Kelly Bojos, 20, is setting her sights on winning the Miss New York Pageant – which she competed in earlier this year and placed in the top 10. Photo Courtesy Kelly Bojos
Of all the lessons a lifetime of dancing has taught Ozone Park native Kelly Bojos, perhaps one of the most important is that rejection is a part of life – and all one can do after falling is to get up, dust off, and keep shooting for the stars.
This is exactly what Bojos, 20, is planning on doing come Jan. 17, when the Queens resident aims to win the Miss New York Pageant in which she competed earlier this year. One of the youngest of the 135 women from throughout the state to compete at the event that was held last January at SUNY Purchase College, Bojos ended up placing in the top 10 in her first-ever pageant.
Now the young woman is setting her sights on doing even better than she did last time.
“I would love to win,” said Bojos, a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology who attended St. Mary Gate of Heaven in Ozone Park and graduated from the prestigious LaGuardia High School in Manhattan. “I want to make the top five. I want to go beyond the point I went last year. I’ve been looking at my videotape from last year and studying what I did and what I can do better.”
While the Miss New York competition was her first pageant, Bojos is not stranger to the world of performing- she spent much of her earliest years learning Spanish dancing, such as the merengue and salsa, from her grandmother and began her dancing career at the age of five at Ozone Park’s Rising Stars Dance Studio, where she now teaches. As a student at St. Mary Gate of Heaven, she starred as Sandy in “Grease” and as Glinda the Good Witch in “The Wizard of Oz.”
“I feel like dancing has definitely given me that extra drive,” Bojos said. “It’s prepared me to really learn how to balance my work ethic – I’ve juggled a lot between school, work and dance in my life. Without that, I don’t know if I’d be as daring as I am. I’m not scared of rejection.”
Throughout her life, Bojos said she has had the nonstop support from members of her family – who are now cheering her on as she prepared for the next chapter of her pageant life. If she takes first place in Miss New York, she would go on to compete in Miss U.S.A. – and if she landed the gold in that, Bojos would move onto Miss Universe.
Should she claim the top honors in Miss New York, Bojos would, as all those who win first place do, travel the state to speak to students about a platform of her choosing. In Bojos’ case, she hopes to get the chance to address bullying and the performing arts.
Still, even if she doesn’t get the chance to travel statewide to speak to students, Bojos has already inspired youngsters.
“I teach 3- to 17-year-olds at Rising Stars, and I want to be a role model for them,” she said. “I love teaching them.”
Ultimately, Bojos, who is a junior at FIT studying advertising, marketing and communications, hopes to venture into the world of broadcast media.
“I love entertainment, so my dream job is doing entertainment news and maybe one day hosting a show,” she said.
But, no matter where life takes her, dancing will always play a starring role.
“Dancing will always be in my blood,” she said. “And pageants I’m very new to, but I met so many amazing girls there. It’s incredible.”
By Anna Gustafson
