A Crowning Moment Middlebury student promotes education as platform for Miss Vermont

Author: H.K. Merriman

Beauty and brains are not traditionally associated with one another and, consequently, pageant contestants have historically received a bad rap. It is ironic, then, that their platforms have been often based on education. Currently, one of the most highly viewed videos on You Tube is "Miss Teen USA South Carolina" in which she struggles to articulate a response to the question,"Recent polls have shown one-fifth of Americans cannot locate the U.S. on a map. Why do you think this is so?"

Thankfully, Middlebury college student Rachel Ann Cole is currently altering this negative beauty queen stereotype by simply being herself. In June, Cole won the Miss Vermont competition, held at St. Michael's College. She was judged on multiple areas, including lifestyle and fitness (the infamous swimsuit portion of the competition), talent, evening wear and an on-stage interview. Cole made MiddKids proud when she, unlike Miss Teen South Carolina, clearly and concisely expressed the basis of her platform, "Building Bridges through Literacy: Closing the Educational Gap."

"Everyday more children and their families lose hope for the future as those living under the poverty threshold are shuffled through the system," said Cole. "Literacy is the key to education and education is the door to success. I am here, with the aid of the Miss America Organization, to open that door."

It seems Cole was destined to represent Middlebury and promote literacy as Miss Vermont. A Memphis native, she had never before stepped foot in the state of Vermont when she arrived for First-Year Orientation in the fall of 2004.

"Somehow, when I was accepted into Middlebury, I knew out of the fourteen schools I had applied to, that this was the one," she said. Then, last February break, Cole was at home in Tennessee watching the Miss America Pageant on TV when she learned that the Miss America Organization awards 45 million dollars annually in cash scholarships. It occurred to her that competing for Miss Vermont could be a way to pay for Middlebury's steadily rising tuition.

A theatre major and elementary teacher education and psychology double minor, Cole certainly understands the value of literacy and will tour Vermont this year to promote her campaign.

"I'll be visiting schools statewide a few days a week, as well as giving speeches and volunteering my time to philanthropic organizations," she said of her upcoming schedule. The organizations she works with include the Vermont Humanities Council and the Children's Literacy Foundation of Vermont and New Hampshire (CLiF).

Assistant Professor of Education Jonathan Miller-Lane, and one of Cole's professors at Middlebury, described Cole as "smart, resourceful and interesting" and is confident that her hard-work and ability in the classroom will transfer into her campaign.

"I was heartened by her emphasis on education and literacy and, knowing her work in class, I can imagine she will be able to bring thoughtful attention to these issues this year," said Miller-Lane.

Cole's Miss Vermont duties do not stop with her philanthropic work in the state. While other MiddKids will be sleeping and snowboarding their winter terms away, Cole will be competing in the Miss America competition in Las Vegas on Jan. 26.

"Should I win Miss America, which no Miss Vermont in history has ever done, I would spend the next year of my life touring the country, working with the Children's Miracle Network and promoting the need for greater literacy education," Cole said.

"The wonderful part about being Miss Vermont is that I get to meet a plethora of people all around the state all year long - truly breaking out of the Middlebury bubble," Cole said.

Yet, the proverbial Middlebury bubble is not the only bubble Cole is helping to dissolve. She is reshaping the image of a pageant queen and proving that beauty and brains can coexist and even thrive in Middlebury, Vt.