Seminole Spotlight: Miss Tallahassee's Leila Sabet on pageantry and purposeEMMA MOODY | STAFF WRITER 1:29 p.m. EDT Apr. 8, 2018 On Friday, I had the chance to sit down with Florida State’s very own Leila Sabet. Sabet is a graduating senior at Florida State wrapping up her degree in psychology with a certificate in advanced leadership studies. Sabet is also involved in campus groups such as Garnet and Gold Key Honor Society and the Panhellenic sorority Alpha Delta Pi, where she served on the executive board and as president. However, the reason for our meeting was not to detail her many impressive on-campus accomplishments, but one of her more recent feats. On Saturday, March 24th, 2018, Sabet was crowned Miss Tallahassee in the Miss Tallahassee pageant held on FAMU’s campus. For Sabet, this is step one in her journey to becoming Miss Florida and, fingers crossed, Miss America. Sabet and her director, former Miss FAMU, Dr. Denise Barrett agreed to sit down with me to tell me a little bit more about the incredibly complex world of pageantry which is much more prevalent on our campus than you might think. To be honest, before this meeting, I had a very surface level understanding of pageantry. One that came from one too many weekends spent binge watching TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras. However, it was comforting to hear Sabet say that she actually had the same surface level misconceptions about pageantry before she started competing. How did Sabet get bit by the pageant bug? A high school dare. “My junior year of high school we had a pageant and I was on the dance team. I had a good relationship with administration at my school, and my friends were like I dare you to do it and I said ‘Why? I’m not a pageant girl.’ I had this perception of pageantry that was inaccurate.” But after accepting the dare and winning the pageant, Sabet realized pageantry actually reaped benefits far beyond a crown and sash. Pageantry gave Sabet a bigger voice and greater presence in her community. A year before competing in this high school pageant, Sabet’s father was diagnosed with advanced heart disease. It was a trying time for her family and especially scary for her and her sister as they watched their father get seven angioplasty stints to unblock five of his major arteries. “My sister and I didn't take it very well because, you know, we almost lost our father. I kind of dropped off the face of the Earth for a little bit until my friends helped me get my feet back on the ground. That’s when I started competing [in pageants]. Yes, it was a dare, but I knew that I could have that platform to speak about heart disease. I didn't know when I'd be ready to, but once I became Miss Ponte Vedra High School, I started speaking to young students about how to be healthy and live an active lifestyle.” With this newfound passion for pageantry and a platform near and dear to her heart, Sabet put in hours of work towards fine-tuning her image both physically and mentally. Competing on the Miss America circuit means participants must be aware of the four points of the crown: scholarship, service, style and success. It is these four points that propel contestants to continue to better themselves and contribute to the advancement of each of these areas. In terms of scholarship, the Miss America organization awards millions of dollars each year in scholarships to its participants. For women like Sabet, this is of huge importance as her undergraduate and possible graduate studies have come out of her pocket. Furthermore, the organization has raised over $16 million for their charity of choice, Children’s Miracle Network, and each participant then focuses on their own platform, which usually incorporates the point of service.
For Sabet, that personal platform is heart disease awareness and prevention through which she has spent time speaking to young students about living a healthy lifestyle. We then have the style point, which Sabet assures is the most fun. Contestants are expected to stay up to date on the latest fashion trends in order to better relate to their audience. Finally, it is success that ties it all together. Dr. Barrett explained why these four characteristics are so important for contestants to embody, “What I love is you can have it all. You can be beautiful, you can be smart, you can be intelligent, you can be articulate, and, as Leila said, all of those four things folded in together help create a successful woman. And that’s our goal, helping women achieve their goals in life and helping others achieve their goals in society.” Now, as Miss Tallahassee, Sabet’s commitment to succeeding on the pageant circuit goes far beyond herself. She’s representing the entire Tallahassee community as she continues on to becoming Miss Florida with high hopes that the title turns into Miss America. “The amount of support I’ve gotten already is incredible. I feel so loved, it's insane, I've never received this much support as a titleholder. But I think going forward just having those opportunities to be a part of the community, speaking to people, things like this honestly; It's all preparing me for the job of Miss Florida. Getting to speak about my journey and my mission, my vision, my goals.” If you are looking to get into the wide world of pageantry, Dr. Barrett has this advice for you, “Step out on faith and go for it. As Leila said, you'd be surprised how things come together. We're fortunate to live in a day and age where everything is available to you. We have a number of resources. Reach out to people, ask for advice, look online, the sky’s the limit… Don't let fear hold you back. You can always find a reason not to do something; it's a matter of putting one foot in front of the next and going for your dream.” Many Florida State University student organizations host their own pageants on campus including various Greek life sororities and fraternities as well as different cultural clubs. Florida State also has a long line of successful titleholders such as Miss Florida 2017, Sara Zengand third runner up at the Miss America pageant in 2014, Victoria Cowen. We hope Sabet will join this list of successors as she continues on. She will compete in the Miss Florida preliminary competition during the last week of June. The new Miss Florida will be crowned on Finals Night, June 30th, 2018. The dates for the Miss America pageant have yet to be announced, but we can expect them to occur sometime in September. We wish Leila Sabet the best of luck as she continues on!
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Interview with WCTV News in Tallahassee, FLThe morning after being crowned Miss Tallahassee 2018, Leila was interviewed on WCTV News in Tallahassee, FL. She shares her pageant experience and the feeling of winning this year's crown. University to welcome students during signature eventsPUBLISHED: AUGUST 20, 2014 | 11:17 AM Florida State University will welcome incoming first-year students from its main campus and Panama City, Fla., campus during the annual New Student Convocation and Backyard Barbecue on Sunday, Aug. 24. New Student Convocation 2014 will welcome the Class of 2018 and all new students into the university’s community of scholars, with an emphasis on its traditions and values. It begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, but the doors will open at noon. In addition to new students and their families, the entire university community and the general public are invited to attend. Students are encouraged to arrive early; attendance increases each year for this event and a record number of students is expected. During the ceremony, Interim President Garnett S. Stokes will greet the students and Interim Provost and Vice President for Faculty Development and Advancement Sally McRorie will give a charge to the Class of 2018, encouraging its members to take full advantage of the academic opportunities that are available to them. Internationally known human right advocate Terence C. “Terry” Coonan, executive director of Florida State’s Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, will deliver the convocation address. Afterward, Dean of Undergraduate Studies Karen Laughlin will lead the Torch Ceremony and the recitation of the university’s Academic Honor Policy Pledge. During the Torch Ceremony, three upperclassmen will pass torches to three first-year students, symbolically passing the university’s ideals from one class to the next. The torches stand for Vires (strength), Artes (skill) and Mores (character) as depicted in the Florida State University seal. The upperclassmen will be Daniel Stribling (Vires), Daniel Ruiz (Artes) and Rachel Crooks (Mores). The first-year students, chosen on the basis of essays they wrote about the qualities of the three torches and how they connect with the history and culture of the Seminole Tribe, will be Leila Sabet (Vires), Nicholas Bastidas (Artes) and Alexandra Taggart (Mores). Incoming School of Theatre student Ian Sicks will read the winning essays. Following this, Vice President for Student Affairs Mary Coburn will lead the Convocation Class Pin Ceremony and the recitation of the university’s Seminole Creed. She also will discuss the university’s Uphold the Garnet and Gold philosophy of respect for the dignity and worth of each member of the university community. Later during the ceremony, students will be taught to sing the Alma Mater, “High o’er the Towering Pines” with assistance from College of Music Professor Kevin Fenton and incoming music student Driss Ziane. When the program concludes, buses will be available to transport students from the Civic Center to the President’s House for this year’s Backyard Barbecue, a display of Florida State’s Southern hospitality to make incoming students feel at home on campus. It will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. at the President’s House, 1030 W. Tennessee St. Interim President Stokes and the deans of the university’s colleges will attend, and there will be food, fun and entertainment for incoming students and their families. To make meeting new classmates and finding their dean easier, each student will be given a T-shirt that is color-coded to the college in which he or she enrolled. All new students should wear these special T-shirts to both the New Student Convocation and the Backyard Barbecue, the T-shirts will be available for pickup at the front entrance of Moore Auditorium in the Oglesby Union on the following days and times: Wednesday, Aug. 20, noon to 9 p.m.; Thursday, Aug. 21, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 22, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday, Aug. 23, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. First-time contestant is PVHS’s first winner in Miss Senior High pageantBy Amanda Durish Cook Posted Nov 27, 2013 at 3:33 PM The 32nd edition of Jacksonville’s Miss Senior High/Miss Northeast Florida pageant crowned its first title winner from Ponte Vedra High School on Nov. 16.
