Tiffany Schroer took the stage for the last time as the reigning Miss Ball State 2005 on Sunday. She tried to hold back the tears that continued to well up in her eyes in remembrance of a year of passion, commitment and success.
Tiffany competed in the Miss Ball State pageant for the first time in January 2005, and was delighted to be crowned.
Winning the title of Miss Ball State allowed her to serve the state of Indiana through her chosen platform: Disabled American Veterans Outreach. She spent her time traveling around the state to spread her message, working closely with Tom Applegate, the head of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. Schroer was named person of the year for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development at their annual "VetWorking" conference 2005.
Schroer spent countless hours volunteering while serving her time as Miss Ball State, including time spent at the Northern Ind. Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System in Marion, Ind.
"It was an amazing year for me," She said. "I was asked to speak at various veterans conferences and worked with many individual AmVets and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts throughout the state."
Tiffany's platform is inspired by the VFW post 1925 in Seymour, Ind. She knew from family stories and pictures that her grandfather had served in World War II, but it wasn't until high school that Schroer began learning about veterans and their lives. She began volunteering at the VFW post 1925 and did community events in honor of them.
"One night after speaking at an event there, an older member named Manny Voss pulled me aside and said to me, 'Young lady, I know you'll be successful someday, so when you are, don't forget to put a plug in for the Veterans,'" Schroer said.-á"I made a promise to Manny that night, and when deciding to compete in Miss Ball State, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to begin to fulfill my promise."
In an attempt to spread her message to younger generations, Schroer presented a plan to the president of the Northern Ind. VA Healthcare System and Applegate to implement a "Veteran Buddy" program. The pen-pal program would allow middle-school students to communicate with hospitalized veterans throughout the state. The program is designed to teach children about veterans at a younger age.
Schroer has taken it upon herself to tell the stories of the veterans. "[Through the program] students don't have to wait until high school, like me, to really learn what being a veteran is all about," She said. "They all have stories and families, and I want to share that."
Her competing didn't stop at Emens Auditorium. Schroer went on to compete in the Miss Indiana pageant in June, and later to the Miss Indiana USA competition.
"Going to Miss Indiana was such an honor," she said. But it took a lot of preparation for Schroer.
Not only was she named the winner of the preliminary interview and the swimsuit competitions - which happen to be her two favorite parts of the pageant - but she was also named to the top ten, which is an honor for her first time competing.
"It has taken me a while to warm-up to the swimsuit competition," Schroer said.
She found herself dreading being up on stage after spending weeks before pageants stressing about her body and her weight. But over the years Schroer has learned to find what she calls her "swimsuit happy place." She believes that the swimsuit competition isn't just a judgment of her body, but of her lifestyle choices to make good diet decisions and work hard to stay in shape. Schroer believes that the swimsuit competition should remain in the pageants.
"Here I am, up here half-naked, because I feel comfortable with my body, that takes guts," she said. "You don't have to have the "perfect" body -- there's no such thing -- you just have to love your own."
"I could not have been more honored to represent Ball State University," Schroer said. "There is just something about representing home, and Ball State has been my home for the past three years. Each time I stepped out on a stage or spoke at an event this year, I realized I am not just representing myself, but also the 18,000 students at this University. That was an amazing honor and responsibility that I will cherish forever."
Schroer's reign as Miss Ball State might have come to an end, but that's not the case with the rest of her pageant career. Her future plans include walking the runways of both Miss America and Miss USA, and over the next few months she plans on competing in the 500 Festival Princess Program. She will continue to compete for the title of Miss Indiana and then Miss Indiana USA.
"I hope to win both, and I believe in my heart that all the work and time and passion I have to achieving these goals will pay off- it already has in many aspects of my life right now," she said.
Schroer thanks God, her family, her loving boyfriend and her sorority sisters for their love and support in helping her accomplish her goals. She thanked the Ball State Community for "spoiling" her over the past year as they continued their support of her and helped her to prepare for future competitions. She gave a special thanks to her program executive director and now lifetime friend, Carol Kosisko, the pageant coordinator who has helped encourage Schroer to take her talents to the next level. Schroer was inspired by past Miss Ball State winners, and proudly passed the crown on Sunday.
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