Ep 36: Miss Tampa | Leah Roddenberry Is Making History

Leah Roddenbery knew she enjoyed pageant life at the age of only three years old. Now, a senior in college, she is representing one of the greatest cities in Florida as “Miss Tampa” for the Miss America Organization. In this podcast with Sarina Fazan, Leah shares not only the the mission of the organization, but how she is also setting the example, during the most unprecedented time in recent history.

“To prepare great women for the world, and prepare the world for great women.” 

Leah Roddenberry is making history as the longest running Miss Tampa since the start of the Miss America organization in 1947. 

Leah is a senior at the University of Florida, working towards a Family Youth and Community Science degree with a minor in Mass Communications. She plans on pursuing a law degree after graduating. She is already pursuing that goal by sending out law school applications and writing essays, all while juggling pageantry life.

She talks with Sarina about her passions and interest, which started her journey to becoming Miss Tampa. Since a young age, Leah has been working towards reaching her goals and sacrificing her time towards something bigger. 

“It’s not always easy days, there are hard days where you know is this going to pay off? Do I really want to keep doing this,” Leah says. “I find my support through my mom she reminds me of my purpose in those times.”

Leah’s mother, Ri-Ce Roddenberry, is her daughter’s biggest supporter.

Ri-Ce tells us how much hard work her daughter puts into pageantry. “It’s practice, practice, practice, a lot of time goes into this,” Ri-Ce explains.

Leah is also making history as the longest running Miss Tampa. The coronavirus crisis has delayed further pageants. The pandemic has also limited Leah’s roles as Miss Tampa, since she does not have the opportunities to reach out to the community.

Leah says, “I had a choice, I could’ve stayed down in the dumps and not know how to handle myself, or get up and do something and be active.”

She has since authored a free children's book called “Leah Goes To Washington”. She says, “It goes hand and hand with my social impact, which is igniting young women to pursue their ambitions, including political office.”  

In addition, Leah has started “Tuesdays with Miss Tampa,” which is an interview series that is sharing stories and offering advice to young women.

One of the most insightful lessons that Leah learned was from her mother. She advises, “Bringing another woman up is not going to bring you down.” It is also why she chose her path in pageantry with the Miss America Organization.

“What’s different about Miss America, it is a scholarship organization. So rather than just a pageant, we provide scholarships. We are the largest provider of scholarships to young women in the world. Which is really one of the reasons I love it,” says Leah. “It is so incomparable to find any other organization that brings together like minded young women who are so high achieving and goal setting. Young women that want to be the best leaders that they can be and are bringing other women along with them. I have not found that in any other organization.” 

Leah says she will always embrace Miss America’s mission “to prepare great women for the world, and prepare the world for great women.” 

According to www.Miss-Tampa.org/mission, the Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s leading achievement programs and the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Each year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations make available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance.

This is just the beginning of Leah Roddenberry’s journey, and she is already an accomplished young adult. If you’d like to follow her journey as Miss Tampa, visit www.Miss-Tampa.org/welcome or follow their social media @misstampaorg. 

For more discussions like this one, make sure to subscribe to the podcast “On The Record With Sarina Fazan."