Week 7: Wearing Both Well

By Madalaina Hlava

On balance, boundaries, and bringing your full self wherever you go

People always ask how I balance it all.

The job
The crown
The travel
The title
The expectation of being two different people depending on where I am

But here’s the thing. I’m not living a double life. I’m just living a full one.

I don’t switch versions of myself between the job site and the stage. I bring the same values, the same mindset, and the same drive whether I’m wearing steel toes or heels.
It’s not about choosing one over the other. It’s about learning how to wear both well.

There’s No Perfect Balance

Some weeks, I’m more engineer than titleholder
Other weeks, I’m speaking at events, mentoring girls, and posting content between job calls
It’s not always even. But it is always intentional.

Balance, for me, isn’t a perfect fifty-fifty split.
It’s knowing which version of myself needs the spotlight in a given moment and being okay when things shift.
It’s learning to set boundaries so one identity doesn’t swallow the other.
It’s choosing to let each role fuel the other instead of draining me dry.

What People Expect

There’s this unspoken pressure to choose one version of success
To either go all in on the career path or commit fully to the platform
To be polished or practical
Feminine or focused
One thing or another

But I’ve never wanted to live at those extremes.
I’ve always wanted a life that makes room for both ambition and expression
Both strategy and softness
Both purpose and personality

And I’ve learned that I don’t need to pick a lane. I just need to be steady in mine even if it looks different from everyone else’s.

How I Keep Myself Grounded

I’ve learned to check in with myself often
To ask what I need, not just what’s expected
To step back when I feel pulled too far in one direction

I’ve learned that being busy doesn’t always mean being fulfilled
And that showing up fully sometimes means slowing down intentionally

My identity isn’t in one role or one outfit
It’s in the way I lead, the way I speak, the way I treat people
And that stays consistent whether I’m walking a job site or walking into a room full of judges

What I Want You to Know

You don’t have to fit a clean category
You don’t have to prove that you’re serious by being less joyful
You don’t have to choose between power and polish. You can have both.

You’re allowed to be dynamic
You’re allowed to shift gears and show up differently depending on what the moment calls for
You’re allowed to evolve

Wearing both well isn’t about doing everything perfectly
It’s about doing everything authentically
It’s about knowing who you are and not shrinking that to make other people more comfortable

You are not too much for wanting more than one thing
You are not confusing for being multi-layered
You are complex. And that complexity is beautiful

See you next week for Week 8: More Than a Title
We’ll talk about legacy, impact, and what it means to lead beyond the crown.  

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Madalaina Hlava is the current Miss Land of Lincoln (IL). You can follow her on her title's Instagram.

To read her other guest blogs for Section 36 Forevers, click here.

  

Week 6: Soft Skills, Solid Ground

By Madalaina Hlava

Why emotional intelligence isn’t extra. It’s essential.

People love to talk about technical skills.

Certifications. Degrees. Experience.
And yes, those matter. They open doors, help land jobs, and get your foot in the room.
But the longer I’ve worked in this field, the more I’ve learned that what keeps you in the room, what earns you real respect, isn’t always what’s listed on your resume.

It’s how you communicate.
How you manage conflict.
How you stay calm when things get messy.
It’s the soft skills. The ones that aren’t always taught but make the biggest impact.

What They Don’t Teach You in Training

They’ll teach you the software.
The standards.
The systems and specs.
But they won’t teach you what to say when someone questions your leadership in front of a room.
They won’t tell you how to redirect a conversation that’s gone off course or worse, gone personal.

You won’t find a chapter on how to correct someone twice your age without making them defensive.
Or how to be assertive without being labeled aggressive.
You won’t be handed a checklist for how to respond when your input is ignored until someone else repeats it five minutes later.

These are the things you figure out on your own.
You learn how to navigate rooms you weren’t expected to lead.
You learn how to earn respect without raising your voice.
You learn how to be the one people look to when tensions rise because you know how to carry the pressure without cracking.

How Pageantry Helped Me Lead

Pageantry and STEM sound like opposites.
But the skills I sharpened under the spotlight are the same ones I rely on in the field.

Speaking clearly.
Reading the room.
Responding with grace under pressure.
Knowing how to pivot mid-thought and still sound confident.
It’s not just about presentation. It’s about presence.

When I explain a complex system to someone who doesn’t want to hear it
When I mediate a disagreement between coworkers without taking sides
When I’m doubted, interrupted, or dismissed and stay composed anyway
That’s not just professionalism. That’s practice.

And it didn’t come from any engineering textbook.

Soft Is Not the Opposite of Strong

You can be gentle and grounded.
You can be graceful and still get the job done.
You don’t have to be cold to be taken seriously.

There’s strength in staying calm when the tone in the room shifts.
In choosing patience over panic.
In navigating complex people and complex problems with the same confidence.

Soft doesn’t mean silent.
It means strategic.
It means steady.
It means knowing when to speak and when to let your presence speak for itself.

