 Hi, I'm Rusty Komori and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. I was the head coach for the Punahou Boys varsity tennis team for 22 years and we're fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. My book Beyond the Lines is about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence and finding greatness, which is what this show is all about. My special guest today is our 2013 Miss Hawaii Teen USA and this year's Miss Hawaii USA. She is Samantha Nieland and today we are going beyond the crown. Hi Samantha. Hi, how are you? Where in the world are you right now? I am actually in Los Angeles right now. There is a lot of travel that comes with being Miss Hawaii USA. We have supporters everywhere so it's kind of part of the job. You've got to stop everywhere and say hi and say thank you. Well, you are a fantastic Miss Hawaii USA Samantha and I want to ask you about your early years growing up. I know you traveled a bunch. Yes, yes I did. So my dad was in the Army. He retired as a colonel after 35 years. So I didn't know anything other than the military life. I was born in Georgia. I think we moved a year after I was born and we traveled around the South for a little bit and then we did Spain, Japan, Hawaii and then obviously we stayed in Hawaii. But it really just, it was such a great childhood and it was so funny because I had no idea that it wasn't normal to move every two years. So when did you move to Hawaii and what schools did you attend? I got to Hawaii when I was 15 and I went to Moanalua High School. Okay, and your family, I know your dad, Alan and your mom, Joanne, they are super, super nice. I love your family. But you have a brother as well. I do. Yeah, my brother, Jonathan, he's in Hawaii as well and he actually produces music. Nice. So tell me about your mom and dad as well. So my dad is retired now from the Army, like I said, but he manages the Pacifica, which is a condo complex in Kaka'ako. It's a really nice building and he does a great job. It's really nice to see the staff and the residents of that building really appreciate him for all that he does. And my mom is actually an independent skin care consultant for Rodana Fields. Wow, that's a fantastic company and that's a billion dollar company. Yes, it is. And it is just globally expanding as we speak, so she's doing pretty well. Now, Samantha, I want to ask you, when you entered the 2013 Miss Teen Hawaii USA pageant, why did you enter? It was actually quite a shock to my family when I said I wanted to do it. I come from a very athletic family. Everyone was good at sports. My mom was a division one athlete in college. My dad is an Army teacher, especially the Army. So I mean, I have played absolutely every sport there is and I'm just not very good at it. And I was always searching for my thing. I remember as a kid, I would get so upset because every time I would try something new, my brother would pick it up and then master it in an hour and I did not have that ability. So I was just constantly searching. I was always trying something new and one day I saw a bunch of pageant girls walking around with their tiaras and their sashes and I thought, I could do that and then I did. So what did you learn about that pageant experience going through the teen pageant? I think I just learned how to be myself and people, it sounds a little crazy when you say pageants to give you confidence because you think you're being up, you're getting up on a stage, you're being judged, but it really just gives you an opportunity to discover who you are and be proud of who you are and then go showcase that. So I think that was the biggest thing for me was I always had a high self-worth, but my confidence was not always there to match it. Would you recommend pageants to a lot of young women? I would. I just, I love it so much. I think for me, and it actually, when I was reading your book, there was something in your book that reminded me what I always say because at the end of the day, obviously only one person is going to get the crown. Only one person can win the pageant, but I always say find something, win something. So at the end of the day, if you compete in a pageant and you do it right, you really give it your all. You're going to feel like you won something because you'll be a better person for that experience. And little things matter and little victories matter and little victories lead to big victories. They do. They really do. It's so important. I mean, you just, you have to give yourself something, you know, it can't be solely based on someone else's approval. And now you are the current Miss Hawaii USA. And how was this year's pageant, was it any different than what you experienced as a teen? It was. It was a lot different. And I think as an adult, you really know what's at stake. You really know how big an opportunity this is. And so I took it a lot more seriously because as a teen, it was great, but it was also just so much fun. And now as an adult, I'm thinking, okay, this really has the power to change my life and how I go about things and the opportunities that come to me. So I worked really hard. And I have to say most of my preparation for the pageant was mental because I work out often so I was already in good physical shape. I've modeled for a long time, so I know how to walk a runway, but it was getting my head in the game and getting, you know, just my mental strength, where it needed to be to get up there and be proud of who I was and what I had to offer. You're so right because mindset is everything. It's so huge. And Alicia Michioca, the owner of the Miss Hawaii USA pageant, I mean, she is absolutely fantastic. And how did she help you and the other contestants? She did my, she kind of did this workshop, which I've now adapted into, not adapted, I've adopted into my own program because it just was so wonderful. So she had her cousin Sasha come and we had all the contestants sit down and everybody got a thin plywood board. And on one side of the board, you wrote your fears. And then on the other side, you wrote what you wanted to manifest and bring into your life. So we're all taking time writing down very personal things. And then we get up and somebody holds the board right in front of you with the fear side facing you and you just