Serena Exantus dreamed of becoming Miss Syracuse. Now, it’s her reality.

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When Serena Exantus was 17 years old, she kept seeing an advertisement for an upcoming pageant. It had a picture of the most recent winner and read “This could be you.” Eventually, Exantus started to believe that was true — so she applied.

“I had no idea what I was doing the first time, but it was one of the best weekends of my life at that moment,” Exantus said. “And so I continued, and now it’s what I do all the time.”

Six years later, the advertisement’s premonition came true. On Feb. 26, Exantus won the Miss Syracuse title at the Miss Syracuse and Miss Central New York Scholarship Competition. The event was held at the University United Methodist Church.

The pageant included many different portions, including talent, private interviews with the judges and essay questions submitted by the competitors before the show date.

“What the judges are looking for is just your authentic self,” Exantus said. “So you have the opportunity to present yourself in front of these people and just share what makes you unique and what you’re passionate about.”

Exantus will move on to compete at this June’s Miss New York State competition. In 2021, she competed and was fourth runner-up in the statewide pageant.

Her road to that pageant, however, was not without its twists and turns. Nina Zesky, a former Miss Salt City, Miss Buffalo and Miss Central New York, said Exantus was forced to assume a large amount of responsibility in a short time when Miss Finger Lakes 2020 stepped down and Exantus had to fill her shoes as the competition’s runner-up.

Since all Miss America pageants were halted for two years after the pandemic began, this allowed Exantus to compete in the 2021 state finals, where her and Zesky’s friendship began.

“I felt like instantly we were really good friends, and to watch her work so hard to compete for Miss Syracuse and then instantly get that accomplishment in her first try this year, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, full circle,’” Zesky said. “She’s grown so much. Syracuse is a big title (and) it means a lot to her.”

Zesky, who now helps to coach Exantus in preparation for her pageants, said that she mostly acts as a “sounding board” for Exantus to bounce ideas off of her as she prepares for the Miss New York State competition.

Exantus, an Ithaca native, is also focused on connecting with the Syracuse community as a prominent voice and representative while she holds the Miss Syracuse title. Her social impact initiative, she said, is mental health action and suicide prevention.

She said she’s passionate about educating young people in the local area to recognize and regulate their emotions so that mental health issues can be addressed early on and don’t go undiagnosed.

“The biggest way that I want to do that is to get into Girl Scouts and the Girls and Boys Club of Syracuse, to get into those communities that are already working with youth,” Exantus said. “Whether it’s youth in foster care, youth with disabilities, just any of those organizations, and then (I can) bring my initiative and build the gap between the resources already available and the people who need them.”

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In her free time, Exantus said she enjoys spending time with her new puppy, a cockapoo. She recently started a job at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate Business School as an assistant to the executive. Additionally, she works at Tre Bella’s Dance Studio as an instructor.

Dance is a major part of Exantus’ life and is integral to her talent portion at competitions, she said. While she enjoys many different styles of dance, she sticks to jazz when competing. She said she choreographs her own dances and has performed them on many different stages.

At February’s Miss Syracuse pageant, Exantus had to perform at a church rather than in a theater. Zesky said Exantus’ routine was beautiful, and she made having to adapt to a less than ideal venue look seamless.

“I remember watching her do her turns and there was … a pedestal of sorts in the way. And she was able to very delicately maneuver around (it),” Zesky said. “So it didn’t really affect her choreography at all, but obviously that wasn’t part of her plan. It was just really … awesome to watch her not only be so prepared for the show but be able to adapt to change as well.”

The former Miss Central New York added that Exantus’ biggest strength is her consistency, which is key to excelling in pageantry. She said she thinks that consistency combined with Exantus’ passion are her biggest strengths going into this year’s Miss New York State finals.

Exantus also relies on sponsors to support her and help her prepare for pageants. Laurie Linn, president of Communiqué Design and Marketing, one of Exantus’ sponsors, says the company has worked with Exantus for about four or five years. Like Zesky, Communiqué has also helped Exantus with interview preparation.

Linn said Communiqué employees will ask Exantus questions she doesn’t know of in advance, which forces her to think of answers off the top of her head. Afterwards, the Communiqué team gives her feedback.

“It was really, really wonderful on her part to challenge herself in that way,” Linn said.

Even though she didn’t follow pageantry, Linn said she’s enjoyed watching Exantus compete and succeed, and Communiqué is proud of how far she’s come.

“I so admire what I’ve learned through Serena and the pageant work,” Linn said. “Now that I’ve been much more aware of how critical the work is that these beautiful young women perform and the communities that they serve, the awareness building and the empowerment (of) women of all shapes and sizes and colors, I’m just really impressed with the pageants and what they stand for.”