Like most pageant winners, Mary Zendejas was dressed in a sash and tiara as she fundraised for her upcoming trip to Rhode Island, where she will represent California in her second pageant: Miss Wheelchair America.
Zendejas, 41, graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 1997. She was diagnosed with polio at eight months old and has been using a wheelchair since then, but she has still been able to live an independent life.
She won the Miss Wheelchair California competition in March and will compete in the Miss Wheelchair America competition on Aug. 12.
“I was so speechless to know that I won Miss Wheelchair California,” Zendejas said.
In 2002, Zendejas slipped and fell on a wet floor while going to the restroom, shattering the bones in her legs and arms, and requiring a caretaker to help with most everything she does.
Zendejas said the accident discouraged her for about eight years. It was not until she heard that her friend, Jennifer Kumiyama, was a contestant in the Miss Wheelchair California 2010 pageant that Zendejas realized that she was still capable of making a difference.
“I started really getting into the competition during the 2010 competition, and when the time came to apply to be a contestant for the Miss Wheelchair California 2012 competition, I thought, ‘Let’s do this!'” Zendejas said.
Now, Zendejas uses her platform to reach out to people, and she said she hopes to change their perspective of being disabled.
“I want to be able to show the disabled community and the non-disabled community that there’s so much to live for,” she said. “I think that’s my greatest reward when I go and speak to disabled students or I speak to the business community.”
Along with volunteer work, Zendejas is currently working with the Disabled Professionals Association to start a nonprofit to help the disabled. She said the nonprofit will showcase and encourage disabled professionals, and it will also build a strong network for employment opportunities.
There are a total of 28 states competing in the six-day Miss Wheelchair America pageant, that began Monday.
According to Zendejas, these pageants differ from traditional beauty pageants because the judges look for someone passionate about taking the title to advocate on the behalf of the disabled community.
“There’s still the glitz and glam, which is my favorite part about the competition,” Zendejas said. “I love to get all glammed up, and I’m big on sparkly things and glitter.”
At the end of the competition, the contestants will have the opportunity to be “glammed” up at the crowning ceremony.
Zendejas said she looks forward to the competition and continuing her advocacy within the disabled community.
“I love that I can touch people with my words,” Zendejas said. “I can actually motivate somebody to do better and keep living their lives.”