[Music] hello everybody Welcome to the Newman Bond the official podcast of Newman University my name is Jack Schaefer I'm an alumni here of Newman University of 2020 and I'm here with Miss Kansas and another Newman alumni Alexis Smith hey Alexis you nice to meet you yeah how are you doing today I'm doing good as I was telling you I got off my 7 to7 shift got some sleep but now I'm here ready to do the job as Miss Kansas that's awesome and congratulations once again on becoming Miss Kansas now when was the last time you were here on campus and how does it feel to be back it feels it felt weird actually driving here a little bit but the last time I was here was in May of 2023 finishing my finals prepping for the enx and also miss Kansas at the same time but you know coming here it's just kind of a reminder of the work that I put in and a reflection of where I get to be now exactly that's a great answer and so I know some Newman Jets know you but for those of us who don't would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself maybe not miss Kansas related but just about your hobbies in general what your interests are outside of that right so outside of pageantry I am a huge family friend girl I spend time watching my cousins play basketball I tell everybody that is a yearr round hobby for me going to be able to support them because it's a Non-Stop but it's a real great way for me to be able to stay connected with my family with having such a busy schedule um I also love to take walks downtown with my friends and also do nice little wine and paint nights that's very exciting there's so much fun stuff to do around here that's for sure so uh we heard that one of the skills that you have and that you use for the Miss Kansas organization was ventriloquism yes so how did you get interested in manilo quism and what's the story there could you share a little bit about that yes so my aunt she's a self- toop ventriloquist and she also actually competed in Miss Kansas back in the 90s so that's something special that we share but I started pageantry at a really young age and I needed a talent and so at the age of six she said are you ready to learn and I was ready and so I posted this picture recently actually with me holding the first v lism doll that I ever used and it's this little cotton doll with these red little pigtails and so it's going to be special to pull out Aaliyah later and kind of see the difference between when I was 6 to 25 and how I've progressed well Alexis forget about later would you like to show us your skills with Aaliyah now yeah we can awesome let's do it all right hello everybody I'm so excited to be here with Alexa for this interview I never get to come hey Aaliyah why doesn't Alexis ever get to take you to any interviews I don't know she just keeps me in a suitcase unless it's time for me to perform well you're doing great right now did you pick out your own outfit no she still hasn't changed my outfit from Miss Kansas even though she gets all the outfits that she wears all week long yeah I think you should get a matching orange one and a sash as well I think so too I think she needs to get every color that like I'm always prepared well Aaliyah what are some fun facts about you well I have a brother his name was Allan he couldn't be here today but that's okay I'm the favorite of course and I am the star of the show of course she is well can we transition back to the star of the Newman bomb Alex I don't mean to take you away to so soon I'm sorry this it's it's nothing new that is so amazing you are very very talented thank you yes of course and speaking of talents so I know that you juggle you spoke about it at the very beginning nursing and pageant tree so how do you do it how like how do you have enough time in the day to be able to do both those things you know I'm still figuring it out myself it's been three weeks as Miss Kansas I work full-time with both of these jobs and so in July I plan on just working one shift a week as a nurse but the great thing about continuing my job as a nurse is that the Miss America organization also has a partnership with the American Heart Association and I'm a cardiothoracic ICU nurse so it's kind of taking both of these life careers putting them together and really having a special outcome yeah speaking of those careers did you learn anything while you were a nursing student here at Newman that maybe you use to help you just in life in general but maybe with Miss Kansas as well absolutely as a nursing student we spend several hours in clinical going out to the hospital and really building those nursing skills and one of the biggest skills that you can learn as a nurse is being able to connect with others and being able to have those conversations despite any demographic that you're talking to and so as Miss Kansas somebody that's going to be traveling across the state of Kansas and hopefully also Across the Nation it's very important that I'm able to connect with other people yeah I agree and you shared a little bit of advice there that was actually going to be another question of M do you have any general advice for aspiring nurses or for maybe current nurses that are might maybe struggling right now absolutely I would just say keep pushing nursing school it is the hardest thing I have ever ever encountered but it's absolutely worth it if it is a passion of yours um I would say the growth that I've had being able to really Implement um that nursing career even outside of my nursing career again being able to connect with others but also we all have health and so being able to apply that knowledge to others around me is really special yeah that is and how did you end up choosing Newman University for your nursing nursing school it's very interesting actually so I moved to Texas um probably the year or two before I started the nursing program here um to escape an abusive relationship and you know at one point I was like you know I'm ready to start my future start my career at that point Newman University was one of the only School options to have interviews for the nursing program but the great thing about it is I knew that this would be one of the best programs for me that's awesome and transitioning back to miss wiah so what I know uh you have family ties with the F trilo quism but do you have any Inspirations or what made you get started with pageantry in general you've been at it for so long I know I truly think it was meant to be you know my aunt she had all boys she didn't have a daughter and my mom had me