Jessica Indio is the next contestant to be featured in our series, "The Road to Miss New Jersey," and she is the reining Miss Tri-County. The road to Miss New Jersey is an exciting one, and we are thrilled to share this series with all our readers. Over the next few weeks, you will have the chance to meet all of the beautifully talented ladies who are vying for the crown this June! Continue reading to learn more about Jessica!

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Please share with our readers your title & platform.
I am your Miss Tri-County 2017 and my platform is Dress for Success, seeking to provide economic empowerment and employment preparation for my female counterparts who may have otherwise not had access to do so.

How long have you competed in pageants? How do you think you’ve personally grown with all your prior pageant experience?
I have been doing pageants for about four years now and it has been a transforming experience. My metamorphosis has taken me to a place where I have gained confidence speaking candidly in public forums, refined my professional demeanor and performed services to the greater New Jersey community. My life as a Miss America Organization title holder has brought me tenacity to bounce back when the path does not always run smooth, the drive to get back up to pursue my goals and the humility to accept the greater gifts that come my way in a manner that still allows me to be wholeheartedly who I am.

In regards to your platform, why did you choose to go with this particular one?
I chose my platform because I had been inspired by the Half the Sky at FIT club formed on my campus a few years ago, which I as able to serve on the executive board in its inception. My institution holds somewhere around an 80% female student population and yet there had been no group dedicated to the ongoing conversations of female empowerment and equality in a safe and open environment. The name is derived from a proverb that exclaims “women hold half the sky.”  It was from these driven and open-minded women and men I was introduced to Dress for Success, representing economic empowerment for women through professional clothing/accessories to enable these women to gain the first tools towards their life stabilizing career. I am pursuing a business degree for merchandising and being a professional woman has influenced me to provide support to my counterparts in any capacity to help them realize their scholastic and professional ambitions.

How has working alongside your platform made you into a stronger person?
Working with this platform in conjunction with pursuits within the Miss America Organization has placed emphasis on how important it is for me to carve out a space for myself in the professional world. I’ve learned that I am my own brand and have to differentiate myself, promoting my unparalleled qualities and putting my best face forward. This is a lesson that should be imparted even to those who have not had all the opportunities I have been granted, which is why a platform that allows this is so imperative. I am stronger because I surround myself with tenacious women, supportive men and great minds that make me want to gain strength in every endeavor I do and channel that into more positive energy to overcome even greater challenges.

What have you learned from your current Miss New Jersey, Brenna Weick, which you hope to carry with you if you were to win the title of Miss NJ?
Brenna Weick has been for me a great source of inspiration on how to be a perfect balance of elegance and enthusiasm as she has been doing her whole reign as Miss New Jersey. I have had the pleasure of witnessing her always play the part of a lady to perfection as she continues her charitable ventures. She has always been so authentically herself and never lost tact in the process. What I have gained is a figure to which to model myself after when wanting to exude a calming confidence that remains unwavering and remain a title-holder who never loses her true self.

As a title holder, what is one of the single-most important messages, which you think you convey to your followers?
As title holders, we should always let the crown sit upon our heads but never let it go to them. We follow the four points of the crown: Scholarship, Service, Style and Success. It is my belief all of these should be achieved with dignity and humility. When we wear a crown it is never to be alienating but inviting. It does not place us on pedestals but rather our achievements for the greater good of our communities. To my followers, I am just as human as the next girl. What as made me stand out is stepping up to this challenge but I never truly have to lose who I am and the connections I have with the people I care about. Remember we are human, humble and love being surrounded by you.

If you were to win the title of Miss New Jersey, what is the one thing which you would strive the hardest to accomplish?
As the reigning Miss New Jersey, I would make it my goal to be a constant presence in my home state, encouraging other young women to join my ranks and earn their spot as a local titleholder to make a difference in their community. Being a part of this organization is unlike any sisterhood I have experienced and I would be vigilant in aiding returning girls, to continue setting the bar higher for themselves as well as providing newcomers with guidance. A great pleasure I have enjoyed when encountering some of the new faces this season has been in being a source of knowledge from the experiences of my first year. You only get to be Miss New Jersey once and I would want to ensure there were plenty of vibrant, dedicated women ready to join my ranks and leave a legacy that not only remains with myself but in the people, I have been able to encourage to pursue the path of that of a true Miss America.

Imagine you’re competing for Miss America, and your roommate has never visited New Jersey; how would you describe your state to your roommate?
Variety is the spice of life and you will certainly get that in New Jersey! With a state split three ways between Southern, Central and Northern you get to experience multitudes of lifestyles that aren’t all that too far away from each other. Where I’ve grown up in Southern Jersey has been centered around the shore and tight-knit small businesses and big families in my community. I also have family who in the more northern part of my state and with this has granted me an opportunity to experience different facets of both urban and suburban life. With car keys in hand, we could take ourselves all over the great state of New Jersey!

