As a girl growing up on a coffee farm in Captain Cook, Jeanne Kapela dreamed of one day being crowned Miss Kona Coffee. Now, she is headed to Atlantic City, N.J., as Miss Hawaii to compete for the title of Miss America.
As a girl growing up on a coffee farm in Captain Cook, Jeanne Kapela dreamed of one day being crowned Miss Kona Coffee. Now, she is headed to Atlantic City, N.J., as Miss Hawaii to compete for the title of Miss America.
Kapela achieved her childhood dream of becoming Miss Kona Coffee in 2014 and went on to be crowned Miss Kakaako and ultimately Miss Hawaii 2015, a title she earned in January by beating out 28 other contestants from all over the Hawaiian Islands. There have only been a few Big Islanders to win the crown, and the last time someone from the Big Island won the title was about 15 years ago. Not bad for a girl who was raised by a single mom on a small coffee farm on the slopes of Mauna Loa. Kapela is the daughter of Keahi Kapela and Clifford Gaspar and attends Kapiolani Community College.
“I know what it’s like to grow up on food stamps. I remember how at the end of the month, we would be going hungry waiting for next months stamps to arrive. Essentially, my mom worked, so I was raised by my grandmother, who had polio and was also a cancer survivor. She taught me that I could accomplish anything,” said Kapela.
And that’s just what this Konawaena High School graduate intends to do as she heads to the mainland for the annual Miss America pageant, she has confidence that she can win the title, but knows it won’t be easy as she is competing against 52 other beautiful, talented and intelligent women from every U.S. state, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. She believes that her upbringing on the Big Island gives her an advantage over the other competitors.
“Being from the Big Island is very special. Here we have an actual sense of aloha, and a sense of pride. It was my sense of ohana and community that helped me shine above the others (in the Miss Hawaii competition). And, this has given me a real sense of who I am, and in the end, that is the one thing that will help me stand out in the Miss America pageant,” Kapela said. “If you believe in yourself and know who you are, you could wear a paper sack and you’re going to win.”
For the talent portion of the Miss America competition, Kapela will be doing a contemporary modern dance to “Flashlight” by Jesse J. Her experience as a classically trained ballerina and as a member of the Rainbow Warrior Dance Team for the University of Hawaii (a combination of dance and cheerleading similar to the Laker Girls) has given her many skills, but she said it is her lifelong dedication to hula, which she has been practicing since she was a young girl, that gives her a real advantage.
“Hula is all about grace, and it has given me a strong sense of presence. Hula goes all the way down to your fingertips, and has really helped me as my piece is very emotional,” she said.
Kapela is also very emotional about her political platform, which every contestant must have. She has chosen to focus on sex trafficking (#ItEndsWithUs). When asked why she chose sex trafficking as her platform, she explains that it all started when she heard her cousin’s story about how she had been sold into sex slavery at the age of 14. This so influenced Kapela that she decided she never wanted to hear another survivor story again. She wanted to end it.
“Many people don’t realize that sex trafficking is going on right here in Hawaii. There are young girls being sold into sex slavery all the time. There are brothels right here in Oahu, many of which are filled with girls that are only 12 or 13 years old. They have been dehumanized to the point of not even realizing they have been raped. I am going to devote the rest of my life to preventing this,” Kapela said.
She went on to explain that Hawaii is the only state in the union that doesn’t have a ban on sex trafficking. Recently, Gov. David Ige vetoed a bill that would have banned this practice, but Kapela said she is not daunted. Through the nonprofit organization UNITE, which she founded and runs, she is already hard at work on a new bill to ban sex trafficking for next year. She is also working on a bill, which would mandate education of sex trafficking for teachers and students through the DOE. More information on how to help through donations, volunteering, or education can be found at her website: www.itendswithus.org.
Kapela is clearly a woman on a mission, not only to become Miss America, but to change the world for the better. When asked what advice she would pass on to the young girls of our community she said: “It doesn’t matter where you come from. The only thing that matters is the strength of your heart and the scope of your dreams.”
The 2016 Miss America Competition will be televised Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. on KITV. Check your local listings for further details.