OREM — One of the best things that happens to a Miss Utah contestant is that everybody has good tips to share from choosing earrings to walking well in heels and a swimsuit.
It's also one of the worst things that happens if the contestant isn't confident in her abilities and her choices.
Carly Tooke, Miss Utah Valley State College 2004, doesn't have that problem, though. She's back for her third attempt at facing the rigors of the state pageant.
"I haven't changed myself. I haven't tried to cookie-cutter myself. Each year, I've just learned how to be a better Carly," Tooke said. "I know girls who continue to go back to compete often struggle with that very issue, too much advice. It's a balance between taking criticism that will help you and discarding that which will change you. I've always had a keen sense of what's right for me."
Tooke thinks coming in as first-runner-up to Stacy Johnson last year was actually a blessing in disguise.
Because she was not the queen, she had time to spend with her desperately ill mother, and she competed in the Miss Sweetheart Pageant, where she picked up valuable experience on the national pageant level.
"Last year, I was so glad I had accomplished so much. Then after the Miss Sweetheart competition, where I placed third and won the preliminary swimsuit competition — something that is amazing for a little Utah girl — I decided to come back."
Tooke placed in the top 10 finalists her first year in the Miss Ostia scholarship pageant, a first for a Miss Spanish Fork. She was 18 at the time.
Now she's 21 and focused on winning the Miss Utah 2004 crown, because she likes having scholarship money to pay her tuition, and she wants to get her message out about childhood mental illness.
"My main goal is to combat the stigma that still exists about mental illness," Tooke said.
She became interested in mental illness when her cousin committed suicide and she was searching for answers through volunteer work for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
Tooke believes going back into the pageant competition with some experience gives her an edge. She knows what to expect and how to prepare for the rampwork, the judges' interviews and the 24/7 stress.
She has more funding this time as Miss Utah Valley State College, and the Abravanel Hall pageant site is a wonderful stage and showcase for her talent number, much classier than the Mountain View High School stage she danced on her first year. She's also happier to be housed in a Salt Lake hotel with other contestants. (Previously, contestants stayed in homes in Utah County during pageant week.)
She has a new physical challenge, though. Her right leg tendon detached during the Miss UVSC competition, so she's been in therapy and rehabilitation for the past three months, something that's a real concern for a dancer.
But, she's relaxed and relying on her overall good health and optimism to pull her though.
"I'm not worried about it. I'm prepared, and maybe the third time's the charm," she said.
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com