By JOHN EBY
Dowagiac Daily News

NILES – When Miss Cassopolis 2005 Ashley Solloway, 22, last summer at Dowagiac Middle School Performing Arts Center won Miss Cass-St. Joseph County 2010, she became the fourth straight queen from the Cass County seat, including Linaya Hass, Anjel Francisco and Linaya’s sister, Cally Hass.

The last non-Cassopolis queen, Marisa Viestenz of Dowagiac, happened to be home from Oklahoma City serving as mistress of ceremonies.

Ashley, 22, and Anjel, meet up next week in Muskegon, where both young women will compete for Miss Michigan.

Ashley said Anjel qualified for the pageant’s 30 contestants as Miss Wayne County.
“Anjel and I are from the same graduating class,” Ashley said, “so we’ll have a nice little Cass crowd up there with two girls competing, which is exciting because we were on the cheerleading squad together. We have a lot of the same friends.”

Ashley’s talent will be performing a jazz dance to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross.

For her county pageant she and Executive Director Phil Hurlbutt worked up a monologue to reflect her platform, Effects of Alcohol Abuse.

Ashley “never” acted in school plays. “I always wanted to be a lawyer because I’m good at arguing with people.”

Ironically, the queen and her court were the three of six contestants who performed monologues as opposed to singing and dancing.

Ashley danced for 10 years, “but I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to do something different.”

She won’t be singing because she claims she can’t. She returned to dancing as the best way “to show my personality. Singing would be fun if I knew how to do it.” She’s rehearses daily lately.

Dress shopping “has been a lot of fun,” Ashley said in an interview Thursday afternoon. “I’m most looking forward to the evening gown part. I found a dress after only trying one on. It was exactly what I wanted. I’m excited to wear it.”

Only her parents, Tina and Gary, and grandparents have seen the champagne-colored beaded gown.

“I’m not a nervous person,” Ashley said. “I’m anxious, like really excited” since contestants already know each other.

Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund, who was Miss Michigan 2007, attended their orientation.

“This past weekend we went up to Mount Pleasant for the Special Olympics Summer Games. I can see being nervous if I didn’t know anyone, but after being with 20 girls for a weekend and talking about the pageant, we’re all on the same page.

“All of the queens who could make it came up and the (Central Michigan University) football team helps out. There were 3,500 athletes. It’s amazing. I took 300 signed pictures and ran out.

“It’s so good to see people who are so excited to see you and they remember you three days later, even if you saw them for two seconds, to tell you they got first, second or third. They’re excited you’re there watching them. A lot of us are going to go back and volunteer the Winter Games. That campus is huge, with the bowling alley in the same building as the pool, gymnastics, tennis, volleyball. Everything’s all right there.”

For her platform, she recruited friends and became a leader for the Walk Like MADD for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“I wish I could have like four platforms,” she said, “because working with MADD and SADD is great and Special Olympics was awesome. You wish you could help with everything.”

Ashley will be entering Southwestern Michigan College’s nursing program in the fall of 2011. “I decided I want to specialize in anesthesiology, so I have to work in an emergency room for two years.”

Ashley keeps current on news events for her interview.

In fact, she followed the ongoing oil spill so closely, “I’ve learned a lot. I didn’t know oil rigs were like floating cities where families live for weeks at a time.”

Ashley “likes being busy” and has always juggled a couple of jobs with school. She works for a restaurant and a shoe store.

At SMC’s Campus Bash in April, she won the push-up contest with 27 “in a dress, heels and my crown.”

She visited Rome and Athens during an “amazing” 2009 summer.

“I was supposed to go to Ireland, England, Switzerland and France last month” with the SMC international studies program that involves author Michael Collins, “but it was bad timing with all the stuff I had to get ready for, so I postponed that until next spring. I’d go to Greece again in a heartbeat.”

She also hasn’t ruled out entering an open pageant, maybe even in Indiana.

Ashley started college playing softball and studying psychology in Kalamazoo, but found clinical exposure to the psych ward disturbing and transitioned into nursing.

Ashley has a twin sister, Alisha, who does not do pageants. In fact, Ashley says they are different in every way.

“My sister and brother play in a pool league in Cass and they won. They’ll be going to Vegas at the end of August, which is pretty exciting.”

Ashley departs Saturday for Muskegon. “Wednesday I compete in evening gown and swimsuit. Thursday is my talent and on-stage question. Friday is Abby’s final night. Saturday (June 19) is our final night. We’re supposed to have our evenings free, so we can work out or work on our talent. It will be nice to have a break at the end of the night.”