Miss Alaska, there and back again

PALMER — Angelina Klapperich has lived in Alaska all her life. She grew up in the Mat-Su Valley and has seen a lot of changes. Just in the past year, a lot has changed for her. She completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology and has traveled all around her home state, into the Lower 48 and out of the country. One year after becoming Miss Anchorage, she is returning to West High School to play piano and emcee the 2017 pageant as Miss Alaska, a top 15 finalist in Miss America and as Miss Congeniality. She will carry the crown of Miss Alaska until June 2018. Until then, she is on an adventure across the state to meet many people, attend many events, learn about others and learn about herself to find out how she can apply her degree and shared experiences to her community.

Klapperich was the second woman from Alaska to make the top 15 in the Miss America competition; the first was about 30 years ago. This was literally a once in a lifetime opportunity — you can only be a contestant once.

Her time competing in pageants from Miss Anchorage to Miss Alaska to Miss America has paid for all of her college. She won three scholarships: a four-year tuition waiver for the University of Alaska Anchorage, and two universal scholarships that can be applied to any school — $4,000 for making the top 15 and $2,000 for being Miss Congeniality. She said that not many people know how much goes into being in the Miss America pageant. She said it’s way more than a simple beauty contest. The highest portions of judging derive from the intense interviewing process and talent showcase.

Miss North Dakota, Cara Mund, won the crown for Miss America 2018.

Klapperich managed to win over the hearts of her fellow contestants and they voted her Miss Congeniality. They spent two weeks together “day in and day out,” much of it in rehearsals and running charity events. She said everyone was very encouraging.

“Everyone was so positive and so kind and I’m not just saying that,” Klapperich said. “I’m grateful to represent Alaska and spread my message of compassion on a national stage.”

Now that she’s home, Klapperich said she wants to spend the next year immersing herself in the communities across the state as Miss Alaska. She will be visiting school and community groups and attend various events like the Iditarod. She even plans to go down to Juenau to talk to politicians. Part of that journey is to partake in the Miss Anchorage Pageant this Saturday at West High School. The event starts at 6 p.m.

Whoever wins the Miss Anchorage Pageant will be able to compete with other individuals across the state for the 2019 Miss Alaska crown. Unlike other states, any woman in Alaska who meets the requirements can compete for Miss Alaska, without having being crowed at the city level first. However, Anchorage and Eagle River regularly hold pageants each year. This year, Fairbanks will host a pageant as well. Those city winners will compete with other individuals for the next Miss Alaska.

Klapperich said there are not many requirements to compete for Miss Alaska other than age (17-24) and being single (married women can, however, compete in the Mrs. Alaska Pageant.) There are a few more qualifications, such as sustaining a full-time job in Alaska for six months and never having been convicted of a crime. For a full list of requirements, visit missalaskapageant.com.

Klapperich said that the winner would also get an all-expenses-paid trip to Chitose, Japan. She was there last July. That was her first time out of the country. She said it was a very fun and unique experience. She was met with great hospitality and even had an interpreter to help her as she made her way around.

“Japan was so cool!” Klapperich said.

Klapperich explained that Anchorage and Chitose are sister cities. The Sister Cities International program is the result of the People-to-People concept proposed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower at a White House conference in 1956. In 1970, the Anchorage Sister Cities Commission was established. It became a full Commission in 1972. Since its formation, the Sister Cities initiative has been used as a way for the different countries to form bonds and learn from each other. According the a quote by Eisenhower, the sister city program is an essential negotiation tool for governments because it is “letting the people themselves give expression of their common desire for friendship, goodwill and cooperation for a better world."

“It’s a good way to foster a good relationship between the two cities,” Klapperich said.

With Miss America in the rear-view, Klapperich has many places to go and people to see. She will continue to spread her platform of compassion across the state. She said that she still orders thousands of wristbands — at her own expense — to take with her as she talks to people. The wristbands say: “Be compassionate. EVERY person fights a personal battle.”

Klapperich is no stranger to the battle within, both her own and others. She said that her slogan traces back to losing a friend to suicide in high school. That experience, among others, has formed the way she faces the world. She said that now she tries harder to see some else’s point of view. There are underlying reasons why people act the way they do, there are causes to their effects. Klapperich recently completed from suicide prevention training at the Mat-Su School District. She said that everyone struggles from time to time, and it is her mission to remind her fellow Alaskans of that simple, yet often overlooked fact. She said that when this concept is applied to everyday living, “we can be more patient and understanding with each other.”

“When you’re making decisions and interactions with each other — instead of just rushing to judgment, hear the other person out, where they’re coming from,” Klapperich said. “Even if you disagree, trying to listen and understand is very important.”

For Klapperich, to be “Alaskan” is to live authentically. She said she’s noticed that most of the people here tend to live “how they want.” To find out more about how Klapperich is living the way she wants, look her up on Facebook. She has a 2017 Miss Alaska page: www.facebook.com/MissAmericaAK/