It’s been heartwarming to see the support the (BSU) community has given me.
Sabrina Victor is in her element on stage, and the Bridgewater State University employee is using her new title as Miss Massachusetts USA to give others a chance to discover themselves in the performing arts.
Victor, who is Haitian-American, aims to advocate for arts education, especially in communities where students have limited access to those programs. She developed her love of the arts in school in Brockton and returns to Brockton High School to teach and mentor the next generation of performers.
Victor, a recruitment assistant in Human Resources and Talent Management who is also an actress, took home the Miss Massachusetts USA crown in just her second attempt.
“It felt very surreal,” she said. “It was something I imagined and dreamed of many nights, but I just didn’t think it would happen. I prepared myself and did my best. But, it’s up to the judges.”
This isn’t her first brush with the pageant spotlight. Victor was previously the national Miss Black and Gold, a title sponsored by the African-American fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha.
She joins biology major Lyndsey Kate Littlefield, ’20, as reigning statewide pageant champions with ties to BSU. Last summer, Lyndsey won Miss Massachusetts, which is different from Miss Massachusetts USA. Lyndsey went on to compete for the Miss America title while Victor will vie to become Miss USA.
Victor sees pageantry as being about much more than looks. She has to think on her feet in interviews and excel at public speaking.
“I want to represent not only (Brockton), but the Haitian heritage,” she said. “As a woman of color, competing was something I never would have been able to do maybe 50 years ago. I’m embracing that opportunity. People before me have paved the way for me.”
As news of her new title spread on the Bridgewater State campus, many people stopped her in the halls to offer congratulations.
“It’s been heartwarming to see the support the community has given me,” she said.
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