Brooke Erin Feldman of Margate heads to the Miss New Jersey competition this week.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – Among the women vying to win the crown of Miss New Jersey 2022 is Margate’s own Brooke Erin Feldman, a product of the Margate City schools and Atlantic City High School. Feldman, who is a talented singer and advocate for the elderly, is among the 28 contestants who will be competing this week for the right to represent their state in the Miss America competition later this year.
Miss Atlantic County Region Brooke Feldman, 24, of Margate.
Feldman was crowned Miss Atlantic County Region March 6 at Folsom Elementary School. Since then, her life has been a whirlwind of appearances and preparations for the preliminaries and the final competition for the the top 10 and the People’s Choice candidate being held Saturday, June 25 at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.
She is in Group A and will have a private interview with the judges on Tuesday. She will perform her talent on Wednesday, the first night of the preliminary competitions, and will sing “Astonishing,” from the Broadway musical, “Little Women.”
“I chose this song because it’s about a woman who displays confidence and courage as she tries to find her place in the world, just as I’m still searching for mine,” she said.
On Thursday, she will walk the red carpet in a gorgeous evening gown, although she still hasn’t decided which one it will be, answer what promises to be a challenging on-stage question, and make her social impact pitch – “Serve and Support Our Seniors: Bringing Generations Together.”
“I have an affinity for our seniors. My mom told me that when I was little, I was always drawn to the elderly,” she said.
Feldman has been volunteering with senior citizens for 15 years and has spent time with them at the Rosin Center in Atlantic City, focusing on engaging with seniors and getting younger people to engage as well, she said. She has enjoyed time calling Bingo numbers, serving lunches, singing for them and “just being an ear for them,” she said.
“Focusing on their mental health is just as important as their physical health,” she said.
Feldman has also volunteered at Seashore Gardens Living Center where the “Elder Grow” gardening program has filled a void for many of the residents, some of whom have Alzheimer’s, she said.
“Without those types of activities, they can become lethargic or not in a prime mental state. Participating in the gardening program is like night and day for them,” she said.
She encourages local university students to volunteer to speak to the seniors on topics that will stimulate their brains and keep them engaged. The COVID-19 pandemic caused many seniors to become isolated – even from their families – and their need is even greater today.
“I want to help them get back into the community and help them to feel safe and comfortable,” she said.
Feldman said she plans to continue working with seniors as part of her lifelong journey.
That journey includes going to medical school to become a physician. Both her parents are doctors – her father a physician and her mother a dentist specializing in oral medicine. Geriatrics is an interest or geriatric psychiatry, she said. But ideally, combining her medical degree with her summa cum laude degree in journalism on the pre-med track that she received at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., will enable her to pursue her “passion” to become a medical correspondent.
“I’m in an exploratory phase of my career, and I’m still trying to figure out my place in society,” she said, envisioning herself as the female Sanjay Gupta. “I’ve come to the conclusion that being a medical columnist or a broadcast journalist specializing in medicine is in my future.”
Brooke Feldman of Margate is crowned Miss Atlantic County Region, Friday, March 4, 2022.
Feldman expressed concern about how social media has given citizen journalists a platform for their views, but many of them may not employ the strict ethics required of journalists – to be objective and fact check information.
Feldman said she supports the changes made in the Miss America Competition, including eliminating the swimsuit competition.
“It’s absolutely not a beauty pageant,” she said. “Miss America is focused on female empowerment and helping to develop the professional skills needed to change the world.”
The main reason she is competing for the first time at age 25 – the last year of eligibility – is for the scholarships that can help her continue her education.
“I stand by all the changes, and it’s theme to ‘prepare great women for the world and prepare the world for great women,’” she said. “The other women who are competing hold true to that ideal. They are all lifting each other up.”
Although she was not sure what to expect from the journey to the crown, she approached it with an “open mind,” she said.
“Since I was crowned Miss Atlantic County Region, the focus has been on interviewing skills. They are not so much focused on beauty. The red carpet event wearing a gown is about how you carry yourself, and Miss America is about being body positive and in optimal health, but there is no physical test like there used to be.”
“My short couple of months has been so rewarding already. It’s an experience of a lifetime to represent the area where I grew up,” she said.
Feldman said she believes she has “a 1 in 28 chance of winning.”
“My goal this week is to have fun, be present and do my best. I’m putting myself and my truth out there. If the judges like that, great. If not, at least I know I’m staying true to myself,” she said.
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