break it in half. So you break physically right through your fears and mentally as well. I love hearing about fear. And you know, I don't know if you remember this in my book, but fear has two meanings. You know, the letters F-E-A-R or get everything and run. And the other, the other meaning is face everything and rise. And that's what you did in the pageant. Yeah, it was definitely a challenge, but it was something that I knew I would be glad I did. And I think the morning of the pageant, I woke up and I just felt so calm because I knew I could win the crown, but I also could not. But at the end of, I mean, that whole experience, because it really is like a three month long competition because we have so much going on throughout the process. I knew that, you know, that competition was coming to an end and I had won something for myself. So whether or not I was going to get the crown, I was a better person for all the work that I did. And that was enough for me in that moment. Do you find that, you know, there's a lot of team support among the girls in a pageant competition and how much everyone grows because of, you know, they might face insecurities and, you know, their own vulnerabilities and they become stronger and better for going through that experience? I do. And I really think Alicia does a fantastic job of this because I have competed in other pageants before and it's, everybody tries, but Alicia really just hits the nail on the head with bringing people together. And that exercise that I told you about, that especially, I think, brought everyone together because not everyone shared, but a lot of people stood up and shared what they were afraid of and what they desperately needed to manifest for themselves. And then you realized how much you had in common with everybody, how you related to this fear or you had just gone through that, you're currently going through what this person's going through. And it was such a magical moment because it just humanized everyone and we're all just sitting here, you know, looking fabulous, but being honest and being vulnerable and it was really powerful. I like when things like that have such a great impact. And, you know, Alicia had hired me to be a guest speaker in one of you guys' trainings. And then she bought books for all the contestants. And that just goes to show you how much she really cares about each and every contestant there is. She really does. And I mean, I think, like I said, only one person is going to win. But that doesn't mean that opportunity can't be beneficial for every single person. And she definitely tries to provide that opportunity. So, Samantha, what are you doing for preparations for Miss USA Now? It's definitely similar, a lot of mental preparation because I think for me, I want to approach it the same way I've approached Miss Hawaii USA. And just thinking that this is an opportunity to better myself. And whether or not I get the crown, I want to win something. So I've kind of been playing around with it and really just trying to figure out what exactly is it for myself that I want to win. Is it more confidence? Is it more poise? Is it just the ability to speak in front of more people? Because Miss USA has a wide audience, not only on network television and online, but there's a huge crowd right in front of you. So if I get the chance to speak in front of that crowd, that would be by far the biggest crowd I've spoken in front of. Well, Samantha, let's talk a little bit about your modeling career because you are extremely photogenic. I mean, it's amazing how photogenic you are in so many different scenery and different types of pictures. But tell me about what you love about modeling. It's so funny. When I started, I was not very good. There was a lot of work went into that as well. But I don't know, I find it really fun. And I think it's, again, I have spent a lot of time practicing. So for me now, it's something that I'm good at. It's something that I've put a lot of effort and work into. And I know what I'm doing. So when the camera comes out, I have already looked in the mirror with whatever outfit it is to know that if I stand this way, the outfit looks good. If I stand this way, the outfit looks not so good. And it's almost like a science or a math to me. Is there a not so glamorous part of modeling? Of course. Of course. I mean, sometimes you're wearing shoes that are two sizes too big or two sizes too small. And the whole, this is a big thing in Hawaii. You always sit on a rock, try to look peaceful. What is it ever comfortable to sit on a rock? It's just not. It's just, it's not a thing. And Samantha, you, because of your modeling, I mean, you've been on some huge national and international TV commercials. What are some businesses that you worked with for that? I think one of my favorites was Maui Gym. It was amazing. It was great to work on. It was an international campaign, but also a local brand. And they flew us to the Big Island, which was funny because I was thinking, is this Maui Gym? Shouldn't we be on Maui? But nonetheless, we were still in Hawaii and we went to the Big Island. We shot for a few days. And the funny thing is they shoot the back of your head. Really? Because they want to see the view of that you're seeing while wearing the sunglasses. So the whole campaign is the back of my head. My face is not in it at all. How many sunglasses did they end up giving you? They gave me one pair and then they gave me a gift certificate, which I used for Mother's Day and I got a lot of writing points for that one. Well, I love Maui Gym. And Samantha, we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to continue going beyond the crown, OK? OK. You're watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii with my special guest, Samantha Nieland. We will be back in a quick minute. Hello, I'm Lillian Cumick, host of Lillian's Vegan World, the show where we talk about veganism and the plant-based diet located in Honolulu, Hawaii. I'm a vegan chef and cooking instructor, and I have lots of information to share with you about how awesome this plant-based diet is. So do tune in every second Thursday from 1 p.m. Aloha. Aloha, I'm Daelyn Yanagida, one of our hosts of our Business in Hawaii talk show on the Think Tech Hawaii. The theme of business