Vote for Krystal here: pageantvote.net/pageants/586/contestants/4476. You may vote once a day.
Krystal Okeke invites you to follow her journey on Facebook also.
Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Ms. Illinois USA Universal 2016, Krystal Okeke, is one of Park Forest’s very own. And her 8-month-three-weeks old daughter, Kleopatra Vargas, is Baby Miss Illinois 2016.
eNews Park Forest met with the Mom and Daughter beauty team to discuss pageants, homelessness, food pantries, poverty, hope, and more.
Krystal has been living in Park Forest for over three years. “I love Park Forest. It’s home. It’s calm. Everyone is friendly.”
Born in Chicago, Krystal Okeke spent her formative years in the Nigerian Federal Capital of Abuja. She returned to the United States with a beaming smile and a delightful accent, ready to chart her own course and compete. Her journey culminated in the last week of February when she was crowned Ms. Illinois USA Universal 2016 — but her journey is far from over.
Next up is a competition in Reno, Nevada, this July 23-28.
She has been doing pageantry for over five years. “After watching pageantry since I was a little child with my mom — I used to watch the Miss World and the Miss Universe Pageant — I decided in 2012 to apply. That was actually outside America, back in Nigeria.”
“I still had hope,” she said.
She began modeling as a child. “Mom would always enroll me in shows and all these things. I remember buying dresses, changing, modeling for designers.” She recalls that she was 5-years-old when she started.
She didn’t place as well as she would have liked in her first pageant experience, so she tried again, competing for Miss Illinois USA, the pageant run by Donald Trump. Again, not placing where she hoped, she won a four year scholarship to Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.
After she had her daughter, she was encouraged by officials from the Miss America organization to try pageantry again.
“I went ahead, I competed again, and I won,” she beams. That was not the USA Universal 2016 pageant, “It was a different pageant all together. I was like, ‘Wow.’ That was like a dream come true.”
Her daughter Kleopatra competed with other babies in America’s Little Miss Illinois. There were different age divisions. Kleopatra competed in the 0-12 month division.
“This girl smiled the whole time,” mom, beaming, says. “She waved. I’m telling you, I don’t know how she learned to wave. My mom taught her. She was waving to everyone. She was smiling. All the other babies were crying. She was acting so calm.” Krystal says the judges loved her.
What’s next for Kleopatra? “Kleopatra is going to be presented as Illinois baby in Florida this year. She’s gonna have a lot of photo shoots, probably a lot of magazines, a lot of parent magazines. So, I hope this will open more doors for her. Because this is just the beginning.”
At eight months, three weeks old, it is just the beginning.
What does competing in pageants mean for Krystal?
“It means everything to me,” she says. “I’ve always had the passion for pageantries, as I said, right from when I was a child. Pageantries is not about beauty. People think it’s all about beauty. Yes, part of it’s about beauty and how you grace the stage. Pageantry is confidence. Pageantry is you having a platform, either trying to cure cancer, or trying to help the homeless, trying to help the less privileged.
“So, competing for me means winning, having a platform, and helping out.”
The platform is important, as a pageant winner can shed light on social issues in a way that few others can. Krystal is dedicated to helping the homeless, those less fortunate.
And it’s homelessness that has become the focus of Krystal’s platform.
“My platform is working with the less privileged, and mostly the homeless.”
Krystal had her own experience with homelessness. “In 2013, I was homeless for three weeks. I know how that felt. Being from a very wealthy family in Nigeria and coming out here and having to be homeless, it was a devastating experience.
“The people who can help out are those who have had that experience. You know how it feels.
“I visited Deborah’s [Place] in Chicago. I went to play games with [the homeless women], hang out with them. I shared my experience with them.
“I worked with the food pantry in Park Forest at St. Irenaeus.” Krystal is a member of St. Irenaeus Parish.
She also worked with an assisted living home in Palos Heights.
She has also been busy making appearances, one recently at the Tinley Park Kids Expo for Family Time Magazine.
