(page 46) AUGUST 2015
THE REAL DEAL BY NATALIE KELLER
Names: Autumn Simunek // Hometown: Hot Springs, S.D. // Ages: 22 // Specialty: Vocal music education I’m that obsessed with it. The thing that I really enjoy doing in my spare time is reading. I wish I had more time to do it. As Miss South Dakota now, I do a lot of driving, so I’ll be turning to audio books. What’s the nerdiest thing about you? Autumn: I am a huge Harry Potter fan and when I say huge, I mean it’s tattooed on my foot. It’s the last sentence of the last book, ‘All is well.’ There’s a Harry Potter blanket lined over my couch. I have all of the gigantic movie posters, which I purchased when they came out in theaters, had them framed and they’re all hung in my living room, along with three shelves of Harry Potter things, like my wands that I got from Harry Potter World; I’ve been there three times. The first time I walked into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I stopped dead in my tracks in front of the Hogwarts Express and cried, just tears of joy. I was so happy in that moment. My friends were like, ‘Come on, let’s go!’ And the train conductor said, ‘It’s okay. This happens all the time.’ I love Harry Potter and it’s taught me some of the most valuable life lessons I could have taken away. Like what?
Submitted Image.
Image by Grandpre Photography
AUTUMN SIMUNEK
Submitted Image.
MISS SD 2015
In June, the 69th Annual Miss South Dakota pageant took place in Hot Springs. Autumn Simunek, a native of the town, won the crown and is now preparing for the upcoming Miss America Pageant, taking place in Atlantic City, N.J. in September. Twenty-two-year-old Simunek likes to think of herself as a lion: powerful, yet graceful. The new Miss South Dakota has overcome a lot to get to where she is today and has her perseverance and patience to thank. She took time out of her pageant schedule to chat about life outside of the Miss South Dakota title. What’s your platform? Autumn: ‘Five stars of serving those who served.’ It’s all about connecting our military members, their families, our veterans and homeless veterans back with our community members, making sure they understand how to fully help one another and help our military members better integrate back into society and everyday civilian life. What are your hobbies outside of the pageant? Autumn: The fact is I’m always busy with pageants, but on the rare occasion that it comes around, Netflix. I’m a huge Grey’s Anatomy fan. I actually watch every single season, all the way through, twice a year, religiously.
Autumn: Well, I didn’t have the best childhood. I was molested as a young girl by several different family members from the ages of 6 to nine and then I was raped in high school. My parents, while I love them dearly and unconditionally, were very focused on their careers and so I was left a lot of the time to learn those things for myself and learn how to handle the things that have happened to me in my life on my own. I turned to the Harry Potter books in order to learn about life, about friendship, about loyalty, which I value above all other things, loyalty and honesty. Having gone through life re-reading these Harry Potter books over and over again, I can see things that I learned as a child from these books and things that I can still take away as an adult. They’re just extremely valuable books to me that I hold very dear to my heart. How will this title help you accomplish the goals you already had? Autumn: My long-term goal is to own my own art studio to teach voice, dance and piano. Before then, I would like to teach in a more urban setting and teach vocal music. I’ve always been a firm believer that just because you’re born into your situation, if you’re born into a rough environment, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t deserve the best. And I believe that students who are born in a more urban, low socioeconomic status area still deserve good teachers. Miss South Dakota, and really the Miss America organization, have helped me to get to this point because they have provided me with so many scholarship dollars. Knowing that I will be able to graduate with no student debt is huge, huge for my longterm goals. What’s some life advice you would like to give the readers? Autumn: The best advice I can give you at this ripe age of almost 23 is that being open and vulnerable is the most important thing in order to be your most authentic self. Follow Autumn on Instagram @misssouthdakota2015.