VERO BEACH — Vero Beach resident and marine veterinarian Dr. Juli Goldstein holds another, more sparkly title – Ms. Florida. And she’s using that title, with sash and crown, to raise awareness to young girls and women what beauty truly is.
“Do you know what it means to be beautiful?” she asked about two-dozen girls gathered at the Boys and Girls Club of Vero Beach.
“That you’re nice,” said one girl.
“You’re kind,” said another.
“Respectful?” another asked.
Ms. Florida took a step back; a look of surprise came over her face.
“A lot of people don’t know these things,” she told the girls, marveling that they didn’t say anything about fancy clothes or makeup.
“This is why I compete,” Dr. Goldstein said later during her visit. “This is why I’m so blessed to win this title. So I can give back to the community.”
She said as Ms. Florida, she’s working to instill self-confidence and a health sense of beauty to young girls.
“There’s a lot of emphasis on physical appearance and beauty,” she said, “especially in magazines. I want to show these little girls it’s not about that.”
Ms. Florida said the crown and sash, though pretty, are just a tool to bring attention – not the end goal.
She encouraged the girls to stay in school, to exercise and to be healthy – all points the Boys and Girls Club also teaches.
“She’s a wonderful role model for the girls,” said Angela Astrup, director of marketing and communications for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County.
Eleven-almost-12-year-old Jessica Carnahan asked Ms. Florida how many pageants she does, adding that she wants to get involved in them, too.
“They take a lot of work,” Ms. Florida said, explaining that she does one or two each year and has been participating in the pageants since she was about 13 years old. She did, however, take time off from pageants to pursue her college degree in marine veterinary sciences.
Ms. Florida told the girls that the pageants were helpful in honing her interview skills, which she needed for college. The pageants also pushed her to be physically and mentally fit.
“You have to take care of your body and you have to take care of your mind,” she told the girls.
Later, Jessica said she wants to do pageants because she, like Ms. Florida, wants to help others.
“I want to help out people,” Jessica said, explaining that she once read to children at the homeless shelter and liked doing that.
When asked if there was a small part of her that liked the dresses and shoes often associated with pageants, she adamantly said, “No, but I’m also a tomboy.”
Mia Gutierrez, 9, wants to be a marine vet when she grows up, inspired by the late “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin’s daughter, Bindi.
“She does all this cool stuff with wildlife,” Mia said of Bindi Irwin. “I’m into adventure. So many girls are like ‘Eww, it’s a snake.’ They think everything has to be perfect. I like getting my hands dirty.”
As for whether she would ever enter a pageant, Mia shrugged her shoulders and said she’d think about it.
Ms. Florida Dr. Juli Goldstein is a veterinarian at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and a member of various organizations, including the Junior League, the Hibiscus Children’s Center, the Wyland Foundation, and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation.
She will be visiting the Boys and Girls Club of Fellsmere Thursday morning.