What I Want You to Know

If you’ve ever taken a breath before responding just to make sure you wouldn’t be misunderstood
If you’ve ever replayed a conversation in your head wondering how you could have said it differently
If you’ve ever stayed up late writing the perfect email because you knew you couldn’t afford to sound emotional
If you’ve ever bitten your tongue in meetings where everyone else talked over you
If you’ve ever handled doubt, disrespect, or dismissal and still got the job done anyway

You are not soft.
You are sharp.
You are resilient.
You are leading in a way that cannot be taught, only earned.

And even when it feels invisible, it matters.
Because when you lead with emotional intelligence, the whole team operates better.
Because when you stay composed, people listen more closely.
Because when you bring clarity instead of chaos, people follow.

Soft skills are not secondary.
They are the reason so many women thrive in spaces that weren’t designed for them in the first place.

You don’t need to change how you show up.
You just need to know that the way you lead, quietly, confidently, and with conviction, is enough.

 

See you next week for Week 7: Wearing Both Well
We’ll talk about balance, not perfection, and how I show up in two different worlds without leaving any part of myself behind.

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Madalaina Hlava is the current Miss Land of Lincoln (IL). You can follow her on her title's Instagram.

To read her other guest blogs for Section 36 Forevers, click here.

  

Week 5: Rhinestones & Resistance

By Madalaina Hlava

When femininity itself becomes a form of defiance

Pink. Lip gloss. Mascara. Hair curled. Shirt tucked in just right.

These things shouldn’t feel like rebellion. But when you’re the only woman on site, sometimes they do.

In male-dominated fields, femininity isn’t always welcomed. It’s questioned. It’s underestimated. Sometimes it’s written off completely.

And the most ironic part? The people making those assumptions have never even seen me at my most “pageant.”

They don’t know about the interviews. The late nights preparing for talent. The platforms I’ve built or the service work I’ve done.
They don’t know I compete in the Miss America Opportunity.
They’ve never seen me in a crown.

They just see the pink safety glasses.
The way I carry myself.
And that alone is enough for them to assume I’m not serious, not technical, not the one in charge.

But here’s the truth: I may not look how they expect. But I’m exactly where I belong.

The Comments Come in Subtle Ways

No one says it outright. But it shows.

They make a joke when I wear pink gloves.
They’re surprised when I’m the one making the call on what needs to be done.
They act like confidence and femininity can’t go hand in hand.

It’s the micro-moments that add up; the double takes, the jokes, the doubt.
But I don’t need to prove anything anymore.
Because when something breaks? I fix it.
When no one knows how to make something work? I figure it out.

The way I look doesn’t diminish that. It never has.

I Used to Tone It Down

There was a time I tried to blend in.
Neutral colors. Quiet demeanor. Nothing too “extra.”
Because I thought if I made myself smaller, I’d be taken more seriously.

But you know what happened?
They still questioned me.
Still second-guessed me.
Still assumed I wasn’t capable, until I showed them otherwise.

So now, I show up fully.
Pink shirt? Sure.
Gloss on? Why not.
Because I’m not here to fit a mold. I’m here to do my job and do it well.

They’ve Never Seen Me in a Crown—But They’ve Felt Her

Most of the guys on site don’t even know I compete in pageants.
They’ve never seen me in evening gown or heard me speak at events.
But they’ve seen what that experience gave me.

Confidence.
Composure.
Clarity.

Pageantry didn’t pull me away from this career, it helped me walk into it stronger.
They’ve never seen me on stage, but the woman they work with? That’s who pageantry helped build.

Femininity Isn’t a Flaw—It’s My Power

I used to think I had to “man up” to make it in this field.
Now I know better.

I don’t need to shed who I am to earn a seat at the table.
I just need to show up consistently, with the skills I’ve worked hard to build—and the confidence not to hide the rest of me.

So yes, I wear pink.
Yes, I keep lip gloss in my toolbox.
Yes, I answer questions clearly and kindly.
And yes, I lead.

And if that makes someone uncomfortable? That’s not mine to carry.

What I Want You to Know

Femininity isn’t a distraction.
It isn’t a weakness.
And it doesn’t make you less competent.

You can love your job and still love fashion.
You can lead a team and still wear blush.
You can set the tone on site and still wear rhinestones on the weekend.

You don’t have to choose between the parts of you that make you feel powerful.
You just have to own them.

Let them underestimate you.
You’ll prove them wrong by doing what you’ve always done, being excellent, being prepared, and never backing down.

See you next week for Week 6: Soft Skills, Solid Ground.
We’ll talk about emotional intelligence, communication, and how the “invisible” strengths we bring to STEM are often the most powerful.

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Madalaina Hlava is the current Miss Land of Lincoln (IL). You can follow her on her title's Instagram.

To read her other guest blogs for Section 36 Forevers, click here.