and Preschool, Miss Sensational, and is has recently added Canada in 2019 with the North American Women of Service.
The state pageant, largest in the state of Maine with over 100 contestants annually, is proudly affiliated with USA National Miss Scholarship Pageant and the American Women of Service National Pageants to provide pageantry opportunities of the highest quality to females of all ages beyond the state level. It is their goal to provide girls and young women with the tools to enhance and develop communication, self-presentation and interview skills, allowing them to become resilient, community minded adults. Crossroads is proud to offer opportunities to earn college scholarships at the national level to assist them in their academic journey, striving to provide an opportunity that guides their participants to be community minded, resilient, strong and respectful citizens while learning to give back to the community where they live.
The pageant itself and the executive director have been awarded top 5 honors with the Pageant Planet three years in a row for best pageant , best prize package and best state director. “Our first pageant had only four contestants,” states Executive Director, Deb Landry, “and now 11 years later we are servicing over 100 women and young girls across the state with 13 local pageants. We have grown into a movement to serving over 16000 hours of community service annually.”
Crossroads Youth Center is a 501c3 charitable organization whose mission is to raise resilient children, youth, and teens by providing innovative programs that serve Maine youth to envision and navigate a course for a rewarding future that is characterized by achievement, independent thought, and social responsibility through education, mentoring and volunteering. For more information visit www.missmainepageant.com.
Our National Partnership:
The USA National Miss Scholarship Organization is our national pageant program for ages 4-25. UNM combines all the excitement of pageantry with the high fashion and energy of a runway fashion show – while recognizing the personal achievement, community involvement and academic excellence of young women all across the USA. Their unique program is designed to award young women for their accomplishments, and to mentor them to reach their goals and unleash their true potential. USA National Miss awards six prestigious national titles and thousands in cash scholarships each summer at the national pageant. USA National Miss has been featured in the national media: Pageantry Magazine, MTV Made, Tiara Magazine, American Model & Pageant Magazine, The Pageant Planet, and Pageant Talk Radio just to name a few. With our unique approach, USA National Miss is changing the face of pageantry with the national director named the number 1 national director in 2015. For more information visit our national website at www.USANationalMiss.com.
The American Women of Service, is the child of national director Jasmine DeRier. Jasmine’s dream was to develop a national pageant for women who serve their community, representing the national platform and their own personal platform. Now in its fourth year AWOS has grown include Canadian citizens, Young American Women of Service and a noncompetitive program for young girls.
We Customize Your Pageant Experience
Crossroads Productions is following the trend and joined USA National Miss, a fashion-forward system that allows our delegates the opportunity to combine their love of pageantry with other optional elements to custom design their pageant experience- whether your focus is on fashion and modeling, or talent, education, community service, and mentorship we have a division for you. We celebrate individuality! At our state pageant, each delegate will compete in evening gown, interview and the signature red carpet runway fashion show- a fun, exciting and upbeat runway fashion event where each delegate can showcase their unique sense of style and personality on a real runway. We will also be awarding distinguished optional titles: State Role Model, Supermodel, Hospitality Queen, Spokes Model, and Talented Miss, Miss Maine Preschool, Primary and Elementary to the first runners up in the jr. divisions, as well as additional optional divisions and state titles where delegates can earn crowns, awards and prizes.
We skillfully mix social events within the competition so that delegates can have fun, meet new friends from across the state, and take home memories they will cherish for the rest of their lives. We also encourage community involvement and charity work through our platform, The Crown CARES, (creating a respectful environment in schools). And in keeping with the tradition of pageantry, our system encourages young women to be graceful, articulate, accomplished females with strong values and self worth.
CP represents a positive approach to pageantry – no swimsuit competition, no experience necessary, no mandatory talent and no make-up in our younger divisions, all females are invited, age 1 week to 99!. We strive to develop leadership, public speaking and communication skills while building self-confidence among the state and nation’s young women.
Custom Design Your Reign
Knowing that each young woman who participates in our program has unique talents, gifts, goals and interests, we fashioned our program so that our state royalty can custom design their reign to align it with their own personal goals in order to achieve their dreams. Whether their interests are geared toward a career in modeling, talent development, or want to further your charity work, make friends or find mentorship opportunities, we will provides a platform to fulfill dreams. Having a unique focus and custom designed plan for each queen allows for personal growth, success and fulfillment during their reign and beyond. In addition, their royalty participate in a variety of activities together, forming a bond of sisterhood that is sure to last a lifetime.
Crossroads offer many different ways young ladies and women can compete, and have secured many local titles to promote our great state of Maine: Crossroads’ Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant owns and has trademarked the follow titles as of August 2011:
Miss Maine Pre-School TM
Miss Maine Primary TM
Miss Maine Elementary TM
Miss MS Mrs. Maine, American Women of Service TM
Young American Women of Service TM
Royal Prince and Princess Academy TM
Miss Sensational Pageant TM (A pageant for young girls with disabilities)
Miss Pine Tree TM
Miss Dirigo TM
The Crown CARES
State and National Platform:
The Crown CARES (Creating A Respectful Environment in Schools/Society) is specifically designed for volunteers, pageant systems and peer ambassadors who wish to promote awareness as a platform on the epidemic of bullying in schools, to cultivate a safe environment and most importantly teach skills to develop social responsibility and character education in school-age children, youth and teens and is modeled after the Unite Against Bullying Project.
Designed to raise awareness of positive social behaviors, bullying and harassment prevention, and to give practical solutions, the easy how to manual is available and provided to the participants, provides the general knowledge, research, resources and practical advice necessary to incorporate steps and measures for your program to effectively promote awareness of bullying prevention, harassment and creating a safe school environment.
The Crown CARES program outlines the definition and simple solutions of the age-old problem of bullying. While there are no grandiose or magical explanations, intellectually understanding the importance of good character, and bullying prevention as well as developing and maintaining a program in or out of school is what Crown CARES has put at the forefront is placing the representatives in a reputable place in their community. The author, Deb Landry, stated that “it is our responsibility as adults, community leaders, caretakers and human beings to nurture the delicacy of our youth. We can only accomplish this by ongoing improvements and continuing education with the youth’s safety as the principal purpose.”
Excerpts from this program were taken from the workbook, The Comfort Zone and by Meline Kevorkian, ED., Robin D’Antona, ED. and Deb Landry, Maines Best Practice Manual, and Sticks Stones and Stumped children’s book and workbook by Deb Landry, and the Unite Against Bullying Program by Deb Landry, published by Bryson Taylor Publishing. The Crown CARES program is also available as Unite Against Bullying ME for non-pageant people who wish to be advocates for the mission. More information is available at www.crowncares.org. The program and logo is researched based and is copyrighted.
Interview by Derek Tokarzewski Owner/Editor in Chief Mr United Nations 2018 Platform: Women Empowerment Ambassador to International Foundation for Orphans iffocares.org
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