 I'm Rusty Komori and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys Varsity Tennis Team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. My books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game are about leadership, character, and creating a superior culture of excellence, which is what this show is all about. My special guest today won this year's National Miss Teen USA title, and is the second team from Hawaii to win it, since Kelly Hu in 1985. She is Keelani Arruda, and today we are going Beyond the Crown. Hey Keelani, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Hi, thank you so much for having me here. I'm so excited. Well, it's so good to see you again. I was cheering you on at the pageant through the television. Thank you so much. I know it's been a crazy year, and because of coronavirus, we have been able to have a big crowd at Miss Teen USA, but I definitely felt all the love from home, so I'm very grateful for that. Thank you so much. Now Keelani, tell me what you love about growing up on Kauai. Yes, so I was born and raised on Kauai. I've always lived here for my whole life, and there are so many things that I get to appreciate about my island. I think one of the things that I appreciate the most is the community that we have here. It's a really tight-knit community, and even when going to Miss Teen USA, I've had so many people send me so many messages of gratitude and of support, and that's really so special to me is how close I am to everybody here, and that with this title, hopefully I can give back to my island too that has supported me throughout this journey. So I'm really, really grateful that I got to represent not only my state, but also my island at Miss Teen USA. Well, I think you're going to be a fantastic representative of Kauai and all of Hawaii, and I know that you graduated from Island School in Lihue, and you had a 4.0 GPA, and you were class president. Tell me about your experiences at Island School. Yeah, so also I went to Island School for all throughout my school and career, so I really liked Island School because they really pushed me to do my best academically and both in and out of the classroom. What I love about Island School also is the really small, tight-knit community that they had there because teachers were always there to help their students and students are also there to help the students. And I really feel like that's what learning is about, is having that community of people who want to learn and who want to pursue further education. So I'm really grateful for that, that I got to go there and have that experience in high school, and that has prepared me for also for college. I'm in my freshman year of college right now, and even though it's kind of crazy because of COVID and having to do online classes, I'm really grateful for the opportunity to get to study further. And Keelani, what kind of sports did you play in high school? Yeah, so I played volleyball, swimming, and I did track and field. I did hurdles, and I've always loved to be out on the court. It's always my favorite thing to be out with my team especially. And yeah, I've had so many great experiences from doing sports. I know that you are a coach, and congratulations on your state championships as well. I forgot to mention that. But yeah, I loved volleyball. I did volleyball for all four years of high school. And really it was a family thing too. My grandpa did volleyball and my stepdad coached volleyball. So it was really something that I got to share with my family that I was really grateful for and being on a team with such amazing people who supported you and who knows the struggles of being a student athlete but can always support each other. That's my favorite thing about doing sports. So Keelani, when and why did you decide to enter your first pageant? Yeah, so my first pageant, it was about two years ago. And actually, my mom heard about it from her friend because her daughter did pageants too. And when my mom mentioned it to me, she was like, oh, there's this great opportunity to run in this pageant. It's a really small pageant, and it's just going to be a great opportunity for you to increase your confidence. And I did not know it would take me all the way to Miss Teen USA stage. So that's really funny looking back at that. But I did that first pageant because I did want to do something new and see if I can gain confidence from doing that. And I'm really grateful that I got to have that experience because I've met so many people along the way and I've grown so much as a person. So that's what I'm really thankful for. So that was my first pageant was 2019 Miss Kauai Teen USA. And I won that and I advanced to the Miss Kauai Teen USA pageant in 2019, which I also got to meet so many amazing ladies from around the state. And that just inspired me to be a leader and do so much great things in our country, in our state. So Keelani, when you went to Miss Kauai Teen USA for the first time after winning the Kauai Teen, how did you finish and what was your experiences like? Yeah, so I placed second runner up to Leymah Kamai. She was actually one of my really, really close friends during the pageant. And it was an amazing experience. I felt that even though I didn't win, I grew so much as a person and I knew after the pageant, right straight after the pageant, I was talking to my director and we're like, we have to do this again because this is so amazing and this is so awesome. And even I wanted to grow even more as a person and grow my platform. So that's why I continue this