Holly Garcia is spending a lot of her time campaigning for the Ward 4 seat on the Everett City Council.
But Garcia did take a break from her busy schedule in August to compete as Ms. Massachusetts U.S. of America in the national pageant in Connecticut, and she won, taking home the title of Miss U.S. of America Role Model.
Garcia, 30, said she has been competing in scholarship-based pageants since she was five years old. The victory in the Aug. 8 pageant was her fourth national title.
“I’m very proud to bring the title back to Everett,” said Garcia, who is the daughter of Debbie (Snow) Garcia and the granddaughter of lifelong residents Alfred and Francis Snow. Her great-grandparents were originally from Spain.
The Miss U.S. of America Role Model title was based on Holly’s outstanding record of community service and her academic achievements.
Garcia is the chairperson of the Everett Citizens Foundation, a leader in the Girl Scouts, and a National Council delegate for the Girls Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, in addition to being a volunteer for various city events.
Garcia is a 2009 graduate of Everett High School following 14 years of perfect attendance in the school system that included her years the Lafayette School. “I never missed a day of school, from preschool all the way to twelfth grade,” said Garcia proudly.
While a student at EHS, Garcia was a four-year member of the varsity hockey cheerleading team. She has been the coach of that team for the past four years.
Garcia went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Justice Studies from Southern New Hampshire University in. 2013. She also received a Master’s degree in Psychology from SNHU in 2015. She is currently a third-year law student at Massachusetts School of Law and will graduate in December.
“I’ll sit for state bar exam in February of 2022,” she noted.
Garcia has been working as an ABA therapist in the Everett school district at the Webster School and the Webster School Extension for the past eight years.
She is a first-time candidate for public office. “This is my first running, but I’m very eager to contribute all of my skills if elected,” said Garcia. “My big platform is that I want to be the voice for the citizens. I grew up here. I have had a great experience living here, and I want that to continue. I’ve been meeting different people during the campaign. I want to help the elderly, the veterans, the families.”
A Lifelong Contestant in Scholarship Pageants
Holly Garcia, who is 5-feet, 3 inches, previously won national titles as the USA Junior Ambassador Miss in 2013, Miss Petite America in 2016, and America’s Leading Edge Ms. in 2020.
“I find the pageant experience to be very rewarding,” said Garcia.
At the age of 5, she asked her mother if she could compete in the 1995 Little Miss Hampton Beach Pageant. “I got first runner-up and I was hooked,” recalled Garcia. “When I was 18, I did 20 pageants. What I really try to stress with my titles is that pageantry is so much more than glitz and glamour. I use my crown as my hardhat, and I’m out there working hard to help others and be a role model for young girls who also want to give back and do better for their community.
“My friends would say if I’m not at work, school, or a gym, I’m out saving the world – that is what I try to do,” related Garcia. “Everything I do is for others.”