The first time Suffolk student Caroline Lunny walked across a pageant stage, it was for the Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 2008 crown. She had no experience, but was awarded. Five years later when she took her walk across the stage in a sparkly, long evening gown, Lunny was crowned again, this time as Miss Massachusetts USA 2014.
Lunny spoke with poise, passion, and intelligence through the crackly telephone connection from her Holliston home. The 22-year-old, who is somewhere between her sophomore and junior year at Suffolk University, became involved with pageants at 16 with absolutely no experience.
“I knew nothing about it,” Lunny said, “but that gave me a huge advantage…it allowed me to get out of my head.” When the glittery crown was placed on Lunny’s head Nov. 24, she became a full-time spokeswoman for Massachusetts and her dreams came true.
Lunny is a broadcast journalism major with an interest in acting as well. She takes classes at the Improv Asylum in the North End when she can to keep up her skills. Lunny’s dream job is to host her own talk show.
“Kelly Ripa meets Ellen Degeneres with a touch of Chelsea Handler,” said Lunny. One of the things that drew Lunny to Suffolk was the communication program.
“I’ve been able to pop my head in Studio 73 a few times,” said Lunny, who also loves that going to school in Boston keeps her close to home. Beyond her TV dreams, Lunny is interested in photography and painting. Sometimes she even takes a swing or two at the driving range, even though she’ll miss the tee here and there.
“I’m not perfect,” Lunny said. “I’ve failed before. I think it’s important to make mistakes.”
Mishap seems to be somewhat of the norm for Lunny, but she always seems to turn the negatives into positives. In October, Lunny was walking around the Suffolk campus when a bird pooped right on her face, she said.
“I’m going to take this as a really good omen,” Lunny remembers thinking. As she stood in shock on the street with disgusting bird drippings on her face, Dr. Dana Rosengard, a broadcast journalism professor at Suffolk, handed Lunny a tissue. Incidentally, Rosengard is very involved with pageants, and Lunny thought it had to be a sign of good luck for the Miss Massachusetts USA competition if Dr. Rosengard was the one to hand her a tissue.
The less-than-fortunate luck didn’t end. The weekend of her pageant, Lunny was terribly sick. In an attempt to be frugal, she decided to wear one pair of high heels through the entire evening. During rehearsal, one of her heels snapped.
“This is a size 10, five-inch heel,” said Lunny, “You can’t just pick a replacement at Payless.” Luckily, there was a cobbler available to fix the heel in time for competition.
“In spite of all of that I kept a level head,” said Lunny. “I took the bad things as a sign of good luck.”
Lunny was not going to let a little shoe problem get in between her and the title. She had spent the entire year preparing for the competition, eating healthy, working out, and skipping out on glasses of wine to stay in shape. Her win cannot just be credited to her physical shape. Lunny spent a lot of time mentally preparing for the pageant, from reading books, to reflecting through writing, and learning about herself after the loss of a close friend.
“I learned a lot about myself when he died in May,” said Lunny. “Life is short and I don’t think you should wait to live until you’re dying.”
The April Boston Marathon bombings also played a role in shaping Lunny this year. Another one of her friends was at the finish line during the April 15 explosion that killed three and injured at least 140 people.
“I’m at the finish line. I’ll wait for you,” is the text message Lunny’s friend sent her before cell phone service was shut off, leaving Lunny to assume the worst.
But, a rather taxing year is what helped shape Lunny into Miss Massachusetts USA 2014. Come January, she will take just one online course at Suffolk so that she can focus on being a spokesperson for the state and not overwhelm herself with schoolwork.
“I can bring a lot to the table,” Lunny said. “I’m not the most traditional, but I do what’s right for me.”
