Hey readers! I am Breanna Sailer, your Miss Rugby 2018! I have been having so much fun representing the town of Rugby as well as our state during my time as Miss Rugby so far! My platform statement is through the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms, I have been a partner with them since February of 2016. The title of my platform statement is TWLOHA: Finding Help and Hope for Sexual Abuse Survivors. It has helped me speak out, talk to, and share my art with people from all over the world. I am so thankful for everyone I have been in touch with and loved raising awareness and hope across my campus and community.
I am currently a student at Bismarck State College and I am studying Theatre Arts with a minor in Business Management. My average school day consists of classes, rehearsals, set building, auditions, and a lot of scripts to study and analyze. Through my work in the theatre program I also had opportunities to collaborate with directors, professors and other students to raises awareness towards sexual abuse and my platform.
My favorite moment as a titleholder so far has to be: During my first semester I had the honor of being cast as the lead in my first college production. I was cast as Lil Bit in the play How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel. This was by far my greatest struggle and growth experience as an actress. I had a chance to share the story of a fictional character’s sexual abuse with my community. What I did not expect was to share my own story and my platform with multiple new stations, newspapers, and my fellow students. Multiple students in the art program made T-shirts explaining their thoughts on sexual abuse for the “close-line project,” and a fellow photographer was there to capture it all from the beginning. I am still so incredibly humbled by the entire experience, I will never forget sharing my journey and passion with so many people.
That experience really opened my eyes to what I wanted my platform to be about. I wanted to raise awareness, help, and hope through art. The images and outcomes may not always be pretty, but what many people are experiencing are also not pretty. I have shared poetry, music, acting, dancing, and photography all in honor of my platform and peoples’ stories. I spend most of my free time writing poetry, singing, and playing piano. So, along with my school day I also devote my time to collaborating with other artists, survivors, and people who just want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. The image below is not a pretty one, this was one of the images created to raise awareness to the number of women who end their lives due to sexual abuse, the earth shaking reality is that I could have been one of them, but I am incredibly thankful to be here and sharing this with you.
Finally, along with the fun of school and art I also do have two jobs! My first job is at Verge Fitness and I could not be more thankful for this job and the opportunities it has created for me. I have the most supportive boss and co-workers who are constantly there to give me workouts and pointers for my pageant prep. Fitness has become a huge part of my everyday life. I am also incredibly thankful for our members who are there every day to make me smile, keep me on track, and also for the donations to make my sponsor pages and CMN requirements.
For my second job I do second shooter photography for Glasser Images. This has helped me grow so much as an artist and has also let me collaborate with other photographers in my area to help make my platform happen. I especially want to thank Connor Picard of Glasser Images for all of the support throughout my journey as a titleholder this year. He was there to capture every moment of my production this winter, taking last minute headshots and supporting me emotionally as I prepare for my state competition.
Last, but certainly not least my family and friends are a huge part of my daily life. Without them this truly would not be possible. Thank you for being there to put band aids on me when I fall down stairs at appearances and there to listen to rehearse my talent for the 10 billionth time. You make all the hard work truly worth it. I cannot wait to see what state has to hold and who will become our next forever Miss North Dakota.
Wishing you best,
Breanna Sailer your Miss Rugby 2018