You have to give Warren’s Victoria Gendreau a lot of credit for her drive and poise in seizing the moment.

The 24-year-old daughter of Brian and Melissa Gendreau realized one of her lifelong dreams when she captured the recent Miss U.S. of America Pageant, which was held in Windsor Locks, Conn. at the Bradley International Airport. For Victoria, it was a dream come true.

“This was my first national pageant win since I started pageants over eight years ago,” she explained, “and it’s really an honor to wear this title. I hope to use it for good helping out around my community. Hopefully, I can make appearances with it and just show little girls that one day your dream can come true if you don’t give up.”

This year’s Miss U.S. of America Pageant was the 34th year the pageant has been held. There were 85 contestants from throughout the United States and according to Victoria, people either represented their region or state.

“For the pageant, there were many sections,” she said. “Day one consisted of Photogenic, Outfit of Choice, which is judged on how well you model an outfit, and the outfit itself; Modeling, which is judged just on how well you model the outfit, and talent. Day two consisted of on-stage introductions, interview, and the beauty section, which is judged on your confidence, poise, character, and the overall appearance.”

Back in March, Victoria competed in the Miss New England Pageant, which would allow her to represent the region at the Miss U.S. of America Pageant. As she explained, “after winning that pageant, I felt more confident and excited to represent New England at the national level.”

She added, “At the national pageant, I was personally able to win Outfit of Choice, Modeling, and finish runner-up in Talent.”

When it came down to the end, Victoria had to compete against Jaelyn Blair, who represented Rhode Island.

“It really could have gone either way,” she said. “I have competed against Jaelyn before and she is an amazing person with a great personality. Because you aren’t able to watch all areas of the competition, you never know what the outcome will be.”

This time around, Victoria prevailed.

“I was in shock,” she confessed. “Last year, I didn’t even place and to come out on top this year was an honor.”

A 2016 graduate of Mt. Hope High School, Victoria received a Bachelor’s Degree in digital web and multimedia design with a minor in art therapy from Springfield College in 2020 and earned a master’s degree in art therapy and clinical mental health from Springfield in May of 2023. She is currently a mental health clinician for the Justice Resource Institute.

In the end, Victoria proved unequivocally, that if you don’t give up and continue to put your best foot forward, good things can still happen.