By Anna Bedell
Our planned meeting place was at the J&M Bar and Restaurant in Wolcott. Arriving early, it was hard not to notice the glossy long bar with shiny pinewood floors. The Stevie Nicks’ song, Leather and Lace played in the background as I sat down, momentarily transporting me back to my youth.
Next up, Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain.
The Miss Bristol 2022 title winner, the person I was there to interview, walks into the restaurant confidently, but not-so-vain at all. Serena Charbonneau, with her blonde hair and in a green jumpsuit, stands out in a place where patrons sat casually dressed, quietly eating their dinner.
We were there to talk about what a beauty queen is and does. Charbonneau was about to provide me an insider’s view into her world. As we sit there talking, curious bystanders glance over at her.
What’s not to admire? She is what many people would consider a triple threat: Beautiful, intelligent and educated with a mega-watt smile. She exudes the wholesome “All-American Girl” image.
“This is a program for young women who are seeking scholarships and it’s a great way to get involved in a service in your communities,” said Charbonneau.
The 22-year-old Charbonneau was born and raised in Wolcott. She works at Dazzle Boutique in Oxford, a full-service special occasion dress shop for pageants, and proms.
At the same time, she is pursuing a post graduate degree in social work at UConn. She did not compete in pageants as an undergrad.
As a child she was not interested in beauty pageants. She was more content with playing sports such as cheerleading, softball, basketball, and running.
She didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of her mother, Jennifer, 45, a former beauty queen herself who previously won the Miss Mountain Laurel title and competed in the Miss Connecticut pageant twice.
“I never had the self-confidence,” said Charbonneau.
It wasn’t until she watched one of her friends compete in a beauty pageant, when she was 14 years old, that she changed her mind.
At 15-years-old, she entered the world of beauty pageants.
“My mom was excited when I decided I wanted to, it was never going to happen from her pushing,” she said.
Her dad has a different approach.
“My dad is good pageant dad, he doesn’t really understand it that much, as long as we’re happy, and as long as he can’t see some of the dress bills from my sister, he supports it,” she said and laughed.
She was encouraged by Executive Director Linda Lubrico, of the Miss Bristol/Forestville Scholarship Organization, to enter this year’s beauty pageant for the 2022 Miss Bristol title.
As Miss Bristol, Charbonneau has an agenda. She created, and promotes, a mental health-based platform and program called “Wings for Wellness.”
The program is designed for K-5 graders to “promote resilience and the create discussions around mental health,” she said.
“I use butterflies as a symbol of hope, I thought of this idea when I was 15 and started pageantry,” she said.
As a teenager, Charbonneau focused on overall wellbeing. She was going into schools and talking about physical and mental wellness. When she entered her high school years, she had her own struggles with mental health.
It wasn’t until she entered college that she was able to get any support, she said.
“Those experiences are what propelled me into wanting to have a strictly mental health-based platform,” she said. “A lot of it is the work I currently do with the National Alliance on Mental Illness — they are Connecticut based as well as different affiliates.”
She volunteered with the organization, becoming more familiar with what they do in the past three years, especially during COVID, she said.
Charbonneau has been eager to turn her experiences into doing something positive with her life.
As if right on cue, Jimi Hendrix’s version of the Bob Dylan song All Along the Watchtower plays in the background as Charbonneau talked about her own struggles. The irony of the song was not lost on me.
“I know my anxiety got much worse, and I never had a mental health diagnosis until COVID,” said Charbonneau. “It got so bad that I went to the doctor.”
Charbonneau worked at West Bristol School last year assisting the social worker there. She noticed firsthand that kids coming back from being isolated for so many months, didn’t know how to interact, she said.
“Especially the shy ones, that you don’t notice to be struggling the most, not knowing how to reach out for support,” said Charbonneau.
“I think that mix along with the social climate and all the issues we’ve been seeing in our country with gun violence, has just made it such a stressful time to be a student.”
She has a 16-year-old sister in high school, too.
“I know there were a few scares in local towns,” said Charbonneau. “I remember her texting me one day that there was a threat at her school and she was just terrified; that’s not right for high-school or any age students who have to go into a building, and not feel safe.”
She said students fall through the cracks, especially at the elementary school level.
“I know support, as far as school psychologists and school social workers, varies by each town or city,” she said. “I’ve noticed personally that there are a lot of children who struggle and have crisis situations that are in your face.”
Her wellness program is intended to address these issues.
After she graduates college next year, Charbonneau wants to continue this type of work for a career in the field of social work. She plans on working in a clinical setting, while becoming a licensed clinical social worker.
In five years, she has a definite idea of where she would like to be.
“I’m not going to be a competitor anymore, at that point I’d be aged out, but I see myself volunteering because I love helping other young women with programs like this and give back by helping them uncover their own passions.”
At the end of our tête-à-tête, Charbonneau, who brought her tiara and ribbon sash, proudly wears them for photos.
Restaurant patrons look on, including one family from Bristol who stops by our table to congratulate her on her title win, all while the 80s music continues playing in the background.
As we say our goodbyes, it is hard for me not to admire Charbonneau who has a bright future ahead of her. I admit it; now I want to go see a real-life beauty pageant.
For more information about “Wings for Wellness” contact Serena Charbonneau at SerenaC11599@gmail.com.
For more information about the Miss Forestville~Bristol Scholarship Program, which is a local affiliate to both the Miss Connecticut and the Miss America Scholarship Program, contact Executive Director Linda Lubrico at lubrico@sbcglobal.net.
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