Pomp & Pageantry
Today’s pageants emphasize brains over beauty
Ceejae, the newest Miss Philippine Teen International tells of her surreal experience.
December 26, 2022
The bright lights in the dim venue contrast with the shining evening gowns and unique traditional cultural clothing. Delegates stand tall and confident on stage, answering questions on culture and current events.
In many cultures, pageants are a staple in their communities, and are highly revered but also respectable competitions to bring pride and joy to cities and neighborhoods.
This year, Ceejae Minell DeLumen ’24, participated in her first pageant, The Miss Philippine Teen International, and won the Queen title.
Ceejae is not only representing her community, but also paving the way for many of Riordan’s new female students.
“I was very happy for her. It was a pretty big pageant, contestants from all over came to compete. Not only that, she’s the first Riordan student to win a pageant, and it’s really impressive,” explained Armando Castillo, moderator of Latino Unidos and the World Languages Department Chair.
Ceejae spent her July in the sunny Los Angeles-Redondo area.
“We trained for one week before pageant night, which included walking practice and public appearances.”
Ceejae explained how unlike the traditional pageant night, hers was split into two. “July 29th was the prelims and July 30th was the actual coronation.”
On the pageant nights, Ceejae represented the beautiful province of Cavite in the Philippines. Every contestant had to choose a city or province to represent from the Philippines, as one of their main goals is to promote tourism back to the motherland.
“It’s where my mom’s side of the family grew up, and when my grandma passed away…it was a major thing. I mainly did the pageant for my family and the culture,” explained Ceejae.
Over the years, pageants have evolved from just being beauty based.
“Now, there is more focus on community work, different causes, and the intelligence of the young ladies. There is a big sisterhood that comes with pageants and many of them are all about uplifting women as a whole,” said Melanie Aguas, Class of 2024 counselor and PAC co-moderator.
“I really like the new section with cultural attire, I think it’s a really beautiful way to represent a community,” Aguas added.
Ceejae agreed that one of the best experiences she got out of the pageant was meeting new people and creating new friendships.