in Hawaii is to share with you stories of local businesses by local people. And our guests share with us their journey to building a successful business right here at home. We are streamed live on Think Tech weekly at 2 p.m. on Thursdays. Thank you so much for watching our show. I am Daelyn Yanagida, and we'll look forward to seeing you then. Welcome back to Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. My special guest today is our current Miss Hawaii USA, Samantha Nieland. And today we are going beyond the crown. Samantha, I love talking with you and hearing your insights. And in addition to being a model, you're also an actor. And most recently, you were an actor on Magnum PI. How was that experience for you with them? That was amazing. I have to say working on Magnum was definitely one of the highlights of my career so far. And as an actress, I travel a lot because some stuff films in Hawaii, but there's not as much. So I'm all over the place. Sometimes in LA, sometimes Atlanta. I've even filmed in Mexico before. And it's all an incredible experience. But getting to finally shoot a major show in Hawaii, it was just incredible. And the cast are so nice. I mean, I only did one episode. But any time I bump into somebody from the show just around the island, they're so sweet and always have something nice to say to me. And it really is like a family. And it's nice that even though I was only there for one day, I kind of still get to be part of that family. Well, I watched that episode and you were fantastic on it. And I want to ask you what other TV shows and movies have you been on so far? Well, I just did an episode of Mixedish, which came out last week. And that's on ABC. So that one was really fun because it's about a mixed race family. And I obviously come from a mixed race family. I've done a few Lifetime movies, which are always very dramatic and very crazy, but fun to watch. And what else did I do lately? I did an episode of Criminal Minds Beyond Borders, which is one of their spin-off series. But that tends to play a lot. Well, that's funny. It's like, well, what else did I do? Oh, I was on Criminal Minds. Yeah, that one, that was a good one. Now let's talk about my book Beyond the Lines. I was so touched because your grandfather loved reading my book, and I got to meet him at the pageant, and I got to take a picture with him. And I felt so honored and grateful just to meet him. But I want to know what principles in the book stood out for you? It's so funny. He loved your book so much. He actually stole my copy, so I had to buy a second one. But it really was so great. And there's so much in there that I loved and I resonated with. And the one that I mentioned earlier, the weighing comes from within. I think that one really just hit me the most because it put into words a lot of what I believe, but maybe haven't been able to articulate the best. Yeah, and for you, I mean, there's so much in there that reminds, I mean, you go beyond the line, Samantha, because of your character. I mean, you make great choices. I mean, you look forward to challenges, you welcome adversity. I want to ask you, what challenges, what's one of the biggest challenges you've faced in your life so far? I think my biggest challenges have all been internal, because there's always going to be external challenges that you face, whether it's someone being mean, or for me, I traveled a lot as a kid, so it's happy to make new friends all the time. But it really was the stuff going on inside that I think was the hardest to overcome. So being mixed for me was great, and I think my parents did a good job of not labeling me, so I just grew up kind of thinking I was a normal kid just like everybody else. But it wasn't until I was 13 that I ever met someone who was half black, half white, just like I was. So for a while, I was thinking, oh, I'm just like everybody else. But then when people started to point it out to me, then I was alone, and I was alone for so long because I just thought me and my brother really only once. And that was, I mean, it was just weird. It's just a weird thought as a child to think that there was nobody else in the world whose family looks like yours and that you're weird because of it, rather than celebrating the fact that you're different. So now I love it and I really appreciate the background that I have because it makes me the person that I am today. But I think I wish as a child that, I don't know, I don't know if I would have liked to know sooner that we were different. I don't know, you could never really tell. I mean, I turned out great, so I think it all worked out for the best, but it just was a hard thing to go through at that time, especially during adolescence when everything's hard. Well, you did definitely turn out great and your family is absolutely beautiful. And I have to say your dad, Allen and your mom, Joanne, I mean, they did a great job with you. I mean, they should feel so proud. I think so too. Yeah. So you experienced discrimination and bullying? Yeah, I mean, I would get it from both sides, you know? I mean, from the white kids, you were the black kid and from the black kids, you were the white kid, it always kind of felt like everybody was pushing me to the other side and nobody was really bringing me into their group. It was almost like I was just in a game of red rover that I just kept bouncing. Oh no. Yeah. Wow. That just definitely makes you a stronger, better person. And I'm sure you're helping inspire so many other people. Yeah, I think it's good to just talk about it, you know, because when we don't talk about it, then people don't realize what's going on and they don't relate to what you're going through because they don't even know that you're going through something. And once I felt okay to talk about it, then I realized that other people had similar feelings. Even if they weren't going through the exact same thing I was going through, they were going through something similar where they did relate. Geez. Well, I want to ask you about your program, Time to Talk Hawaii. What is it? Okay. It is my favorite thing ever. I'm so happy to be doing it and to just have actually started it because it was in my head for a really long time. But Time to Talk Hawaii is a program to help teens learn