Lyndsay Fogarty
For Tatiana Sidorova, pageants represent the opportunity to learn from other women while supporting causes that are important to her. As a global ambassador for Love is Kind, a nonprofit that provides financial and emotional support to less fortunate children overseas, she takes the stage to share her passion for helping children.
Sidorova started her pageant journey just last year. She won the first pageant she competed in – the local World’s Most Beautiful Woman pageant – then was named the fourth runner up in the Mrs. Florida America competition. Shortly after, she was contacted by the directors for Mrs. World, who wanted her to represent her home country of Moldova. She traveled to South Korea to compete and was placed as the second runner up.
“It was fun to be around the different cultures and hear all the different languages,” she says. “There were very nice women from all over the world.
This January, her loved ones encouraged her to try the Mrs. Florida America pageant again. After all, she had gained valuable pageant experience since her first attempt.
“I was prepared and focused on my purpose – not only on the beauty but the meaning behind the pageantry,” she says.
This time, she won. On Aug. 26, she joined 50 other delegates on stage in Las Vegas to compete in the 2018 Mrs. America pageant with a goal of showing the judges that her passion for her purpose is real. Along the way, she met other mothers just like her who had similar goals.
“All these women are incredible,” she says. “They are all mothers with a purpose who give their hearts to their community. We all learn from each other, admire each other and support each other.”
Sidorova says pageants have taught her not to judge others but instead to learn their story. Her work in pageants has also completely changed her view on how women should treat each other in their everyday lives.
“We all have our path and we all have something that we’ve been through,” she says. “Being a woman is not easy, so supporting each other is a beautiful act, and I’ve learned to lift others up.”
A lot goes into just one pageant: working for special events, finding sponsors, staying in shape and rehearsing. All of that happens before the show even begins. On pageant week, long days are spent with competitors, and Sidorova notes that the environment is nothing but positive.
“What’s happening backstage is unique,” she says. “We get to connect with each other and hear each other’s stories.”
Sidorova and her husband Hernesto have two young children. Through her work in pageants, she says she wants to teach them to go for their dreams by working hard and believing in themselves. She also wants to encourage other women who may be afraid to compete because she’s been there.
“It’s not about competition,” she says. “It’s about working on yourself. You learn in a beautiful way how to give to others and how to love one another.”
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