When Claudine Book was chosen to represent the United States in Miss World 2012 this summer, she almost didn’t go.
It wasn’t because the third-year Italian language student didn’t think of herself as the glitzy pageant type, or that she saw herself as more of a surfer girl from Malibu. Around the time that Book found out she was chosen to participate in Miss World, her mother was hospitalized and Book found herself grappling with whether to take the opportunity.
Since the age of 16, Book has worked as a nanny to pay the bills and served as caretaker for her mother, who has had a series of open-heart surgeries and suffers from Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder. The weeks-long run in Ordos, China in Inner Mongolia for the competition would be the longest time Book would be away from her mother.
“(At first) I didn’t tell anybody because … my mom was in the hospital and was not doing well at all. … I was trying to fathom how everything was going to be OK,” Book said.
Family and friends rallied together to encourage Book to continue on, offering to help take care of Book’s mother while she was gone. Book’s friend, Molly Ross, was one of the people Book confided in about her dilemma.
“As (her) best friend, I told her that you only get this experience once in a lifetime,” Ross said. “I offered to take care of her mom and her exotic birds and her wolf dog because I wanted her to have this experience so badly.”
Book’s mother, Diane Book, said that she was shocked that her daughter was chosen to be in the pageant but wanted her to have this opportunity.
“She never even put a dress on when she was in Malibu. She’s a ripped-jeans kind of girl,” Diane Book said. “As soon as I had help here and I knew that I was safe and her animals were all safe, I was just excited for her to go.”
Unlike the Miss Universe pageant where contestants are chosen through regional and state competitions, the Miss World pageant relied on an audition process to examine the backgrounds and charities of the contestants.
Book said it was the charity aspect of the competition that compelled her to try out for the pageant, but she didn’t think she’d have a shot, being a self-proclaimed tomboy from Malibu who preferred flip flops over heels and beaches to a catwalk.
“After months of auditions, they were like “˜Congratulations, you’re Miss USA.’ Then they said that I was going to China with 116 other girls. I was like, “˜What?’ It was unbelievable,” Book said.
Throughout the competition, Book said the contestants were scrutinized, from their competitions on athleticism, runway walk and talent to their interactions with each other and the people they met in China. Book said it was the visits to the various villages in China and interactions with the locals that she enjoyed the most.
“There’s a city called Changshu. … It was like 115 degrees there and people … work in factories, and they’re still happy, and it makes you realize how lucky you are,” Book said.
During the competition, Book went through several rounds, which were called fast tracks. The most important fast track was the “Beauty with a Purpose” round, where each of the girls emphasized their personal charities. Book ended up placing second in that particular round, where she told the judges her life story about her and her mother.
“I told them I didn’t have a charity because I spent all my time working and taking care of my mother. I live with her and I always have to. … She’s my best friend,” Book said.
Book said she thinks that the combination of that round and her interviews helped propel her to a 12th place finish, which she is still amazed by.
“Because of the lights on stage, I couldn’t see anything, and when I got my name called for the final 30 and the final 15, I didn’t even hear it, and they were like “˜Go!’ And I was like “˜What, really?'” Book said.
Book said there weren’t any stereotypical tensions between the pageant contestants, and that most of the women became fast and close friends. Book said she had to say quick goodbyes to everyone during the finale on stage, since she almost immediately had to fly back home.
“The final night was the strangest feeling because you’re with these 116 girls, and we really got to know each other, and after the final, it ended,” Book said. “It went so fast. So exhilarating.”
While the experience was thrilling, Book said it made her appreciate home and her mother even more. Now back at school, Book said she would like to apply for the film major and pursue her dream of becoming an actress.
Reflecting back on her time, Book said she still thinks of her time at Miss World as a dream.
“Honestly I was picked up and put in China with 116 gorgeous women. And then I’m back at UCLA,” Book said. “It’s the strangest thing. I still dream about it every single night.”