following year. But yeah, so the first year at Miss Kauai Teen USA 2019, it was an amazing experience. It was my first state pageant. So I was really excited. I was really nervous. But at the end, it was just an overall amazing experience. You know, I find it interesting that you had mentioned that your mom was actually the one to kind of urge you to enter your first pageant. And a few years ago, I was a judge for the Miss Kauai Teen USA pageant. And it's really well done. I mean, I absolutely love it. And I also know that a lot of the girls have certain insecurities that they're dealing with in the pageant. What are some insecurities that you have? Yeah, that's a really good question. I think for me, I've always been a perfectionist for my whole life. So I've always wanted to get things done in the most perfect way. And that for me, going into the pageant, you can't be perfect because people know that people aren't perfect. So for me, it was just being vulnerable and being able to show my true self. That's really what helped me with my pageant experience because I know that you can be perfect. And there are other girls who have the same insecurities as you. So I think that you just have to be confident in your own self. So Keelani, the following year, you enter the Miss Kauai Teen USA pageant again. And you win it. And I want to know, what did you learn about yourself that year that you grew from the previous year? Definitely. Like I was saying before, I was really just having confidence in my own self and being who I am. I felt that in my first year in running in the pageant, there was a lot of outside pressure. You know, everybody looks at previous pageant years and be like, oh, I want to be like this person. I want to be like that person. But you really just have to be your true self. And that's how I went into it my second year. I was like, I'm going to give it my all. I'm going to know who I am and what I stand for. And I'm going to show the judges who I am because that's really, you can only portray yourself as the person you are in front of those judges. And they are going to love you for who you are. And that's really what they want to see. So I'm really blessed that I got to go again in second year and take the crown. It was an amazing experience. And I just wanted to have fun, too, because pageants are supposed to be a fun experience. Of course, it's a competition, but you get to meet so many girls and do so many fun activities. And it's just so amazing. What was one of the fun activities that you remember doing with your with your contestant friends? Oh, there's so many that we did. I mean, we're lucky that we're here in Hawaii, so we did a lot of activities outside. I think one of my favorite activities that we did was probably we went. We went to Waikiki. And I think we wrote these like little inflatable like pool bikes. I don't know what you call them, but we don't have them here. So it was really cool just getting to like goof off for a second and not have to feel like it has to be pretty pageant mode. Just like have fun in the water. Well, I want to do that, too. Now, Keelani, you have great family support. I mean, you're so close with your family. Tell me a bit about them. Yeah, so I have my mom and my stepdad. My mom's name is Napua and my stepdad name is Kaipo. And then I have two younger siblings, so I love so much. My brother's name is Channing and my sister's name is Lea. And it's a pretty, pretty hefty age difference between me and my siblings. Between me and my sister, we're 10 years apart. And with them, I am just so thankful that I get to be a role model for them. I think that's what helped me with the pageant, too, is getting to show that I can be a leader to not only my siblings, but to little girls all around the world. So I wanted to instill that into my title, too, is getting to be a role model. And I think that being a big sister, that's really helped me with the title. Well, you're definitely a great role model already, and you're just going to get it even greater. I know that for sure. And let's talk about the big national event now, the Miss Teen USA in Elvis Presley's Graceland. What was your mindset going into the big pageant? Yeah, so, I mean, pageant week, if you think about, I don't know for people who haven't done pageants before, it's pretty hectic. You have to pack all your stuff. You have to make sure you have your dress, your heels, your earrings, tip to toe, everything needed to be there with you, especially since I'm going to Tennessee. I really had no, I really had no other place I can get my other stuff from. So being in Tennessee, I really had to be prepared and going in mindset. I just have to feel that I am there. I am prepared. I am worthy, whatever happens happens. And I just knew that I worked hard and I had people to support me. So I was really grateful for that experience. And I think just being there, you realize that there's 50 other girls and they're all in the same situation as you. And we're all just so lucky to be there. So just taking that experience for how it is and taking each step along the way and enjoying it. That's what I really wanted to do because it is a once in a lifetime experience that not everybody gets to go through. So I was really grateful to be able to represent my state and just to be there with some of the most amazing young ladies in the country. Now, a lot of people that I know that watch the pageant that was cheering you on, including myself. We all loved your beautiful yellow dress. I mean, how did that come about? I mean, how