If you could place three items in a time capsule, which represent the women of today, what would they be and why?
I would want to include Mx. which is the bi-annual zine created by the Half the Sky at FIT club I served as an executive member in its early stages. The title itself “Mx.” is a title utilized in lieu of Mr. Miss to showcase the diverse range of representation this publication seeks to include in its articles. Recognizing the range of our peers who do not conform to the same pronouns as “cisgendered” counterparts has still been a part of the larger female empowerment conversation that continues today in an attempt to give voices to those who feel unheard. An educational degree to represent how important the track of education in fulfilling careers has become to today’s women. The antiquated supposition of being bound to one type of lifestyle does not have to be the case for a modern woman, who finds she has options in whatever she so chooses to pursue. And lastly, a brochure from the Women in the World Summit. I have had the great pleasure of attending one of these summits and the astounding amount of comradery that comes from bringing together such an array of female intellectuals in the effort to spread ideas and innovation is an experience I believe many of us should attempt to emulate. Even in the most informal groups, the collaboration of minds is setting us on the path to greater accomplishment.

Because of media, many people tend to look at pageants with a very scrutinizing option; For you. personally, what have been some of the biggest benefits of being a part of the Miss America Organization. And how would you share the positive nature of pageants with others who may not be familiar?
The Miss America Organization has impacted my personal growth in so many meaningful ways that in all likelihood I would have not even begun to define who I am today in quite the same way without the support and encouragement I received. What I would impart first upon those who find themselves un-conversant in the subject of Miss America pageants would be the four points of the crown: Style, Service, Scholarship, and Success. These are a part of our guiding principles that enable us to fortify ourselves as the strong, educated, philanthropic individuals you will often see putting positivism back into the world. I would also note that there is more than one way to succeed. I may not walk away with the title at the end of the day but I could be recognized for my community service or be hailed for my fitness achievements, perhaps even be granted award for my polished interview skills. Even if when I do not receive recognition I realize it took so much courage to put myself out there to receive constructive criticism and the only way left for me to go is up. Most importantly, you have to seek to put in just as much as you expect to get out of this system and the reward is priceless. I came into the Miss America Organization with the goal to break out of my shell and have received so much more as I work alongside amazing women serving their communities, embraced maintaining my physical health, continue to grow as a professional and receive an experience that I will look back fondly at for the rest of my life.

“Bravura” is an artistic word for exceptional; in your opinion, what makes you “bravura”?
I would call my patience one of my most exceptional qualities that helps make me an exceptional person. It is a virtue that I find myself utilizing constantly as a titleholder. It has aided me in working on my artistic abilities, engage with the many children I have had the pleasure of meeting through my journey in the Miss America system and has helped me in pursuing long term goals that call for boundless amounts of endurance and therefore the patience to achieve them.

Where can fans follow you on social media?
My Facebook public figure page is where my pageant life lives but if you wanted to take a glance into more of my personal living that is what the function of my Instagram serves.

https://www.facebook.com/maoindio/

https://www.instagram.com/jessica_indio/

What advice do you have for those who want to take part in pageants?
When entering a pageant, go into seeking something other than the title. Though that is ultimately the end goal only one girl will be the lucky one to walk away with it but that does not mean you have to feel as if nothing was gained from the experience. Make an effort to say “I will perform my talent to make all those hours of practice show through” or “In my interview, I will impress the judges with my vast knowledge of my platform.” Even something as simple as “I will make it my goal to get to know the other girls and forge friendships” is every bit as meaningful as receiving rewards or recognition. Coming to the stage with a mentality that allows you to really enjoy yourself in the experience is what sets you on the road to becoming a winner.

What words of thanks do you have for those who have helped to bring you to where you are today in the Miss New Jersey Class of 2017?
Thank you for seeing in me the potential I had that I often would be too blinded by doubt to recognize. To my instructors and mentors, thank you for conforming to my hectic schedule and making time for me to practice my art and my speech. To my friends. thank you for being so understanding that at this point in my life have to dedicate 110% of myself and can’t always be there for all the plans you make. To my family, who I owe everything, thank you for putting up with this crazy ride! It cannot be expressed how much your encouragement has been in large part the main component of the foundation I have been able to build myself on.

What final words do you have for the readers of Bravura Magazine?
It has been a year brimming with little time for breaks and nothing but time dedicated to all that I wish to bring to the stage when it comes time for Miss New Jersey. I hope this transforming year shows in everything I do during that amazing week so keep watching and see what happens!

To learn more about the Miss New Jersey pageant and support the Miss New Jersey Education Foundation, please click here. To learn more about the Miss New Jersey golf outing, please click here. Check out more of Jess’s pictures from her exclusive photoshoot with P.G. Photography below: