The crowd erupted in cheers as a silver crown was gently placed on Ericka Correia’s head.
With a bouquet in her arms and a sash reading “Miss Taunton” draped across her shoulder, she radiated joy.
For Correia, a junior at Boston University who now holds five local pageant titles, her most recent victory as Miss Taunton on Nov. 3 was the culmination of years of dedication — but it wasn’t always a part of her plan.
Despite growing up thinking pageantry wasn’t the “right environment” for her, Correia began competing in pageants her freshman year of high school.
“I didn’t know how to do my hair. I never wore makeup. I didn’t even know how to walk in heels properly,” she said. “Then I finally got a little encouragement from my dance friends that had competed, as well as my dance teachers, and I decided to try it out.”
Correia competed in her first pageant, Miss New Bedford’s Outstanding Teen, and took second place. The week after, she was crowned Miss Freetown’s Outstanding Teen in 2019.
Only a year later, she claimed the title of Miss New Bedford’s Outstanding Teen.
“From then, I was hooked,” she said.
Correia, who grew up watching the New Bedford pageant, said she was “on cloud nine for weeks” after winning.
“When I won that, it was the most special thing ever to me,” she said. “It was that year that I think shaped me and helped me realize what I wanted to do.”
Correia balances her responsibilities as a college student with those of a pageant-winner, which she said the Miss America organization helps her balance. And competing in pageants consists of more than one may think.
After a 10-minute personal interview with the judges, contestants must answer onstage questions, showcase an artistic talent, model athleticwear and show poise in an evening gown.
Correia’s experience preparing for the interview portion of her pageants helped her realize she wanted to study journalism.
“This organization shaped what I want to do for a career and showed me what I’d be good at for a career, which is something that’s special,” Correia said
Correia, who has a minor in dance at BU and is on the BU Dance Team, said she performs a jazz routine as her artistic talent.
When she came to college, Correia said her new friends were surprised to learn she competed in pageants.
“When people hear the word ‘pageant,’ their mind immediately goes to ‘Toddlers & Tiaras’ and that negative stereotype where it’s only about looks,” Correia said. “None of those things are true.”
She said the Miss America organization “prides itself” on providing scholarships, focusing on academics and prioritizing intelligence and service in its contestants.
“It’s more about judging your presence and your confidence, rather than what you’re wearing,” Correia said.
Pageant contestants must also showcase a service initiative, a project they actively participate in within their local community — typically something meaningful to them, Correia said.
Currently, Correia’s community service initiative is called “Life Changing Moments Begin With Mentoring,” inspired by her work with the national mentoring organization Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
“I’m going to hopefully work with school districts to have the high school students mentor the elementary school students during after school programs,” Correia said. “I want to bring what I’ve learned about mentoring to local communities.”
Pageantry has also provided Correia with a sisterhood.
“Instead of being in a sorority at BU, I have my pageant sisters,” she said.
Tess O’Riordan, a junior at Boston Conservatory at Berklee College, competed alongside Correia at Miss Massachusetts Teen in 2019. Even though they’ve been competitors, O’Riordan has always seen Correia as “a smiling face in the crowd.”
“The atmosphere is not super competitive, catty or anything like the stereotypes,” O’Riordan said. “You’re all uplifting each other and just there for one another.”
Kathryn Stamoulis, a junior at BU, met Correia at a dance class when they were both 15, before Correia began competing in pageants.
“When we had first met and I saw a crown on her head, it was almost like she had a sort of double life,” Stamoulis said. “She can be a dancer and she can be a pageant queen, and honestly there’s no one else that would fit that part better.”
Stamoulis said Correia seems to be “in her natural habitat” when she’s at a pageant.
“Sitting with her in the room while she gets ready is a whole different type of Ericka,” Stamoulis said. “When she becomes this pageant queen … she becomes even more of a leader than she already is.”
In June 2025, Correia will participate in her third run at Miss Massachusetts. If she wins, she’ll get to check the ultimate pageant milestone off her bucket list.
“My dream is to one day step foot on that Miss America stage,” she said. “I want to make a name for myself and leave my own little legacy on the communities that I represent.”