did you select that? And, you know, tell me about that. Thank you. So I love the color yellow. It's one of my staple colors. Even my state dress was yellow. So going, we went to Sherry Hill in Texas in January and there were so many beautiful dresses there. And I knew that I wanted to have a dress that not only represented myself, but also represented my state. And what better way to represent my state is to wear the state flower, a yellow hibiscus. So I wanted to represent the yellow hibiscus and just all the beauty of Hawaii and bring that to the national stage. And just, I felt so confident and beautiful in my dress. It was amazing. So just getting to be there and representing my state was amazing. So I'm really grateful for that. Now, I have to say, I mean, you said the color yellow is your favorite. I mean, the yellow color, I mean, has to be your lucky color because you won the pageants when you're wearing yellow, right? My interview dress was yellow, too. And I do love the color yellow. I just think it just radiates this positivity. And that's what I wanted to be. I wanted to be positive, and especially with everything happening in the world right now, I think that's what we need to be is just positive for the future. What was it like backstage with the other girls from all the other states? Yeah. So first of all, I have to say the Miss Universe Organization did an amazing job with all the COVID guidelines. We all had our own separate areas. Everything was being disinfected. We all had to wear masks, which could get pretty hectic at some point. But yeah, being backstage with everybody, it was so great, though, because I got to make a lot of friends along the way. So getting to see them and getting their love and support along the way was so amazing. And but when it came to competition time, like, you can tell that everybody was like kind of in their zone because everybody's focusing on, like, getting to make sure everything is pitch perfect because on stage, you can see everything. So getting making sure everything backstage is perfect is very important. So it was pretty hectic, but I love the rush of the excitement of being backstage. I think that's something very special. The pageants is getting that Russian adrenaline and just the excitement and getting to be on stage on a national level is so amazing. So that's so awesome. So Keelani, tell me about the platform that you have for now that you're Miss Teen USA. Yeah, so as Miss Hawaii Teen USA, I had my platform Channing's Voice, which is named after my brother. My brother was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. And my family and I, we kind of struggled through guiding through his disability, but we had so much help and so much support along the way and got to give the resources he needs to help him. Just grow as a person. So I'm really grateful for that. So with this title, I hope to do the same for other families and create a community of people and to help people whose families have those loved ones with autism have the help and support that they need. And just to also educate the public about autism, because I feel like it's something that not a lot of people know about. Even when my brother was diagnosed with autism, we did not know much about the disability itself. So we got to learn a lot about that. So I think that just bringing that to the public too is really important. And with the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA organization, I hope to work with Best Buddies, which is another organization that helps people with disabilities as well. I love hearing that autism is your platform. And last year, I was a guest speaker for you and your contestants of Miss Teen, Miss Teen Hawaii USA and Miss Hawaii USA. And you have my book and I want to know about what you like about my book. What stood out to you? And so many things. So I think it's a great book. I think all teenagers or all people should read because I think motivation and success is something so important, but something that isn't really taught in our school system. So I'm very grateful for that book. Thank you so much. And for me, there are so many lessons that I could take from that. But one of the things that stood out for me, like I was saying before, I ran for Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2019. And I didn't win, but I won. I thought that I won for myself because I've learned and grown so much as a person. And so in your book, I read that losing is when you lose with a poor attitude, but getting beaten is when you have the great attitude and gave your effort. And I kept that with me throughout my reign. I knew that I'm just going to have a good attitude because whatever happens happens and whatever it's meant to be meant to be. But if I work hard and I give it my effort and I have a good attitude and I win, then that makes it just so much more awesome that went for me. So that was one of the things that I took from your book. I love hearing that. And also in it, I know you know about, I talk a lot about resiliency and perseverance and courage and risk. And you are a great example of all of that because that's what you did. Now, how important is it to take risks? Do you think it's so important? I think my whole life I've been taking risks just because you never know what's going to happen. So but having that courage and having that thing that you know within yourself that you're good enough, then no matter what happens on the outside, then you gave your effort and you gave it your all. So I think that it's so important just to