effective communication. So I'm targeting high school students. I have done some workshop with middle school, but I think for high school students, it's really important. I just think that our political climate has really changed the way we communicate with one another. And the program isn't political, but I think it's just worth mentioning that we don't have to communicate in such aggressive ways. We can have different opinions from one another and still share them in a respectful way. And just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they're dumb or doesn't mean that they don't know what they're talking about, they just disagree. So I think it's helpful to teach this younger generation that the way some people have been communicating in the media doesn't have to be the norm and it doesn't have to be the only way we go about things. Yeah, and it's not so much about disliking a person because of what their opinion is or what they believe. And that's the thing is you have to separate the person from their opinion. And what kind of impact are you having with your program so far? So far we've done, I've done a few different workshops. So I've done quite a few that are solely focused on teaching them to communicate and to speak with confidence. So whether it's communicating with their teachers or their friends' parents, those tend to be the popular ones for the middle school students because that's what's scary to them. And just teaching them how to make eye contact and how to finish a sentence and what to do when you get nervous, things like that. And then we've also done a few goal setting and vision board workshops just to kind of kick off the new year. I thought that would be fun to teach them how to set goals that they can actually achieve. Samantha, everyone defines success in different ways. And I wanna know what your definition of success is at the moment. I've always said that success is happiness. And I wouldn't say that I'm successful because even when times are rough or I'm tired, it's been a long day. Overall, every day I wake up and I like my life. I like what I'm doing. I like that I have the privilege to be talking to you right now because it's technically nine to five on a work day. But my schedule's different. And I just, I love what I'm doing and I love that I'm able to do it. Do you feel that you found your purpose in life already being this young? I feel like I was made to make a difference. And right now through my program, through Time to Talk Hawaii, I feel like I have the ability to make a difference. And I'm still finding my way and figuring out the best way to do it. But I really think you don't have to change the world. You just have to change the world for one person. Which is also in your book. I was so happy when I read it. I think I screamed a little. Cause it's just, it's so true. I mean, I'm going through so much work and putting so much effort into trying to help these kids. But at the end of the day, if I really only help one, that's enough. Well, you are definitely making a huge positive impact already, Samantha. And that's a huge thing. I mean, that is so good. Now I want to ask you, what's the best advice you ever received? The best advice. Okay. So this advice was not actually to me personally. I watched it in a YouTube video. Okay. But I think her name's Jennifer Lewis. I'm going to go with that. Okay. She's an actress. And she said the elevator to success is broken. Take the stairs. I like that. And I wrote that down and I looked at it every day for a year. And every time things would get hard, I would just go, the elevator to success is broken. We're taking the stairs. We're taking the stairs. The stairs take longer, but it's going to get there. It's okay to adapt and adjust when you're pursuing a goal. So, and I know you're adapting and adjusting. I mean, yeah, growing up military, I mean, moving every few years, you kind of get used to adapting and adjusting. It just becomes so automatic. So that is something that I'm very thankful for. Because it was kind of engraved in me really young. Samantha, I'm going to share something with you that I haven't shared on TV or social media yet. But my second book is coming out any day now. Oh my goodness. We've got the scoop here. Yeah. And that one's called Beyond the Game. Yeah, Beyond the Game. I like it. Now, Samantha, I want to ask you. Oh, thank you. I hope it comes out like today. But I know that it's being printed. It should be any day now. So, but I want to ask you one more thing, okay? What's a valuable lesson you learned in your life so far? Gosh, so many. You know, I think I'm just really thankful that all the lessons I've learned, I learned them at the time when I needed them. So I like to live my life with no regrets. I think every situation is a chance to learn something. And even when you're down and out, whether it's a work opportunity that didn't work out or a bad breakup, I try to just find the lesson and take that and move on. So I think my favorite thing, or at least the biggest thing that's impacting me right now, was actually almost two years ago now, I had an aunt, I actually know this was last year. I don't know, who knows how it is. I'm very busy, I'm very confused. But I had an aunt who died very suddenly and it was very tragic and very hard, but it really just taught me that every moment in life is precious and tomorrow's not promised. So we just have to be true to ourselves every single day and make sure we are living as authentically as possible. And I mean, it was a really hard lesson to learn and not something that I wanted to, but in the midst of that tragedy, that is the one positive thing that I've been able to take from it and really move myself forward and propel myself in a positive way. Well, thank you for sharing that, Samantha. And I wanted to thank you for taking time to join me on the show today. And I really wanna wish you the best in representing Hawaii and the country. Thank you, it's so sweet. I'm so glad we were able to do this. Thank you, Samantha. Thanks. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii and a special thank you to my clothing sponsor, Ilani Incorporated. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Samantha and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.