Airman competing for Miss Massachusetts USA title

by SrA. Kelly Galloway
439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

10/17/2012 - WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. -- On any given day, Senior Airman Cara Lustig could be found at the gym, attending one of her six college courses, volunteering her afternoon reading to first grade students, working full-time in Boston or drilling here as a knowledge operations specialist.

And that's before the Miss Massachusetts USA beauty pageant she's competing in Nov. 16. Lustig will compete against about 60 candidates, which will be held in Lowell, and only one will be sent on to the National Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas.

A reservist with the 439th Communications Squadron at Westover, Lustig also works full-time as the Military Enrollment Advisor at the University of Phoenix at the Greater Boston Campus, and is completing her MBA.

"I want to help out in any way that I can," Lustig said about her job as the Enrollment Advisor for military veterans. "I feel that I can give back to someone who has already given so much to me. I'm able to assist them with career decisions, something that is going to affect them for the rest of their lives. It's a big deal."

Growing up in the small town of Quonset, R.I., Lustig had a drive to excel and move from her home state.

"I was at my brother's basic training graduation in Lackland when I had this epiphany," she said. "I've always wanted to move away from Rhode Island - I wanted something bigger, something better, like my brother was doing. So I enlisted in 2010 and chose communications as my AFSC because I wanted the skills I would be trained on to be easily transferable to my civilian life."

With a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Rhode Island, an information management associate's degree from the Community College of the Air Force, a current MBA candidate at the University of Phoenix and a commissioned officer applicant - it's easy to understand why Lustig is going to excel in her civilian career and with the Air Force Reserve.

After researching the Miss Massachusetts USA pageant, Lustig wanted young girls to have someone to look up to - a positive role model - so she decided to pursue it.

"I've found that since entering this pageant my self-confidence has boosted and I've been able to begin networking," she said. "Knowing that I will be someone people look up to gives me that extra drive to always improve myself."

At the Miss Massachusetts competition, judges will conduct an initial interview with all 60 contestants and choose 15 to compete. They will be judged in swim and evening wear as well as interview questions and answers. Physical fitness, self-confidence and overall beauty will determine which contestant will be chosen to be the ambassador to represent Massachusetts. Ultimately only one will be crowned as "Miss Massachusetts USA."

Winners immediately become role models, according to the Miss Massachusetts USA website, assuring a year of personal growth and maturing that money cannot buy.