Keizertimes., March 09, 2018, Page 34, Image 34

PAGE D6, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 9, 2018
McNary alum sets sights
on Miss Oregon USA title
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Sofi a Boru had to get three
approvals before deciding to
take the plunge and compete
for the title of Miss Oregon
USA: her best friend’s, her
mother’s and her boyfriend’s.
She was scrolling through
Facebook and saw an advertise-
ment for the pageant in Octo-
ber 2017. As she read through
the requirements, she decided
it was something she could do,
but wanted other opinions fi rst.
“Once I heard from all three
of them, I knew I was going to
do it,” Boru said.
The Miss Oregon pageant,
which will be held in October,
is a precursor to the Miss USA
title and the overall Miss Uni-
verse title if Boru advances. It
includes interviewing portions
as well as swimsuit and evening
gown competitions.
The timing of her decision
to enter the pageant was some-
thing of a blessing and a curse.
“It was that time of year
when you have the holidays
and Thanksgiving and all the
food that comes with it. Ev-
erything that I love food-wise
was going to be around and I
wanted to be in good shape for
the competition,” Boru said.
Instead of indulging, Boru
partnered with a trainer, Keiz-
er’s Mah-Ann Mendoza, and
began workouts to prepare for
the swimsuit portion of the
event.
“One of the things my
phone interviewer (for the pag-
eant) said was that physical ap-
pearance didn’t matter as much
as the confi dence that was be-
hind the contestant on stage,”
she said. “I watched some of
the older shows and there were
some larger women who were
gorgeous and beautiful and
took the stage so confi dently. It
was really reassuring to know I
didn’t have to be a certain size
on the scale.”
Boru, 23, works a few jobs,
but her goal is to be a perma-
nent part of a special needs
classroom. She frequently
substitutes at McNary High
School’s Developmental Learn-
ing Center where she works
with medically-fragile students.
Boru graduated from McNary
in 2013.
“The fi rst time I had a spe-
cial needs substitute job, I was
scared because I didn’t know
how I would react to it. There
were kids who had medical
needs and some were non-ver-
bal and I came into this class-
room and the other teachers
were so warm and welcoming
and they said just spend time
with the kids,” Boru said.
For some who work in de-
velopmentally disabled care,
that means doing the bare min-
imum, but Boru enjoys engag-
ing with the students in ways
that go beyond mere duty. She
ended up with a long-term role
in the classroom when another
teacher was out on an extended
leave, and that clinched the deal.
“They are such great listen-
ers. You may not realize it, but
taking the time to look at them
and talk to them has a huge im-
pact,” she said.
Working toward the pag-
eant and fundraising has pushed
Boru to expand her horizons
beyond her Keizer roots, but
that hasn’t been as hard as she
might have expected. Boru is
the daughter of Paula and Ran-
dy Moseley, two prominent and
longtime Keizer business peo-
ple and volunteers. Paula is the
advertising representative at the
Keizertimes and Randy is a jew-
eler at Boucher’s.
“Mom sets the bar high as
far as working for what my sis-
ter and I wanted, and dad in-
stilled the same kinds of values.
Even when we were younger,
mom always brought us along
on volunteer jobs. Even if
we were just visiting at work,
when she worked for the Keiz-
er Chamber of Commerce, she
would fi nd stuff for us to do.
I remember around Christmas
we would put together the
songbooks for the tree light-
ing,” Boru said.
One of her favorite activi-
ties was the annual gift wrap-
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KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Sofi a Boru is putting time in at the gym and in the community as she carves a path to competing
for the Miss Oregon USA title in October.
ping for the Keizer Chamber
of Commerce’s Giving Basket
program, and she’s trying to
pass on that giving spirit to her
goddaughter.
“We went through the
Gubser lights last year and she
passed three big bags of food
out the window to the vol-
unteers. She got candy canes
in return, but she asked where
the food was going and I told
her that it would go to people
Buy One
that needed it. She asked if we
could do it again next year,”
Boru said.
Boru said that her parents
were, without a doubt, the big-
gest infl uences on her outlook
when it comes to volunteering.
“Mom is always smiling and
go-getting and she’s always ex-
cited to get involved. There’s
no hesitation. Dad doesn’t even
ask, he just shows up. If more
people started going into it
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with the positive attitude, we
would have more volunteers,”
she said. “You can make sacri-
fi ces and it be a good thing. It’s
not really a sacrifi ce if it makes
you feel good.”
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