Carlie Spencer Visits Section 36!

Photo by Karl DeBlaker

Section 36 has another visitor! Carlie Spencer is passionate about helping others achieve success, a talented dancer, and the current Miss Raleigh. I was thrilled that she was willing to visit with us to discuss those topics, and a few more. I am also excited that she is our first visitor from the state of North Carolina!

So, let's see what happens when Carlie Spencer visits Section 36!

How did you celebrate winning the Miss Raleigh crown?

Ironically, I won Miss Raleigh the exact day that COVID-19 shut-downs began. At this point nobody had any idea what Coronavirus would do to our lives, so there we were. There were over 30 women huddled backstage in our opening number attire straining to listen to the emcee's announcements. Fifteen minutes prior to the pageant starting, we were still uncertain whether the show would go on. The governor had just issued the first limit on groups to 100 people, and the Miss North Carolina Board was waiting to hear back from our lawyer about how we could proceed safely. Then we hear the announcement! The show will go on and the audience will simply be limited to 100 people! My heart fluttered with joy, because the Miss Raleigh title was my dream title. This was the last preliminary competition of the season, and I was 25 years old. This was my last shot.

My usual celebration is going to eat with my team and eating a ton of bread; however, at the end of the night, most restaurants were at their new COVID-era "full capacity." So, my celebration of winning Miss Raleigh was simply going to my hotel with a heart full of gratitude! My Carolina Princess was also staying at the same hotel, so we threw on our swimsuits and did cannonballs into the pool for hours. It was the most unplanned, but perfect, celebration! Then my mom and I went to our room to do what we do best: Strategize for the state competition!

Which part of the upcoming Miss North Carolina competition are you most nervous about?

At this point, I am most nervous about whether or not I will be able to compete at Miss North Carolina. When I was crowned Miss Raleigh, I was in my final semester of law school and looking forward to one last opportunity to represent North Carolina at Miss America and spread my Social Impact Initiative, Strive for Success. I was hopeful and optimistic about the competition, and truly don't think there was anything that made me "nervous."

Now, my life looks much different. I am a full time attorney, podcast producer, and serial entrepreneur hopeful. Beyond juggling my legal clients, I spend my free time working on various side hustles that I pray will turn into a career, or at the least will help pay off my student debt faster! Because of my career in law, I have very few vacation days. I am nervous about the Miss North Carolina week structure and timeline. I am nervous that my job will keep me from being able to chase the longtime dream one last time. I am nervous that COVID might also keep hundreds of women across the country and in NC from chasing and living their dream as well. 

How did you select your social impact initiative, “Strive for Success”?

Strive for Success is centered around encouraging and
educating others how to achieve personal and professional success. Through carefully created and tested methods and tips, Strive for Success helps equip others with the skills to build proper resumes and cover letters, develop interview answers based on self-reflection, and most importantly to use the skills they’ve acquired through many years of education to land and excel at their dream job. 

At twenty-five years old, I often wonder who I would be had I never stumbled across the Miss America Organization. Because of this organization, I have been empowered to live my life in the service of others. My journey in this program began back in 2013 as a high school senior who stood on stage at that first local competition naively believing I was worthy of winning. Afterwards, looking at my competition I realized there was a lot of work that needed to be done on Carlie Spencer before she would be able to feel confident standing next to these motivated, smart, and exceptional young women. I had no social impact initiative. Was I affecting my community in a good way? Was I a leader?

At eighteen years old, I had much to figure out.  But, had I not started competing in the MAO,  I do not think I would have been asking those questions. The MAO was the spark that forced me to do self-reflection and cultivate a social impact initiative that turned into the passion that now drives my entire life and sets my heart on fire. 

Admittedly, I struggled the first few years trying to ignite a definable social impact initiative. My whole life, I had delivered Meals on Wheels with my family and volunteered with various community organizations, but I needed something that really lit a fire in my heart. In 2015, I began to see a consistent theme during college. Through my leadership roles and responsibilities in college as well as my Leadership Development courses, I realized helping others reach their own professional and leadership-related goals was exactly the type of service that inspired me. This realization sparked the birth of Strive for Success five years ago, and has now developed into a constant burn and yearning to reach more people who can benefit from these programs.

