Miss America: The Person Behind the Crown

Photo by Emily Garver

Cassie Donegan, a musical theater performer, Belmont alumna and daughter now has another title to add; Miss America.

Donegan participated in a panel at the Massey Performing Arts Center that showcased her childhood, the journey to becoming Miss America and what the future holds for her now.

“Through sharing that story, she was able to show us that the things that make you, you… it's something that the world needs,” senior commercial music major Evie Braden said.

Donegan spoke about how when she started her time at Belmont, she was uncertain of her future.

“I didn't know who I wanted to be,” Donegan said. “I just knew I wanted to perform.”

Through her time at Belmont, she had many outlets to help guide her along the way, including her faith.

“I would not have had the opportunities that I have without the things that he has given me and the gifts that he’s given me,” Donegan said.

The musical theater department accepted Donegan in 2015 and she was ready to work from day one.

“You knew from day one that Cassie loved the theater and loved being on stage,” said Nancy Allen, a Belmont instructor of musical theater voice.

Donegan’s talent was evident from the moment she started in the musical theater program, said Nancy Allen, but Allen and other instructors like JoLynn Burks still had a lot to teach her.

“We always say that a director's dream is to have someone they have to pull back and that was Cassie,” Allen said. “She was larger than life, and we had to teach her how to manage and refine rather than bring the life out.”

Despite the misconceptions about Miss America, it is not a beauty pageant. Rather, it’s a scholarship program that empowers women and helps them build a campaign for a certain cause.

The winner of Miss America receives a $50,000 scholarship and goes across the nation, promoting her social issue on a national speaking tour. For Donegan, she chose the issues regarding the funding of arts education in order to show society how important an arts education is.

“One of my goals as Miss America is to be able to kind of set a blanket level federal standard for arts education and making sure we have those earmarks in place,” Donegan said.

For some people, a well-rounded education is extremely important, so gaining more funding for the arts helps achieve that goal. Many states lack a well-rounded curriculum, including Tennessee, which does not require students to take classes in the arts in order to graduate from high school.

“I think it teaches empathy and it teaches self-confidence and even if you don't plan on doing it as a career, it's something that every student should study,” Allen said. “I think it's the only thing that matters in creating a society that gets along with each other… a well-rounded society has the arts as the heart of it.”

At the end of her talk, she performed “What Baking Can Do,” a ballad from the musical “Waitress”. In this song, the main character Jenna is struggling with many aspects of her life, and Donegan was able to portray those emotions in the time she performed.

“She had this sense of realness and this raw kind of beauty about how she was singing that I couldn't take my eyes away as I was watching her,” Braden said.

Donegan comes from a lower income family, her mother is a multiple stroke and heart attack survivor and her father is a disabled veteran, but she has proven that despite these circumstances, she is capable of pursuing her dreams.

“You do not need to have every resource in the world to achieve the things that you know you are capable of achieving,” Donegan said.

After a full year of service, she will have to surrender the sash and crown and move back to New York where she will continue her career as an actress and continue advocating for arts education. Even though she will have one final curtain call, she will leave a legacy with Belmont and beyond.

“I just really hope that people are able to think about my year of service as somebody that they felt like they truly connected with and knew,” Donegan said.

This article was written by Ava Burns