'The definition of the American Dream': Miss Massachusetts has ties to Haiti and Cape Cod

Gwenn Friss, Cape Cod Times
·4 min read

If you golfed at Bass River or its sister course, Bayberry Hills, in Yarmouth last summer, you may have met Melissa Sapini. She worked the beverage cart and snack bar to help pay tuition at Suffolk University in Boston, where she studies broadcast journalism.

You may also recognize Sapini from the Dirty Water sports/pop culture show on New England Sports Network, where she works part-time during school.

But you may not recognize Sapini with her new bling.

Earlier this month, the personable broadcaster was crowned Miss Massachusetts, earning her a chance to compete for the Miss USA title this summer in Hollywood and maybe even go on to the Miss Universe pageant, which Steve Harvey has hosted several times.

But right now, Sapini wants to visit Massachusetts classrooms and read to children, attend community functions and give back to the state’s communities however she can.

Melissa Sapini, a North Attleboro native and summer resident of Cape Cod, who has close ties to her family's Haitian roots, was crowned Miss Massachusetts in the Miss USA/Miss Universe contest.
Melissa Sapini, a North Attleboro native and summer resident of Cape Cod, who has close ties to her family's Haitian roots, was crowned Miss Massachusetts in the Miss USA/Miss Universe contest.

Although she earns no pay for her duties as Miss Massachusetts, Sapini said every engagement is important work that she’s eager to do.

“I don’t want to be doing anything in life that I am not passionate about. I want to radiate confidence and kindness because that’s a big part of who I am.”

Sapini’s blurb in the pageant program says she advocates for high-quality and diverse reading materials across Massachusetts, volunteers to read and translate Haitian Creole for immigrant children, and is working to establish a tuition scholarship at her mother’s former middle school in Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince.

Follow Sapini's work on Instagram: @melissasapini and @missmausa or Facebook: @MissMassachusettsUSA/.

The importance of reading

During an interview, Sapini told the Times she has been passionate about helping children learn to read since she learned, at age 7, that her maternal grandmother, Christiana Duguaran, was illiterate. Sapini, who was learning in school, encouraged her grandmother to join her when doing homework and watching PBS kids’ shows.

Melissa Sapini with her grandmother, Christiana Duguaran, who helped raise her and took her to Haiti many times.
Melissa Sapini with her grandmother, Christiana Duguaran, who helped raise her and took her to Haiti many times.

Sapini was raised by her single mother and grandmother and visited Haiti for weeks at a time with her grandmother.

“She went to Haiti with my mom four or five times because I couldn’t keep them (Melissa and her two younger siblings) here when I was working,” said Yvrose Brouillard, who spent time on Cape with friends until she was able to buy a summer home of her own in Hyannis in 2020.

“I just come from some really tough women,” Sapini said. "My mother is the definition of the American Dream ― a single mom, a Haitian immigrant. She gave me the life she didn’t have.”

Sapini is ever-thankful for all the kindnesses that brought her to the role of Miss Massachusetts, including the Christian school kindergarten teacher who drove her home each day after discovering Sapini's family didn’t have money to pay for the bus.

Long before the crown and gowns

Brouillard said her daughter began impressing her long before the crown and gowns. She explains that Melissa was working with special needs students in middle school and wanted to invite a classmate, Nathan, to homecoming as he was on the autism spectrum and had never been to a school dance.

“She wrote a letter to the family. They were in tears when she asked in the letter. Nathan was dancing. I always say to Melissa you can become Miss USA, Miss Universe, but that moment with Nathan is everything to me. It’s huge.

“My goal for her is to touch as many people as possible, especially those who are lost.”

A chance to represent other girls

Sapini said winning Miss Massachusetts is a chance for her to represent other girls, as South African Zozibini Tunzi did for her in the 2019 Miss Universe pageant.

“It really was representation because I saw a woman who looked like me on TV with this big platform (publicity opportunity) being handed to her, and it made me feel I could do it as well.”

Sapini signed up that year for the Miss Massachusetts Teen division. This year, now 21, she took the state title in the adult contest.

“I understand the stereotypes of pageants, but one of the things I love about this contest (different from Miss America) is that they want to see the story ― what makes you, you.”

Gwenn Friss is the editor of CapeWeek and covers entertainment, restaurants and the arts. Contact her at gfriss@capecodonline.com. Follow her or X, formerly Twitter: @dailyrecipeCCT

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod golf course worker has new bling: crowned Miss Massachusetts