Miss Ponte Vedra, Leila Sabet, along with 23 other Jacksonville-area high school girls, competed in fitness wear, evening gown and talent portions of the Saturday contest hosted by the First Coast Woman’s Club and held at the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts in Orange Park. Sabet, who turns 18 in January, won the Miss Ponte Vedra High School pageant in March and continued on to the Miss Senior High pageant. It was the senior’s first time competing in a pageant. “It’s definitely very exciting. When they called my name, it didn’t occur to me right away that I was the Miss Ponte Vedra and I should respond,” Sabet said. “I never knew anything about pageants before Leila competed in the high school pageant,” Leila’s mother, Jody Sabet said. “She was so focused on her studies and didn’t have time to think about competing in a pageant before.” First Coast Woman’s Club also recognized Leila with the volunteer of the year award during the contest. Sabet is president of her senior class, holds down a 4.0 grade point average, and is captain of the school dance team; she’s been involved in dance since she was 6 years old. Leila said that years of dance recitals honed her stage presence and prepared her to compete. “I’m used to being on stage, so I was surprisingly not that nervous,” she said. Despite a full schedule, she found time to prepare for the pageant. “I really have had to prioritize; I’m busy all the time, but I enjoy everything that I do. I’m the kind of person that, if I’m not busy, I have to find something to do.” It was Sabet’s jazz dance routine in a circus-themed costume that stood out amid the other singers, guitarists, piano and poetry performances. “It was a lot of amazing talent on that stage,” Jody Sabet said. Jody Sabet also said that the pageant offered her daughter a surprising amount of real world preparation and experience. During the interview portion of the contest, she noticed that the girls fielded questions about themselves much like a job interview. The representatives competing were also required to have a platform, and Sabet chose heart disease, an issue that she holds close. “The reason I chose heart disease is because my dad was diagnosed a few years ago. Heart disease prevention and heart health are issues that I’m super passionate about,” Leila said. Sabet runs Heart-to-Heart, a Facebook community page that offers heart disease prevention information and healthy recipes. In June, winners Sabet and Miss Stanton - first runner-up Alexus Williamson - will travel to the Miss Florida pageant in St. Petersburg. The Miss Florida pageant is affiliated with Miss America. “She was so excited. It’s all been so fabulous,” Jody Sabet said. “It’s surprising how supportive all the girls were of one another even though they were competing against each other. That’s what Leila’s found. She made friends from girls from other high schools that she never would have met otherwise.” Leila said she is “honored to be the first Miss Ponte Vedra to be crowned Miss Senior High.” “I cannot wrap my head around the fact that I will be competing for the title of Miss Florida this summer. It’s incredible how a high school pageant has opened so many doors for me,” she said. As part of her title, Sabet will make appearances throughout the year, including an upcoming St. Augustine parade, a Nease High School pageant, and a Christmas dance with Miss Sunshine at The Jacksonville Landing. Amanda Durish Cook: (904) 359-4665 |
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