When Amar Spencer hits the runaway at the Miss California pageant, the MSU alumni has plans to represent her Alma matar proudly.

The 24-year-old from the Caribbean island of Antigua will be competing in her first beauty pageant in January and is looking for the support from the place she once called home.

“It is very important to have MSU support because I am a product of MSU,” Spencer said. “The skills I learned from my Alma mater will help me tremendously in this competition.”

In August 2005 Spencer found herself at Midwestern because of the Caribbean Students Organization (CSO).

Spencer said her education in mass communications at Midwestern has helped her tremendously in the intellectual aspect of the pageant.

“Professor Gorham’s studio procedures classes help me to feel comfortable in front of a camera and Dr. Sernoe’s editing classes remind me not to be redundant and verbose,” Spencer said. “These will definitely go a long way come pageant night and even in the media events prior to the contest.”

After graduating from Midwestern in August 2008, Spencer moved back to Antigua.

Then she worked as a journalist at the Daily OBSERVER and its radio station OBSERVER radio in December of that year.

She then moved to California last August to pursue a masters in mass communication.

Spencer said she chose California because of her dream to work in television in the entertainment industry.

“My first few days at California State University, Northridge, I had to walk around with the campus map,” Spencer said. “The school is over 300 acres of land and has 35,000 students. I felt overwhelmed at first, but then I got accustom. However, there are still many places on campus that I don’t know. This is very different from the MSU campus.”

Spencer admits finding a job after college was not the easiest and understands why future graduates would be worried about job opportunities.

“There is no doubt that the economy is not at its best,” she said. “Times like these call for creative and innovative ways to get hired or to become your own boss.”

For mass communication majors, she said many opportunities exist thanks to social media.

“With the advent of social media comes several job opportunities,” she said. “Follow the trends and be innovative.”

Spencer said 90 percent of the contestants who enter Miss California USA each year are new to the pageant scene.

“Most people have the misconception that women who compete in pageants are not academically inclined,” Spencer said. “Many of the girls I’ve met are either in college, graduated from college or making attempts to apply to college.”

It is a daily challenge for Spencer to balance college and pageant life while working full-time as well.

“At the end of the day, it is all about balancing my time,” Spencer said. “As much as I would love to spend all my time on the pageant, I still have a commitment to school and to work. It’s definitely about balance.”

If crowned Miss California 2012, Spencer would have to dedicate a year of her life to philanthropic work.

Spencer said she has always believed in serving people above self.

“I always want to make a difference, no matter how small, in this world because there are so many people out there in need,” she said. “The skills I have learned in my years as a mass communication major would go a long way in organization and promoting these philanthropic events.”

Spencer advises anyone who has dreams of being a beauty queen to think of pageants as more of a journey than a destination.

“Through (the pageant) journey, you will meet so many amazing people and you will learn certain skills that will help you in your professional and personal life,” Spencer said.

Spencer has spent $4,000 so far on the Miss California pageant.

Half of that cost caters for her evening wear, swim suit, make-up, hair, nails, shoes and accessories.

With open arms Spencer welcomes any support from MSU and the community.

To help with the cost, Spencer is using the SponsorThanks.com to get Wichita Falls businesses to sponsor her for the pageant.

Also through the pageant production company, individuals can help out Spencer in her pageant preparation by purchasing clothes, shoes and other fashion items from Notre-Mode.com, using the discount code ASpencer4MissCaUsa.

This will give anyone who enters the code a discount on items and she will receive  commissions.