I was the only child for the longest time and so I was that girl that was going to follow into her footsteps there we go and I just loved it the organization I grew up in it's connected with multiple different states and so the exciting part is that every single year at least twice a year you're getting to connect with these other women or not women at that time young girls who share the same aspirations as you and you just get to grow up together within the the organization and transition into organizations like the Miss America opportunity yeah cuz you started with Miss Witchita correct and you ended up becoming Miss witchat what year again that was in 20 I held that from 2022 to 2023 okay yep sweet and what was your biggest takeaways from that and maybe how did Miss Witchita your preparation there uh get you to where you're at right now as Miss witch that's when I really took a leap into this organization you know the biggest part is community service and so I started working with the witw family crisis center I became very intentional about making connections within the community and those are connections that I still have today as Miss Kansas and which is going to benefit this organization tremendously and so I would say the biggest takeaway is that sense of community and really getting to explore more of widall and the people that are here sure now what are your favorite and like ultimate goal goals I know you probably have a lot when you're now you're you're 3 weeks in to being Miss Kansas what what's your ultimate goal with it I plan on coming back to Newman University actually I want to do the CRNA program the certified registered nurse anesthesis program after at least a minimum of two years working in the cardiothoracic ICU so I'm hoping to come back here that's very exciting that that's awesome we would love to have you back that's for sure but I want to get that moment I want want to know how it feels like all your work culminating to that moment of your name Alexis Smith being called on stage how did it feel what was going through your head could you run me through that moment oh my goodness so you know just within the top five starting with the top five historically this organization um hasn't been the most diverse but that's okay because it's changing and it's growth but this year the whole top five were all women of color and so just with even been you know fourth R third R second and so far on um I knew that the next Miss Kansas was going to be a woman of color and for me the thoughts running through my mind is what an incredible opportunity that this is going to be to help expand this organization so when it came hand inand with a great friend of mine Courtney price Dukes um you know the words that we were sharing is this is we are making history right now yeah um I am the third black Miss Kansas from over 80 years and you know as our society continuously transitions I want to be that woman that's also able to transition with it so I was just in absolute a not in awe but in awe of everything that was happening in that moment I you know everything every every Miss Kansas will say that moment becomes a blank and it truly is but it's it's really just those moments and the those emotions leading up to that moment that I can really transpire yeah yeah you did a great job doing that as well and that's so awesome the third in 80 years that's things are changing though but and that's exciting you're at the very Forefront of it as well oh my goodness I know that's awesome an amazing opportunity yeah for sure well congrats once again but I was curious so when it comes to running on certain platforms I know uh when Miss Kansas goes around the state they kind of focus on certain things and correct me if I'm wrong but you have a focus on dating and health relationships right so my platform is called respect for claims advocating for healthy relationships and the core of that is domestic violence um for myself I'm someone who F fell fell into my family cycle of abuse in 2014 at the age of 14 um and from there I recognized that my story was being reflected as I began working with youth and so I knew that this platform would be a great platform to be able to Advocate on the behalf and make significant change as Kansas that's awesome that that's such a great answer too so personally what does it mean to your family as well like when when the supportive day ones as they call them how how have they been feeling through this process too they are head over Hills let me tell you they're already talking Miss America Miss America it's in January so you know it's coming up but I'm like let me just soak in this moment just really quick yeah of course but yeah no they they are fully ready to support me in every single thing that's coming forward and they are definitely Miss America ready that's awesome and so Newman supporters can support you their home girl we have to support our fellow jet of course do you have a few links or places we can specifically help you absolutely so I have an email bookings misc. org is the way to be able to book me and also one thing that I am looking for is donors um it cost to have Miss Kansas go and present and be out in the community but unfortunately it's not accessible for all individuals so I'm looking for donors that would want to donate to miss Kansas to be able to put me in different places across the state of Kansas for individuals that aren't able to afford it that's a great idea and to kind of close things out here it's actually not about Miss Kansas it's about how you want to transform Society afterwards I know you want to continue your nursing working come back to school here but anything else that you would like to add to that well as a cardiothoracic ICU nurse the biggest thing is being able to educate people on heart health you know cardiovascular disease is the number one killer globally and so to be able to be a part of that education and the preventative education is super special and I plan on continuing that throughout my educational career well I'm excited to see what you do Alexis and congratulations we're rooting for you to become Miss America as well as your family thank you yes of course well you heard it here first at the Newman bond with Miss Kansas 2024 and Newman Alum Alexis Smith we will be airing our episodes every 1 and third Tuesday on YouTube so check out the Newman Bond there and we'll be seeing you next time I was like what I have no idea I get a lot more blessings really fun experience the Newman experience