First person: Hometown girl

Bethanie Baker competed in the Mrs. New Mexico pageant as Mrs. Clovis on Albuquerque on June 19.

Baker said she didn’t quite make her goal of getting into the top five, making it instead into the top 10. She said the experience of meeting married women and moms from across the state was one to cherish.

Mrs. Clovis: This is the first pageant I’ve ever been in. A friend e-mailed me about it and suggested I look into it. I decided to apply and was picked from my application. The application asks for you basic information. I had always seen Miss pageants on TV but when I got married I thought there goes that. And then I heard about the Mrs. pageants. It’s a good opportunity to meet other married women and get another point of view on things. The pageant celebrates married women and working moms and I think it’s great.

Working mom: I’m a teacher at La Casita Elementary School. I teach sixth grade. This will be my third year. I love the blend of my students. I have students from all walks of life. I enjoy being part of their growing and changing. Especially in sixth grade, they’re getting ready for that transition into middle school. They’re becoming little adults.

Hometown girl: I was born in Clovis, but I grew up in Clayton and Artesia. I moved here in 2000. I went to Eastern New Mexico University and got a degree in elementary education. With family it is so much better to raise kids in a small town. Clovis is a small town but not too small.

Sports mom: I have three children. Noah is 5 months old, Adrian is 7 years old and Antonia is 8 years old. Adrian and Antonia are very involved in sports. Adrian is about to start football and that will take up all of our free time. Antonia just finished volleyball. So we’re pretty sports oriented. I used to play basketball, volleyball, track, drill team and was a cheerleader. I did it all. In small schools, you kinda have to.

Mrs. New Mexico pageant: There were so many different kinds of people at the pageant. There was one lady who was 60 years old and she was doing it just to prove she can. It was kind of inspiring. I went into it not knowing what to expect. I made a lot of good friends. It was just chance to be girly and wear the dress and makeup and the hair. I did it to prove I could do it. My students and I talked about it. I wanted to show them they can accomplish any goal.

— Compiled by CNJ staff writer Liliana Castillo