Chaptico, MD- She didn’t get the email or call in that first twenty-four hours. So that next day, her friend Samantha said let’s go up to a National game. “ As I’m driving to her house and I’m two minutes away, I decide to check my email real quick. And then I saw it, Congratulations, you’re a State Finalist”, said Miss Maryland 2020 State Finalist Cassidy Lacey. “ I just started crying because I doubted myself for one second.”
Cassidy got her start in the world of modeling in 2016. Her first ever runway show was a last-minute bridal show for a community church. They needed a tall, skinny, blonde hair-blue eyed girl. “ Somebody knew somebody, and luckily that girl was me,” says Lacey, “ So I wore a bridal jumpsuit and a few bridal dresses as well.”
After that show, the designer approached Cassidy and told her she had a segment coming up on Fox5 and she wanted to put her in a purple jumpsuit for it. After that Cassidy started doing local photo shoots. In December of 2017 she was signed by a modeling agency. After about six months Cassidy left to be her own manager and do more freelancing.
Cassidy graduated from Chopticon in 2016, and in her Junior and Senior years she attended the James A Forrest Career Center in Leonardtown, Md. While there, she studied in the Dental Program. She passed the course and took her State Boards. She’s now been in the Dental Field for over three years as a Dental Assistant in St. Mary’s County.
“ I love working in the dental field, because I love someones smile. It tells you everything about a person off the bat”, said Lacey. When asked about going further as possibly a Dentist, she said, “It’s something I may consider in the future, but at this time in my life I need to focus 100% on my modeling goals and the huge responsibilities that come with being Miss Md USA. Dental has always been my passion, but my heart is truly to be a model. It’s been my dream since I was seven years old.”
As Cassidy continued her career in modeling, an opportunity arose when one of her high school friends told a photographer that she would be perfect. This was Cassidy’s first photo shoot. Cassidy eventually signed with Route One Apparel. Over the source of the past two years, Cassidy has done runways shows. In February 2018 she modeled at New York Fashion Week for Stevie Boy, who makes celebrities sunglasses for the likes of Lady Gaga and Ke$ha. She returned for New York Fashion week in 2019 to model a dress deigned by celebrity designer Jorge Contreras. This dress was designed for Cosmo Magazine, and Cassidy wore it on the runway. The dress itself was featured in Cosmo in January 2019.6.10
Cassidy also modeled for Celebrity Designer Laura Pena, a native Dominican and International Designer . Kim’s line “ Fancy Sinner” had Cassidy step out of her comfort zone. “She makes lingerie pieces. And I stepped out of my comfort zone because I’m the type of model I want to show off the clothing”, says Cassidy.” I don’t want to show off my body, like I want people to say she’s a true model, not because she’s showing off her body and everyone wants that. So I’m a very modest type of model. But she definitely stepped me out of my comfort zone.”
Two days after that, Cassidy was published in the Spanish Magazine Novedades.
In 2019, Cassidy got the call to come out to LA for their fashion Week “ Society Fashion Week”. While there she modeled for Alani Taylor and Brittany Duet. Making the most of her time there, Cassidy stayed on the red carpet as long as she could, holding interviews with international television, and many others.
After a couple years of modeling for photo-shoots, local runaways shows, and gracing New York and LA Fashion weeks, an afternoon with a close friend got her thinking about pageants. Her friend was competing for Miss Queen Beauty District of Columbia. She told Cassidy she’d be perfect as a pageant girl.
A day or so later, something popped up on her phone saying Apply today for Miss Maryland 2020. So began the process for applying. Cassidy had to send in head shots, full body pictures, and fill out a interview form. She was told they’ll be in touch in about two weeks. After about three-and-a-half weeks, she began to get upset. “ I’m like, wow!, I didn’t make it. I thought I had everything for the position and my friend and I were talking and I thought I really had this.”
“Here I am like getting super nervous. I’m like, Oh my God, I’m not prepared. I just lost my train of thought. I wasn’t prepared for this at the moment. Like so many things were going through my head. So after that I got on the phone call and I was talking to kind of like how you and I are talking, I’m very easy to talk to.”
A few days later, her and friend went out for a bite to eat, and she was waiting on a phone call about it. The next thing you know, she got a text from the interview coordinator saying she hadn’t forgotten about here, she just had hundreds of interviews to go through.
“Some people first meet me, they’re like, wow, I feel like I’ve known you for years because you’re just so open. And this lady, the first thing she told me, Miss Lacey, I spoke to over a hundred girls today and if I could meet anyone and chaperone one girl, I would want to meet you. And I said, oh well why is that? Why me? She spoke to like so many other girls and she said, you’re just so open and honest and you’re talking to me like you’ve known me for years. She said, you’re being yourself right now. And that just meant the world for me. Hearing that from someone who’s already in the pageant world for them to say that they spoke out to over a hundred girls and she wants to meet me and be my chaperone for the weekend. So that was definitely a huge deal for me.”
So now the next step was to find out if she was a State Finalist. The email and call came. She sat in her driveway on that final interview call, and then went inside her home…crying, she told her family, “ I’m a state finalist for Miss Maryland USA guys.”
Now Cassidy begins the process of training to become Miss Maryland 2020. She’ll spend the next 5 months working through possible questions from judges, walking, stances, working out, etc. Cassidy is sponsored by: SMAC Fitness,Styled by Dawn,Moose Lodge,Glow lash and beauty,Big Ed pro tires.
Miss Maryland USA 2020 will take place November 8-10, 2019 at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. The Miss Maryland USA is a preliminary for the Miss USA contest.
So Cassidy has a tall order ahead of here, no woman has ever won from Southern Maryland.We were informed that at least three women have won from Southern Maryland, specifically the La Plata area. You can see their images below. If Cassidy can pull off the win for Miss Maryland USA 2020, she’ll have the opportunity to put Chaptico, MD on the map at Miss USA.
You can find more out about Miss Maryland USA at their website here.
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