Sabrina Gauthier Visits Section 36!

Section 36 has another visitor! Sabrina Gauthier is passionate about helping foster families, an author, and the current Miss Sanford. I was thrilled that she was willing to visit with us to discuss those topics, and a few more!

So, let's see what happens when Sabrina Gauthier visits Section 36!

What made you want to participate in the Miss Maine program as Miss Sanford?

Sanford is such a unique place to live. The diversity that sits within this small Maine City is really amazing. I have lived here for three years and still seem to experience something new every week. To be able to carry the title of Miss Sanford to the Miss Maine stage gives me the chance to represent everything Sanford has to offer. I hope to  do my city proud and bring home the crown!

 

You finished first runner up at last year’s Miss Maine competition. What did you learn about yourself from that experience that will help you the next time you compete?

Placing first runner up has taught me more than I ever thought

it could and I’ll sum it up into two points: 1. Trust in your timing and 2. Learn to objectively judge your performance. Trusting in your timing is incredibly important and a mantra that I carry with myself throughout all areas of life -  not just pageantry. At the time, I’ll be honest, I was disappointed to hear my name be called as first runner up. Obviously I was hoping to walk away with the win but I was ecstatic for my sister queen to be crowned. I mentally stepped back and told myself that my time will come and that if it was meant to be it would have been. I look forward to stepping on the stage again this year! My other lesson was to look at my performance objectively. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the scores or judges' feedback. I had to think back to my performance and give myself some sort of score to figure out how to best improve. After analyzing my competition I found the areas that weren’t as strong as I’d liked them to be and have put more focus to bring them up to par. I am excited to return to the stage with these lessons in my back pocket and some exciting surprises up my sleeve! 

 

 

Do you have a specific goal you’d like to accomplish during your time as Miss Sanford?

I plan to expand my social impact initiative to continue to spread awareness and information about the foster system in Maine and beyond. Currently, I’m working on several ideas on how to fundraise and help the Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine while Covid is still an obstacle.

 

How did you select social impact initiative: Fostering Friends?

I have four adopted siblings, one permanency guardianship sister, and several foster siblings. Growing up with my parents fostering I have been able to experience a whole world that many people don’t know exists. Fostering Friends started as volunteering with the Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine (AFFM) and has grown to encompass Foster Facts Fridays, fundraisers, several social media accounts, and even a website. I am so blessed to have this community that wants to know more about the foster care system in Maine and beyond and even donates to help families in the area. In short - I selected my SSI thanks to my family and the world they’ve shown me. 

 

You wrote a children’s book “Will She Ever Talk Again”? What was that like to put together?

Writing a book has always been a dream of mine. To be able

to combine this dream with my social impact initiative just made sense. I already had a loose concept of what I wanted my book to be about and spent some time refining my ideas into a cohesive plan. Once I had a general timeline of events and characters I did some research on how to write a children’s book. I then wrote out my drafts and came to a product I was happy with. The hardest part was finding an illustrator. I was able to partner with Badrus Soleh in Indonesia to bring my book to life! Finally, I independently published through Amazon. All in all from writing to publishing the book took around three months to become a reality. The whole process was such a surreal experience. I am so happy with my end product and that I am able to bring some representation of not only foster children but also non-verbal children into the literary spotlight. 

 

If you could be a Disney Character for a week, who would you choose? Why?

I would definitely be Anna from Frozen for a week! I actually have the chance to play Anna on a regular basis (during non-covid times) for a business in Southern Maine called “Rent-A-Princess”. I always have so much fun playing her! She’s so quirky and independent and loves to talk about chocolate and sandwiches - who doesn’t love that? The kids at parties are always so excited to see Anna too so to be able to live in that feeling for a week would be amazing!

 

What is your personal fitness routine?

Currently my fitness routine looks a lot different. It mostly consists of long walks with my dog and yoga sessions. I work two jobs that have me on my feet so I get the opportunity to be active throughout the day. When I am able to go to the gym I love mixing cardio with bodyweight exercises. Although yoga is always a constant!

 

If you had an extra ticket to a Red Sox game, who would you take with you? Why?

I would take my Mimi with me - she is a Red Sox super fan! It

would be so much fun to experience the atmosphere at Fenway with her and know that she would be soaking up and loving every moment of the experience. 

 

Is there a feature or activity at Fenway that you’d especially like to experience?

I would LOVE to attend a “Dog Day at Fenway” event! Dogs are my all time favorite animal and my pup Max would be the best companion. He’s so social and would make a ton of new friends. Although, I doubt we would pay attention to any baseball with so many furry distractions! I would also have to keep Max far away from any popcorn - he loves it!

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Dog Day would be so much fun!

As always, I want to thank Sabrina for visiting with us, and for sending along the wonderful pictures to go with the interview.

As Sabrina continues her time as Miss Sanford, I encourage you to check out her Instagram account. It’s a great way to keep track of everything she has going on!

I also definitely want to wish her the best of luck whenever she competes for the Miss Maine title. It would be wonderful to have another Section 36 visitor wear that crown!

Thanks again Sabrina, and good luck!