Sadi Thann first Cambodian Miss. Massachusetts contestant: Good Luck, Sadi! We are VERY proud of you!

Courtesy Sadi Thann

UMass senior Sadi Thann first Cambodian Miss. Massachusetts contestant

November 11, 2010
By Simone Shenney
DailyCollegian.com (U. Mass., USA)

As most college students do, Sadi Thann was struggling to find ways to pay for college. One day in early September, Thann was researching scholarships and found herself looking into the Miss Universe Pageant.

Before long, Thann was accepted. The 21-year-old University of Massachusetts senior will compete in the 2011 Miss Massachusetts Pageant on Nov. 26-28 at Lowell Memorial Auditorium as the first 100 percent Cambodian woman, and the first ever UMass student, to compete in the pageant.

“I was having a bad day, and I realized there were very few Cambodians in the pageant. It’s time for one of us to be in it,” said Thann.

The primary application was simple, requiring a headshot or photo. “There are a lot of myths of who can’t be in a pageant; for example, you have to be tall, ten out of ten in a bathing suit, or a certain age and weight. Pageants rate you on who you are as an overall woman,” Thann said.

Eva Longoria started her career in a pageant and is only 5’1’’, Thann noted.

Thann was born in Cambodia and was rescued from a refugee camp in Thailand when she was just an infant. She eventually found a home in Amherst, Mass. where her adoptive parents live.

The pageant will be held in Lowell, Mass., which happens to have the second largest Cambodian population in the country.

The first day of the competition is the interview. The judges learn about the success and talents of the delegates, and focus on the women’s poise and communication.

The second day is the swimsuit competition. The judges focus on self-confidence and the beauty of the women’s face, body and overall physical fitness.

The third and final day is the evening gown competition. The women choose a gown, and the judges focus on the ladies’ self-confidence and the beauty they bring forth. Overall, the judges will be looking for women who can be role models and learn from a year in a position of leadership.

In the time leading up to the pageant Thann has a lot of preparing to do. She hired a personal trainer to get in shape and has made appointments with pageant “gurus.”

Some of Thann’s interests are dancing, fishing, camping, hiking and knitting. Thann volunteered at the Survival Center in Amherst and the Series Community Center. She is also part of Project 2050 and has been since age 11. She was also a dancer on her high school dance team.

Currently, she is involved in the Cambodian Students Association and will be participating in community service activities leading up to the pageant. If she were to be crowned, there would be a lot more charity work to do. She would have to take a semester off and she would also move onto the Miss USA pageant.

Thann’s two sponsors for the pageant are bastardfishing.com and Hypnosis Works.

A legal studies major as well as BDIC for Class, Gender and Sexuality, Thann wants to become a professor – but if she is successful in the pageant, she said that she might pursue a career as a television hostess.

Thann, who has no prior background in pageants, plans to compete again if she does not make it this time.

Simone Shenny can be reached at sshenny@student.umass.edu.