Scarsdale Resident Reflects on Miss America Experience

When you meet Scarsdale resident Alyse Zwick, one of the first things you'll notice is her big smile. It seems to brighten the entire room.

It's that smile that captivated people around the country as Zwick, 24, competed in the Miss America Pageant as Miss New York in January.

Zwick decided to join the beauty queen world only about two years ago. She won Miss Westchester last March and then went on to win Miss New York last June.

"I think it's really the best state to represent because everyone loves New York," Zwick said. Zwick, a first generation Slovak American, attended high school at performing arts school just outside Atlanta.

 For the past two years, Zwick basically spent her life in the gym and dance studio.

"It was a lot of telling my friends, 'Sorry I can't go to dinner because I have to rehearse,' " Zwick said. She didn't see her best friend for an entire year.  

"It's really like training like an athlete or for the Olympics. That's the part that people don't see." Zwick said.

Zwick, who's a part-time student at the City University of New York in Manhattan studying Communications and Culture, did most of her training at Equinox Fitness on Post Road in Scarsdale.

Her trainer, Kira Stokes, said Zwick worked harder than anyone she's ever trained. She said she never cancelled a training session and never once missed an aerobics class. In fact, she was always in the front row, Stokes said.

 "She 24/7 had the eye on the prize," Stokes said. "I can't even put into words how hard she worked."

Stokes said she would make Zwick jump rope, run sprints and do side-shuffles. Zwick would also run the stairs at Scarsdale High School. Her training motto, according to Stokes, was, "Better shock it, to rock it."  

And Stokes said Zwick did it all with that same big smile.

"The greatest thing about Alyse is that I don't think – not for one minute, with her – that she's not smiling or giving 100%," Stokes said.

And it all paid off when Zwick won the Miss America swimsuit preliminary on January 27^th – her birthday.

"It's the one competition that I had control over," Zwick said. "I worked really hard for it and won it."

Part of her inspiration came from her mother, who won Miss Rockland County in 1969 and was the first runner up to Miss New York.

In fact, the ballet dance Zwick performed during the Miss America pageant was the same dance her mother performed during Miss New York more than 40 years ago.

Her mother taught her the dance and trained her before the competition.

"She always talked about how much she loved it [the dance]," Zwick said. "It was a nice thing to do together."

Beyond the dancing, exercising and dieting, Zwick also had to research every aspect of her platform - improving the lives of our country's veterans.

Zwick is the spokeswoman for the United War Veterans Council in Manhattan. She's also working with New York Congressman Steve Israel on a bill that would help lower the amount of homeless veterans. Another bill would help children whose parents suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving in the military. Zwick said she was inspired by her grandfather – a decorated WWII veteran.

Zwick said even though she didn't win Miss America, which was won by Miss Virginia, she will continue to pursue her advocacy for our nation's veterans in helping them get back on their feet.

"They come home with no arms and no legs, and they're my age," Zwick said. "They need help."

Zwick said her professional goal is to become an actor. She would like to be on a soap opera, like Days of Our Lives, which she loved watching as a little girl. She's also going to continue to pursue commercial and print modeling.

She said she would love to land a role on a Broadway show but the audition makes her nervous, she said laughing. So, her New Year's resolution? Go to an audition.