Giving Back

Madeline Collins

Miss Tri-State Area 2017
Platform: Read, Inspire, Support, Encourage (RISE)

Madeline Collins was born with a congenital heart defect, causing her to spend a large portion of her youth in children’s hospitals. After what Collins describes as “three open-heart surgeries and counting,” she proudly bears the scar from those surgeries on her chest.

The scar and the experiences behind it are what ultimately inspired Collins, a 2017 CEHS graduate, to enter the Miss Tri-State Area pageant in 2016.

“I wanted to portray a different ideal of a pageant girl for kids in the hospital like me,” Collins said. “I’m not a pageant girl. I’m very clumsy, I make mistakes and I have
a scar down my chest.”

After winning the title of Miss Tri-State Area 2017, Collins traveled to schools and hospitals to promote her platform, RISE. The premise of the program was to conduct book drives at elementary schools and deliver the books to children’s hospitals. Along the way, Collins spoke to children in both locations about the importance of self-esteem.

“The general message was to encourage children, and even teens and adults, not to be victims of circumstance, to rise above difficult times,” Collins said.

For Collins, the highlights of her time as Miss Tri-State Area were the special moments she shared with children in the hospitals, a reminder not only of her past, but of the path ahead.

“They saw my scar and saw that I was so much like them, but I also had a crown on my head,” Collins said. “More often than not, I would walk out of a hospital room with tears in my eyes because those children didn’t realize that it was possible, but there I was, standing beside them with a scar very similar to theirs. It was very powerful.”

Collins’ role as Miss Tri-State Area also gave her the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss West Virginia in June 2017. As second-runner-up, she achieved her goal of placing in the top five contestants. In addition, she received the Tomorrow’s Promise Award and an award for her outstanding dedication to education.

“Until you’ve gone and participated in a pageant, you don’t realize that it’s no joke,” Collins said. “It’s much more than just putting on makeup and a bikini.”

Though Collins currently works in entertainment at Walt Disney World, her dream is to attend graduate school and ultimately become a child-life specialist. In this way, she hopes to continue her work with children in hospitals.