do things you never think it was done because who knows what the outcome could be. I would never have won Miss Teen USA if I didn't step out on that first stage in my first page at Miss Kauai Teen USA and took that risk and had the courage to do that. And I'm just so, so amazing to look back at it and see how far I've come. Now, earlier you were talking about that you're a role model to your younger brother and sister. And I want to ask you about Miss Kauai USA, Samantha Nieland, who finished in the top 10 of the Miss USA pageant. And she seems like she's your older sister and you guys have a great relationship. Tell me a bit about Samantha. Oh, yes, Samantha. I love her so much. I've gotten to know her so much this past year. And I'm so grateful for having such a great role model because I've actually always wanted a big sister. I mean, it's great being an older sister, but having somebody to look up to and give that support. And that's exactly what Samantha is. She was Miss Kauai Teen USA in 2013. And then I know she did an amazing job representing our state there. And I just knew that having this role model, having this person who could mentor me throughout my year, I'm so grateful for her. And I'm so excited to see her next week at the Miss Kauai Teen USA 2021 pageant. And sadly, we will be giving up our Kauai crowns, but I know she's done so much and so many amazing things. I'm super grateful for her. And I know that when she was watching you at your pageant, she was posting things on Instagram and Facebook and she was like crying watching. She was so happy for you. Did you get to talk to her about that? I did. I got to FaceTime her because unfortunately with Corona, we can't be face to face right now. But yeah, she was I was so happy to get to talk to her afterwards. And I just thanked her for being such a great supporter for me. And she's so sweet. And I really was sad that we didn't get to see each other more during the week. But I'm really glad that I got to talk to her then. And I wish you guys could have seen me during her pageant because I was literally on the edge of my seat because she was called last for top or top 16. I was like, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, they better call Sam. I was so, so excited when her name was called though. And she did so amazing. I'm so proud of her. Yeah, that was pretty dramatic. And I was squeezing there too. And I want to ask you about Alicia Michioca, the Miss Hawaii USA owner and Miss Hawaii Teen USA pageant owner and director. What do you admire about Alicia's leadership in these pageants? Yeah, I love Alicia. She's actually a fellow Kauai girl. So I've gotten I've gotten to bond a lot over her over that. And she is just so amazing because she really just wants to empower women and bring out their best of themselves. And I think that she does an amazing job with the pageant and each individual is like telling them to be their best. So I think that as a director, that's something that she does greatly to support these women in their dreams. And I'm so grateful for her for supporting me in my dreams and always being there for me and as a mentor, too, because she was a previous Miss Hawaii USA. So I'm really grateful. Yeah, no, I know Alicia for many years. And I know that she greatly cares. She has great empathy for all of her contestants. And that's why she brought me in as a guest speaker last year and bought books for all the contestants. And she did the same this year. And so a few weeks ago, I did the guest speaking through Zoom for all the contestants. And she's just wanting to really prepare everybody the best that they can be, you know, prepared for, but not just for the pageant. She really is trying to prepare them for life. Did you get in the field that she was doing the same for you? Yes, she definitely was. And telling me about getting my tasks done and knowing where I want to go in life and just being that leader. She really inspires me to be a leader and to take my own life into my own hands. So I'm really thankful for that. And that's something I can apply outside of the pageant, too, when it comes to school or it comes to work or business. I'm really excited to get to apply that to my life. So thank you, Alicia. Now, Keelani, you were featured on the cover of Midweek. And there's not too many people that can be featured on the cover of Midweek. But how did you feel being featured there? It was amazing. And plus it was the Midweek for Thanksgiving. And Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. So I was super happy to be on Midweek. And yeah, just it's amazing to think like how many amazing people are in Hawaii that are making a difference in our country. And it just humbles me that I get to be a part of that amazing community of people who are doing so much and representing our state. So I'm just really thankful for that. And getting to be on Midweek and getting to interview with them. It was just opened my eyes to like how much of an amazing title this is and how much this could take me. So I'm very grateful for that. Now, when you look back at your short life so far, what's the best advice you ever received? Yeah, the best advice I've ever received, I have to say it was from my parents. They told me that life is like a bank if you put a certain amount of money and you can only take that certain amount of money out. So the work that you put in is what you're going to be able to take out of it. So they always encouraged me to work harder, what I do and to pursue what I love and my passions and to give it my 