On July 15, St. Andrews Optimists met and heard from Meera Bhonsle, the 2022 Miss South Carolina USA title holder. Bhonsle will compete in the Miss USA pageant which could lead to the Miss Universe pageant.
She is a Lexington High School and USC graduate, who rose to her present title through a process of competitions that emphasized interview skills and community service interests. Bhonsle noted that although some interview questions are somewhat unsurprising, they are occasionally unexpected and may be posed in order to gauge a contestant’s ability to think on her feet. So they serve as a test of a contestant’s poise.
Bhonsle’s major emphasis in her candidacy and now in her reign is childhood literacy. She titled her platform as “Reading is Leading.” Her goal, and that of most elementary educators, is reading and writing proficiency by the end of third grade. She travels in South Carolina supporting that interest, and occasionally speaks in other states. She has a multi-cultural background and speaks 5 languages.
Pictured are Optimist Club President Mike Myers, Meera Bhonsle, and speaker host Mike Johnson, who gave the speaker a copy of the Optimist Creed.