After more than five years of evolving and growing, Strive for Success has reached more than 100,000 people through podcast episodes, blog posts, YouTube videos, individual training and consulting sessions, curated interview question packets, online materials, social media videos, and more. Strive for Success has, in essence, taken over my life through the production of original educational podcast episodes, drafted legislation awaiting passage into law, pending eBook publications, hosting a national live interview video series, creating a nationwide mentorship program, and the incorporation of a non-profit (“Strive 4 Success”) to help connect all the various Strive for Success resources and tools. 

As a talented dancer, what do you enjoy about going out on stage?

Being called a talented dancer might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said about my dancing! I enjoy stepping out onto the stage in ANY situation where I have the challenge of captivating the audience. Dancing at Miss North Carolina or presenting to a jury at trial are not all that different. At the end of the day, I enjoy connecting with others. I try to bring big energy onto the stage when performing talent, because I know my energy is more impressive than my dance skills and technique. 

I’ve really enjoyed your “Social Impact Across States” Instagram Live interviews with fellow titleholders. What is it like to do those?

The impact that the Social Impact Across States series has had on my life has been monumental. Service begets inner-contentment and personal fulfillment, in my humble opinion. But beyond, “feeling” good, I have learned a great many things that have proven beneficial to myself and others. The aspect of Strive for Success that is possibly the most near and dear to my heart is the live interview video series I created at the beginning of quarantine: “Social Impact Across States.” 

The series aims to interview a titleholder (local and state) from all 50 states about their social impact initiative. The series allows titleholders to both practice interviewing (exercising my SII) and promote their service project to a broader audience. After I conduct each interview with a titleholder, off-camera we discuss how to improve their interview answers and demeanor. But, something unexpected happened while producing this series. These women asked for more than interview advice, but also substantive advice on how to grow their various social impact initiatives. 

I’ve been blessed enough to coach a few women through drafting legislation in their respective states to advocate for change related to their initiative. I’ve given advice to at least a dozen on partnership opportunities they might seek to further their cause. I’ve discussed and suggested non-profit incorporation potential with a handful of women.

Since beginning the series, I have seen almost all of my interview guests’ wide-range of social impacts grow as a result of our interview and follow-up sessions. I have realized that my passion for consulting and counseling not only applied to professional endeavors, but also community service and volunteerism. 

Additionally, I have learned the importance and power of collaboration. Thanks to the Social Impact Across States video series, I have met incredible women across the country who are making true social impacts on the local, state, and national level. Some of these women also share a common social impact initiative as Strive for Success. 

So... what has it been like starting the series? Magnificent. Humbling. Invigorating. Educational. And so much more. 

You recently started a mentorship program called “Strive for Success”. What can you tell me about that program?

As the founder and executive director of the nonprofit "Strive 4 Success," I lead a team in a collaborative effort to market the mentorship program to individuals across the country. COVID presented a challenge that eventually led to an improved implementation of the mentorship program. The mentorship program was originally designed to match mentors and mentees based on the geographic proximity and ability to meet in-person; however, due to COVID it forced the board of directors to move into a virtual model, which has allowed for nationwide promotion and pairings. The virtual Strive for Success professional mentorship program in the wake of COVID reaches across this country and has made it possible to connect with and offer collaboration opportunities to MAO titleholders with similar professional and leadership development related social impact initiatives.

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

Moana! She is fierce, determined, goofy, and kind. Additionally, if I was Moana for a few I would get to live on a beautiful island. Sounds like a much needed vacation from life!

If you had an extra ticket to an Atlanta Braves game, who would you take with you? Why?

100% my Nana. Nana is a Georgia Peach and really inspired my love for the Braves. She dressed me up in jerseys as soon as she possibly could. I remember being a toddler visiting Nana and Grandaddy, and my Nana being glued to the TV watching her team and sometimes yelling at the screen! It would be such a special day to experience the game in person at the new stadium with my Nana.

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

Easy! I want to throw the first pitch as Miss America! A girl can dream, right?

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That would be a great goal! 

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

As Carlie continues her time as Miss Raleigh, I encourage you to check out her official and personal Instagram accounts, her website, and her TikTok!. They're great ways to keep track of everything she has going on!

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

 

Thanks again Carlie, and good luck!