100% all. And that's what I've really wanted to do with my life. And even with the pageant is giving it my 100% and trying my best to make my family proud too. So I'm really grateful for them to instilling that so early in my life so I can bring that with me as hopefully one day when I go off to college and I go off into the workplace and even if I'm away from Hawaii or I'm in Hawaii that I have that support from them. Well, you are a woman of great character and I always say that parents are the ones that really shape their kid's character first and then coaches like me can come along and really try to enhance or improve the character. But I want to ask you this now, Keelani. What advice do you have for other girls that are potentially thinking about entering a pageant? Yeah, I'd say if somebody wants to enter a pageant, if they have even one little inkling of wanting to do it, then they should just go for it because it is really such an amazing experience and something that you really can't get of anything else because you grow so much as a person and I think what's really important about pageants is getting to know yourself and being comfortable with yourself. And once you're comfortable with yourself, then you're comfortable sharing that with the rest of the world. So I'd say if you want to do a pageant, do it, give it your all and just have fun and be yourself because that's the most important thing that you can do for yourself. Okay, so these girls that will enter pageants, what advice do you have for their parents? Yeah, so I feel bad for my parents, I have to be honest. They probably go through just as much as I am going through. So I have to say that it can get stressful at some times but just know that your daughter is so thankful for you and that she's doing this for you. I know that for us, I know for me that I had to fundraise a lot. So that's the one thing I would give advice to the parents is fundraise early because things can get a little bit pricey because they do add up. So get a good fundraiser, sell some La-Lau, I sold sweet bread. So that's one thing I would recommend. Oh, can't go wrong with La-Lau and sweet bread, right? Sweet bread, oh my God, I can't tell you how many times we had French toast after that because we just had so much bread. Well, sweet bread French toast is the best. Not really pageant, but hey, you have to have a cheat day there somewhere. Now, Keelani, is there a story or an example of you dealing with an adversity situation or a very challenging situation in your life as you were growing up that you can share? Yeah, I have to say, especially it was, I think it was after my first pageant and it was when I was competing for Ms. Hawaii Teen USA 2020 there were times where I did doubt myself because it's impossible to keep all the negative comments out of your head. It's just a natural human thing, just to think about a bad situation or what could happen. But I think for me is really trying to stay positive in those situations and just knowing that if I work hard, then it's okay because I will give my 100% effort. So just not doubting myself for that. Yeah, I like hearing that and be confident and trust yourself, believe in yourself because doubt is very powerful. I mean, that one ounce of doubt can just throw your whole life in a different direction, right? I can, I think that's, and I think it just builds up upon each other. So I think really starting off your day well and it was actually something I read in your book is make your bed first thing in the morning. And I was really bad about that. I never liked to make my bed, but I started doing that. And I actually didn't notice the difference when I started making my bed first thing in the morning. I was like, look at it, I'm like, wow, that's a nice bed. I'm gonna go do something else and it just builds upon that and builds upon that. And if we start off on a right foot, then your day will go well. Yeah, you see, it's all, the book is all coming back to you now, Keelani. It is. Now, Keelani, I wanna ask you one more question before we wrap up. What are some of your future goals? Yeah, so, well, first step, I am in college so I like to finish college with my undergraduate degree. I am pursuing a career in molecular and cellular biology and I hope to one day go to medical school because I would like to be a dermatologist one day because I myself have struggled with skin issues in the past so I wanna help other teenagers feel confident in their own skin and love their own skin and be able to have confidence in themselves. So that's what I would like to do in the future. And yeah, after I go to college, I would love to return to Hawaii and like start my business here and just inspire other young women to just do greatness. Who knows, maybe I'll run for Miss Hawaii USA one day. We'll see where that goes. Maybe in a couple of years I still have some time too. But as the year goes, I just really wanna appreciate this title that I have now and take it one step of the day and really just get to enjoy it. Well, Keelani, I have to say you are a woman of outstanding character and I have no doubt that you will inspire and impact many people in countless ways. And I really wanna thank you for taking time to be on the show today. Thank you. I'm so glad I could be here and talk with you. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on ThinkTek Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my books are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I hope that Keelani and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.