We were lucky to catch up with Sophia Haddad recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sophia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

My heart was pounding, My mind was racing with topics – Social media, online safety, and community service. “Welcome Sophia Haddad, Miss Frisco’s Teen.” called out over the speakers backstage. It was time to determine the first 20% of my score for my first state competition with my onstage question. If you had told me two years prior that I would be walking up the steps to the Eisemann Center stage in front of thousands of people to compete at Miss Texas’ Teen I truly would not have believed you. I like to say it all started with an Instagram post I saw during the summer of 2021. I former titleholder from my hometown posted about attending appearances and after learning more about the Miss America Organization I knew I had to get involved. However, It certainly wasn’t that easy. Watching videos from previous Miss Texas Teen competitions and learning I had to do a ten-minute private interview with a panel definitely sparked some anxiety for me, but taking the risk and competing was so worth it for me. After being crowned Miss Frisco’s Teen in August of 2022 I continued to take risks whether that was through emceeing dance showcases, posting a reel, or walking in a fashion show – big or small the risk has been worth the reward. So there I was, standing next to our Miss Texas’ Teen, the heat of the bright lights beaming on my face, as she read out my onstage question and relief waved over me. I knew my platform, answered with confidence, and walked off stage and by the end of the week placed fourth-runner-up to Miss Texas’ Teen 2023. In the words of Mark Zuckerberg “The biggest risk is not taking any…”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Well hello hello! My name is Sophia Haddad and I’m an advocate for Leading by Example. My work as a titleholder and as a person is truly centered around the idea of Leading By Example which stemmed from my first interview as Miss Frisco’s Teen when I was asked how I would keep my title relevant. So whether you’re scrolling through my social media, shaking my hand at an event, or getting coffee with me, I hope that the takeaway is someone who practices what they preach. There are hundreds if not thousands of Miss America titleholders across the nation, A sparkly hat in your community might not be hard to find, so bringing my individual style and aesthetic to my role has been imperative for me. My work throughout my community has also been a massive factor for me. Wearing the city of Frisco across my chest gave me a responsibility to represent my community so I started my “Frisco Fridays” series where I highlight local small businesses, entrepreneurs, and exciting local events. My platform as a titleholder “Connecting to Community” is about social media awareness and implementing actionable technology boundaries. This platform has become a school program I’ve been able to bring to schools across North Texas. I’ve done over a dozen Frisco Fridays and 30+ appearances, and I’m just getting started.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

“When I first competed in this organization I didn’t win my first few locals. But I came back, I got stronger, and through discipline and confidence in myself I came back to this Organization and became Miss Frisco’s Teen…” That was my semi final onstage answer during Miss Texas Teen and one of the most honest, authentic parts of my journey. I competed at three local competitions over the span of two competition seasons before I won, which might not sound like a lot if you’ve never competed so I’ll walk you through an average competition day. 6:00 am – hair and makeup, 7:30 am – arrive at the venue, 8:00-10:00 am – rehearsals, 11:00-1:00 – candidate interviews, the rest of the day consists of rehearsals until a four o’clock show, and three hours later you’re onstage next to over a dozen equally talented, intelligent young women hoping your name is called for one of the titles. If not, you take time to recuperate and your back for the competition. So at fourteen, having no pageant experience, it was definitely a shell shock to say the least but the hours spent perfecting my talent and practicing my evening gown walk paid off when I got to experience my own “crowning moment.”

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I thought you’d never ask… Creating a community on social media has been one of my favorite parts of my job. I started as organic and as “from scratch” you can get on Instagram with a brand new account with zero followers and as someone who’d only ever done content creation for my family’s small business, this was an exciting opportunity for me. The idea of putting videos of yourself online for possibly thousands or even millions to see can be daunting, honestly to put yourself out there for your friends and family to see can be too! You begin to create a brand for yourself through your posts and you actually learn a lot about who you are through the process of building a digital platform. Creating reels is my jam, it’s one of my favorite parts of being a titleholder, and all my “sister queens” know that they will be asked to be in a video if they are with me. While I definitely don’t have an exuberant amount of followers, less than thousands currently to be exact, it doesn’t matter as long as you create content you’re proud of – and that’s what I’d tell all budding creatives. Don’t focus on the numbers. Celebrate the milestones, but focus on the creative process and enjoy the journey.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @MissFriscosTeen (soon to change as I give up my title on October 15th and compete again!)
• Linkedin: Sophia Haddad

Image Credits
Mike Krause with Bludoor Studios – photos (1-3,5)