Rehoboth resident Chrystal Lopes to compete for Mrs. Petite USA

REHOBOTH - Chrystal Sousa Lopes, of Rehoboth, was recently crowned Mrs. Petite Massachusetts 2024 and will now compete at the national competition in Chicago.

“I am very proud to have represented Bristol County and now represent Massachusetts as well as the Portuguese community at the National Petite USA pageant this coming July,” Lopes told O Jornal.

Founded in 2009 with the aim of empowering and celebrating petite beauty, the Petite USA Pageant is open to women 5’6” or shorter.

Standing at 5’2”, Lopes competed for the title on March 24 at the Mrs. New England Petite Pageant held at the Audi in Concord, N.H.

To earn the crown, she had to compete in several categories, including interview, active wear, and evening gown. She also had to answer an on-stage question.

Additionally, she was “1st Runner Up” in the Mrs. New England Division and won the awards of “Best Smile” and “Most Photogenic.”

“It was my very first pageant,” she said. “It’s always been something I was interested in most of my life. With most Portuguese families, schooling is very important. So, I went to college, got my bachelor’s degree, and then went on to get my master’s degree.”

Lopes said her schoolwork did not leave her much time to pursue her interest in beauty pageants.

“I graduated last year. This year is the first year I’ve had to pursue things that I’m interested in,” she said. “So, I was like, I’m going to do it. If I don’t win, it’s fine. It’s just an experience. I did it, and I ended up winning.”

Throughout the next year, she will promote her platform ‘Be Resilient.’

“It’s to bring awareness to kids that are in the foster care systems, who are survivors of trauma,” Lopes said.

An occupational therapist at Saint Vincent’s Services in Fall River, she is responsible for designing and implementing treatment plans for individuals with physical, cognitive, and behavioral needs.

“I work with children who are in the foster care system, and they really inspired my platform,” she said. “I feel like the children I serve are very under recognized in the community. So, I definitely want to bring attention to them.”

With that goal in mind, she will be making appearances and volunteering at different events.

She recently participated in the Virtual Walk & Roll For Wishes event, which raises funds for the Make-a-Wish of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. On May 4, she was at the International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA) ceremony, and later this month she will take part in a walking challenge for the Ronald McDonald House.

She also intends to launch a teddy bear drive to benefit children in foster care.

“Boxes will be placed at different businesses in the community and people can go and donate teddy bears,” she said. “At the end of the year, I would love to do a clothing drive as well.”

She said the teddy bears collected will be donated to Saint Vincent Services in Fall River and Foster Forward in Rhode Island.

In addition to promoting her platform, she’s busy getting ready to represent Massachusetts at the Petite USA Pageant, which will be held July 31 to Aug. 3 at the Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel.

“I am exercising a lot and eating right,” she said. “I’ve been going to a lot of local businesses to shop for evening gowns. I have been practicing my on-stage presence. A lot of different things go into it. I’m starting to feel the pressure, but it’s OK. It’s been a fun experience.”

She said she is looking forward to making new connections with the other contestants and also excited to represent the Portuguese community at the national level.

“I think I’ll be one of two [Portuguese] girls there from the whole country. So, I am very proud to be representing my people there,” said Lopes, who traces her Portuguese roots to the Azores. Her family hails from the island of Faial and from the municipalities of Água de Alto and Vila Franca do Campo in the island of São Miguel.

Pageants can be expensive, so Lopes is working on getting some support.

“I’m actually in the process of going out to businesses to get sponsored,” she said. “I know that my family’s company, we have a real estate company in Fall River, will more than likely sponsor me, and possibly my husband’s family’s company. But I’ll be going out into the community to try and find some sponsors as well.”

Petite USA is the official United States preliminary to the Miss Universal Petite pageant.

If she wins in Chicago, she will represent the United States at Universal Petite and compete against petite women from all over the world for the coveted title of Mrs. Universal Petite.

Regardless of the outcome, she said she already feels like a winner and will be taking so much away from this journey.

“I’m going to get, you know, just a newfound confidence in myself to just experience something that I’ve always been interested in,” she said. “And I’ll bring, you know, awareness to my platform.”

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Rehoboth resident Chrystal Lopes to compete for Mrs. Petite USA