I would like to tell you a story. A story that marries fairy tale aspirations with tenacity, self-actualization, and practical life-skill training.
No, this isn’t the Marines. This is The United States of America New Jersey Pageants. It was held on November 2, 2025, and our four queens will take their crowns to Las Vegas, Nevada in March to compete for their respective national titles.
This impressive event was overseen by USOA Pageants Executive Director of New York and New Jersey, Dayaneiris Burton, herself winner of USOA Ms. New Jersey in 2023. Dayaneiris manages all 4 divisions of the state-wide pageant which recognizes Mrs., Miss, Ms., and Teen New Jersey. Under her tutelage contestants aspire to showcase their talents and individuality in support of a cause near to their hearts. “Everyone has their own values and purpose in life,” she tells me, “and this platform provides the opportunity to demonstrate that purpose on a bigger scale, giving you a voice to speak up for what’s important to you. It allows you to showcase not only who you are, but to leverage that into what you can do.”
One misconception is that pageants are only about beauty, but these queens also exude passion, confidence, and eloquence with respect to their advocacy platforms, all of which lend themselves to greater diversity in our community. Because the pageant attracts exceptional women focused on inclusivity and empowerment, it is a true celebration of sisterhood, providing an aspirational platform for personal advocacy and excellence. Is it any wonder that Wayne Lifestyle is the official magazine of the USOA’s New Jersey Pageants? With our focus on dynamic leaders that foster solidarity in our community, we are honored to applaud this year’s winners.
USOA Mrs. New Jersey, Kelsey Rosenberg, arrived to pageant weekend on the heels of a series of traumatic events. But the bond of sisterhood forged over the course of that weekend ignited a healing process she hadn’t even known she needed.
Kelsey, a devoted wife and mother, is also a child study team member and learning disabilities teaching consultant. She advocates for students who may potentially require services. Her passion stems from her own challenges with a reading comprehension disability as a girl. Kelsey is a fierce advocate for inclusive education which is how her platform “Every Child Can Belong” came into being. She’s written a children’s book entitled, The Light of Belonging, and is currently working on a sequel. “It was those educators who offered me opportunities that wouldn’t have been unavailable to me otherwise. I strive to do the same for others.”
Kelsey also won this year’s Miss Congeniality title, awarded across all 4 divisions. She spoke at length about the USOA pageant motto: Empower, Inspire, Uplift. “Being new to the pageant world, I was definitely out of my comfort zone. Then you meet another woman who inspires you and suddenly you’re restored. That spark gets lit and you level yourself up.”
When I asked what success means to her, she didn’t hesitate. “Impact. Not titles and trophies. I showed up and someone else felt seen and empowered? I struggled in silence with my own disability, so for me success is about creating those spaces where people can grow and thrive.” Kelsey has aspirations to create an inclusive pageant that would further substantiate her mission to Empower, Inspire, Uplift.
USOA Miss New Jersey 2026, Nishka Dhawan, moved from India to America at age 17 to pursue Theatre at NYU. But theatre wasn’t her first love. At 14, she published a book of poetry and short stories entitled Love a Million Shades. She went on to work at CNN, Rolling Stone, NBC, and ABC. But finding camaraderie and support in such a competitive, fast-paced industry was difficult and Nishka longed to address and alleviate this isolation.
Just this year, she launched her own magazine, Nakhra (www.nakhramag.com), a lifestyle and consumer magazine written through a South-Asian lens. Nishka also founded the Women without Borders Community, which is a safe space for women of color to discuss issues that affect them in their personal and professional lives. Nishka is working towards building a community that asks the question: “how are you doing mentally – and how can we help?” She tells me, “the crown isn’t for me. It’s a symbol of achievement for girls like me. I won the title, but it belongs to everyone around me!” Of her fellow contestants she says, “we’re competing individually, but we’re winning together.”
For USOA Ms. New Jersey, Dania Martinez, being crowned a champion is nothing new. In 2025 she was named Ms. Passaic County (how’s that for local celebrity)?! Born and raised in Paterson, she tells me that she’s thrilled to be representing New Jersey and looks forward to competing nationally. “We didn’t grow up with a lot of opportunities and we had to fight to achieve our dreams. But pageants have taught me that if you work hard, you can accomplish anything.”
When Dania isn’t working as a school social worker and adjunct professor in Ramapo College’s Master of Social Work program, she’s advocating for her platform, Women’s HERstory: Leading by Empowerment, an organization that works with and for special education students from elementary school age through high school.
This year’s youngest winner, USOA Teen New Jersey, Ira Agarwal, is a junior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South. She plans to pursue a career in business and politics. She talked to me about her platform, The Model Mindset – a movement that empowers children and teens to take steps towards body positivity.
In the throes of a busy year as an 11th grader, she’s found the time to create a guidebook to teach others to 1) Accept, 2) Appreciate, 3) Activate, and 4) Approach the difficult work of self-acceptance. Ira has been raising awareness for this project through community outreach and events that she plans to kick up to the next level in the year ahead. When I asked her what she loves most about being USOA Teen New Jersey, she told me it was “making appearances, knowing that there are so many people in our local community for whom we can make a positive impact. Honestly, that’s just so cool. Success is different for everyone but for me it’s about achieving my goals. It’s also about finding ways to be happy. With all the stress I could be experiencing with school, college on the horizon, I was able to find this happy space where I could be myself and do what I love.”
This fairy tale, as it turns out, has no ending at all, only interesting and impactful beginnings. Watch this space for exciting updates on what’s to come for all 4 of this year’s remarkable winners.
Find more information about USOA New Jersey Pageants at: usoamissnewjersey.com; on Instagram at usoamissnj; on Facebook at usoanewjerseypageants.