Pilgrim High senior Gillian Johnston believes, “You should make mistakes. Don’t be perfect.” 

A dancer since she was three, Gillian holds many titles. But it wasn’t until the Nuvo dance competition in Boston last year that she took dancing to another level. It was there that she was recruited for a title she hadn’t dreamed of by Cheryl Cusick.

 “I see young people with lots of pressure, to do so many things at once, and be the best at everything… and they forget the passion that led them there in the first place,” said Gillian.

So last year, she stepped on a different stage, not to perform a dance routine but to present a project she named “Wellness in Student Athletics: Creating Healthy Athletes” at the annual Miss Rhode Island Scholarship Competition. It was her first pageant, but that didn’t deter her: on June 26th at the McVinney Auditorium in Providence, the former winner, Alexa Johnson, gave Gillian the crown of Miss Rhode Island’s Outstanding Teen to hold for one year.

Representing Rhode Island at the national pageant, Gillian performed a 45-second self-choreographed lyrical dance to the song “Rise Up” by Andra Day, which she explained represented her experience rising up from her own struggle with anxiety to rediscover her love for dance. The performance helped her win the peer-voted Spirit of America Award and a full scholarship to the University of Alabama.

The message is simple, but something she feels more young people need to remember.

"Suicide is the second leading cause of death in ages 10 to 24,” she says. “Everyone needs someone to tell them, it’s okay to make a mistake.”

Gillian works to be that relatable person for young athletes. She has done competitive dance for 11 years, focusing on ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and hip hop, and she teaches several classes to elementary and middle schoolers at APAC on Bald Hill Road— so she knows the high pressures that dancers place on themselves to perform. To spread a supportive voice, she became an ambassador for “Let’s Get Real for Athletes”, a student-run online community where student athletes share their stories and offer each other support. She also visits dance academies around the state with a presentation on managing stress.

 Gillian calls the pageant “a transformative experience for everyone”. It is organized by the Miss Rhode Island Scholarship Organization, a volunteer-run nonprofit based in Providence. They run two competitions: Miss Rhode Island (for ages 19 to 28) and Miss Outstanding Teen (for ages 13 to 18). 

Every year, the teen program accepts 10 to 15 local nominations, each representing a unique location in the state, usually a county, town, or school. After passing through a series of online interviews, contestants gather in June to compete in rounds inspired by the format of Miss America’s Teen.

For the onstage interview round, they describe an initiative that they are leading to benefit a community. A fitness round (sponsored by the American Heart Association) involves exercises like burpees, high knees, and jumping jacks. Then, each candidate performs a 45-second talent routine. After the panel of judges finalizes scores, the organization awards scholarships sponsored by Salve Regina and Bryant, and one Outstanding Teen is crowned. Their criteria are “individuality, personal development, communication skills and physical fitness,” says Cheryl Cusick, the organization’s teen program director.

 A few months later, the winner represents the state at Miss America’s Teen, which offers over $100,000 each year in cash prizes and college scholarships. It was founded in 1921 as one of the oldest scholarship organizations for women’s education in the country.

 Being Miss Rhode Island’s Outstanding Teen has given Gillian another way to connect with people. On her Instagram, @missamericateen, she posts supportive messages every week on “Wellness Wednesdays”. One shared a mental technique to overcome the fear of leaving familiar places like the house, known as 5-4-3-2-1: acknowledge five things you see, four that you feel, three you hear, two you smell, and one that you taste. She also uses the social media app to write updates on previous Miss America Teen participants. 

With spring quickly advancing, Gillian’s reign is drawing to a close, and with it, her high school career. The modest exhale of April scents is attracting bees to new flowers, bucket hats from high shelves and, Gillian hopes, new girls to the annual Miss Rhode Island’s teen pageant in June. She doesn’t leave it up to spring magic though: every weekend, Gillian attends a local event with her crown and ribbon, adding a bit of pageant flavor to the day to turn the heads of potential candidates. In June, she will pass down her title to one of them at the state pageant.

With Abby Mansolillo, her newly close friend and mentor who is the Miss Rhode Island 2022, she participated in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Newport and walked in the Izzy Foundation 5K on April 8. “People will see a crown, and they’ll think, what’s this all about? So, we’ll end up with a small crowd,” she laughed. Gillian explains to them how the pageant helped her: how she came out of her shell and learned to speak up louder for social causes; how she made lifelong friends and shared her love for dance; and how she was recognized at the national pageant with a full scholarship.

For now, Gillian plans to double major in criminal justice and dance at the University of Alabama, where she committed to in February. She is eyeing a career as a professional dancer or in law enforcement. But in the meantime, Gillian continues to wear her crown and see out her year as queen, encouraging more girls to use the same opportunities that she did for scholarship money and self-improvement.