Who am I?

I’m a 24 year old mechanical engineering graduate with a passion for space exploration. I began college at 15 years of age while also attending high school. Because of my dedication, I missed family vacations and movie nights with friends, but I was set on obtaining my goals and though I sacrificed, I never wavered. This pageant will accelerate my career goals and my personal passion of giving back to the community, especially in the areas of educating our youth in the power of the mind.

What do I believe?

I believe we can do hard things, no matter our age!

I'm an engineering graduate (graduation of May 2024!) and about to start my career at Northrop Grumman (one of NASA's top contractors). My end goal is to work full time for NASA to contribute to the Artemis campaign and to help the scientific community gain new knowledge about deep space and human space exploration.

Why NASA?

Last year a dream came true. I was hired by NASA for the summer but I'm not done! I want to make an impact with my specialty in structural dynamics which is so important when it comes to mission quality and safety.

To my core, I want others to be safe. This key attribute of mine shows up in all areas of my life.

Why donate?

This pageant has 2 primary functions: Empowering young women like myself to be role models and to gain confidence and secondly, to bring about a positive impact to local communities (with a strong focus on children’s education).

This is NOT A BEAUTY PAGEANT. I will be judged on communication skills, leadership efficacy, my achievements, community service and personality! (Not how I look in a bathing suit)

The National American Miss (NAM) pageant event is responsible for over 20,000 children's books that are donated to schools around the United States. With my personal passions being highly academic, this perfectly aligns with what matters most to me.

Why did I sign up?

I want to compete in the NAM pageant to create new opportunities for my career and to open doors for my future. I'm a huge believer in getting involved with STEM organizations that can assist in encouraging young people to go into engineering and STEM. I want to be a role model to all the nerds out there and to encourage people to go after their dreams.

If I win…

If I win, I'm going to take advantage of my publicity to bring more STEM and educational encouragement into the media. I want to reassure those young people who don’t believe in themselves that they can do it even if they don’t believe they’re capable. I want to get the phrase “I’m not a math person” out of this countries mind because it’s keeping people from pursuing what they’re passionate about.

You don’t have to be a “math person” to start and excel in a STEM degree (and that’s just a tiny slice of my message).

My personal life...

I have hobbies like painting, singing, Astro-photography and as of last summer, cooking!

I come from a large family with 4 other siblings including a twin sister. We are all very close and love to go on kayaking, hiking and climbing adventures in Southern Utah.

Where will the funds go?

Any type of donation (even directly covering the hotel cost to earn sky miles or other personal credit card benefits) is appreciated. The funds will be put towards my pageant sponsorship fee, the community service effort competition, formal wear competition dress and travel/hotel to the pageant, and the talent contest entry fee.

What if I exceed my goal?

If I exceed my goal, I’ll pay off student debt.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your support and contribution!

(And if you aren’t able to donate as much as you'd like, sharing this link is ALSO of huge help to me!)

Chantal Mikolyski