She also worked with a homeless shelter at St. Mary’s in Park Forest.
“I’m just doing what I love to do,” she says.
What do we as a society need to do for the homeless?
“I know this is a hard question, but we just have to keep giving. Giving is the answer. We have to keep giving. We have to keep encouraging all those people that are homeless to find a job.
“That’s how I got out of that problem. For three weeks of my life, I had to move out of a place I didn’t feel comfortable living in. Just to have peace of mind. I chose to be homeless, just to have peace of mind.
“I had to work hard, though. I had to work extra shifts to get my own apartment.
“So if you’re watching this and you’re homeless, you know what? Have hope, work hard, and everything’s going to be fine.
The homeless do have access to computers at places like the Park Forest Public Library and various shelters. So, there’s a chance someone needing a message of hope might receive it through Krystal’s words.
Our discussion turned more towards homelessness and poverty. There’s a lot of blame that happens toward the homeless and those in poverty. The issues are far more complex than we think, Krystal suggested.
Any advice for someone starting out who wants to get into modeling, pageantry?
“You have to be sure that’s what you want to do,” she begins. “You have to be ready to invest your time, your money, because there’s a lot of sponsorship. You have to raise money. You have to be determined. You have to have knowledge of what you’re doing.
“It took me three, four tries to compete. Can you imagine? It’s not a simple system. It’s a tough system. You have to know yourself, you have to be ready to work hard for it. You have to love yourself, regardless of winning or failing. I think you should be very determined and be ready for the race.”
What about those times she came up short? What about the pageants where she did not place as well as she would have liked?
“You know what? It’s not about the failure. I believe failure is always one step to winning. Experience is the best teacher. My experiences have built me and made me who I am. I’m glad I have that story, because with that story I can encourage all the girls who thought they could never be a beauty queen, or they could never attain a goal.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s pageantries, or you want to be a lawyer, you want to be a doctor, whatever you want to do. Just be determined. Keep trying. Don’t stop. If you have that passion, push it.”
“Never give up. Keep trying,” she says.
Through the entire interview, Kleopatra was sitting as calm as could be, watching mom, paying attention to the exchange, glancing out the window. Mom says the little one has had experience with many interviews.
Krystal is a student at Prairie State College studying Mass Communication. Kleopatra’s dad, Officer Gilbert Vargas Jr., works at Prairie State as a police officer. They’re all living together in Park Forest. After she completes her studies at PSC, Krystal plans to explore journalism and perhaps pursue a law degree.
At this point, she’s either interested in criminal law or becoming an immigration lawyer. “There are a lot of problems with immigration,” she says. “I can deal with it.”
“I have dual citizenship. I was born here in Chicago, but my mom wanted me to go back to Nigeria to learn the culture.”
She lived in Nigeria for 16 years. “That’s why I have the accent!” she laughs. “Sixteen years of my life, because [mom] wanted me to learn the culture.” Then mom told her it was time to return to the United States to learn the culture here and use that opportunity to go to college.
She’ll receive her degree from Prairie State in December. “Oh my God, it’s been a long journey, but I’m happy.
What’s next for Krystal?
“I want to go ahead and compete for this national title held in Reno, Nevada, this summer. And, hopefully, if I win, then I can work with the homeless and less privileged around the country of the United States of America. And I would like to do more food pantries, help people and give out food, use my platform in a right direction. After that, maybe I can find something different. Probably acting, the movie industry. I believe everything in life is step-by-step.”
Pageant winner, supermodel, actress, journalist, lawyer, advocate for the homeless, advocate for those in poverty.
And Baby Miss Illinois 2016
One word that captures the spirit of Park Forest’s own supermodel, pageant winner, and her daughter?
Hope.
Krystal has the drive and the energy to succeed.
But she conveys hope.
And that makes all the difference.
Vote for Krystal here: pageantvote.net/pageants/586/contestants/4476. You may vote once a day.
Krystal Okeke invites you to follow her journey on Facebook also.
