Meet Sabrina Chapman | Miss Arizona for America Strong

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sabrina Chapman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sabrina, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The process of developing and implementing my platform #YouAreMore was an evolution over many years of overcoming some significant obstacles in my life. The growth that I underwent because of my need to think creatively and decisively to work through and get past those difficulties has shaped who I am as a person and my overall outlook on life. Once I was on the other side of those situations looking back and reflecting on them, I realized that there were valuable lessons that could be learned and shared with others so that they can learn from them to. So the goal of the #YouAreMore Speaker Series that I am kicking off on November 12th, is to allow a space where I and others can come together to share our personal stories of triumphing over adversity with members of the community to help inspire others to see past the challenges in their lives and look toward the possibilities of a brighter tomorrow.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In additional to being the reigning Miss Arizona for America titleholder, I work professionally as a Space Systems Engineer. My current focus is launch integration; which is a vey niche field within the aerospace industry. My route to my dream job was a lot more indirect than most but, after 2 rounds of college and working multiple jobs at a time to help pay for it all, I was able to carve out a very successful and rewarding career for myself. When I started I was a ground segment intern at the Space Operations Institute supporting programs at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center and knew almost nothing about satellites other than what I had seen on TV. Once I secured my first full-time job in the industry, I had to come up to speed very quickly with a combination of on-the-job training and independent reading and research. So yes, it was extremely challenging and I almost felt like giving up several times along the way, but I am truly thankful that I stuck with it.

Over the course of my 15 years of working in space, I’ve learned 3 extremely valuable lessons that have helped me on my road to personal success both at work and while competing on a beauty pageant stage:

1. The importance of setting healthy boundaries. Early in my career, I would get so wrapped up in what other people were and weren’t doing instead of focusing on the things that were in my personal scope of work. The lack of my boundaries in this area caused so much stress in my life that it started to impact my mental wellness. Once I accepted that the only things that I can control are myself and my actions, I let go over what others were doing in their work. Once I adopted this “stay in my lane” type of boundary, I started to experience a higher quality of work-life balance and job satisfaction. How this filters into my pageantry and living my life is that I try not to get too wrapped up in the opinions or actions of others. I am confident in doing my part to the best of my ability. If someone I interact with (a judge, a person on the street, co-worker, etc.) is disappointed with that, I now have boundaries that help me make peace with it and move on.

2. I am never ALWAYS 100% right. Not every thing is black and white. A large part of engineering is based on numbers; which are concrete. However, there are numerous things that fall into a gray area. This means that we have to be willing to talk about the gray area with those who may not necessarily agree with our though process or view of the situation. These conversations are important to help all parties involved reach a successful solution to the technical problem at hand. This is even more true when you apply it to life where there is an abundance of gray area.

3. I am not in competition with anyone. I am just me as I am. Trying to live 100% authentically to who I am as a person. I have goals and dreams and can work hard to reach them regardless of others’ opinions, expectations, or judgements of my efforts. Once I embraced this, I have been able to find success on my own terms…both professionally and personally.

The biggest thing that I would like people to know about me, my journey, and my platform is that my story is not uncommon. Yes I have a very unique job and my story can’t be exactly the same as someone else’s. However, dealing with adversity is a common event that effects numerous people across our country and the world. There are those of us that weren’t necessarily dealt the best hands in some aspects of our lives but were still able to overcome and move forward to more positive outcomes. There is a certain comfort that comes from knowing that others have dealt with similar experiences to you but were still able to make it through. #YouAreMore is about providing that comfort and helping to inspire people to have hope and not give up.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had a friend visiting from out town for the first time, I would definitely take them to eat at some of my favorite local eateries like Floridinos, The Herb Box, Snooze, Joe’s Farm Grill, Carlsbad Tavern, Orient Sushi & Grill, and the SoCal Fish Taco Company….oh and we can’t forget the Bao at the Yucca Tap Room. We’d hike Camelback, Lost Dutchman State Park, Hieroglyphic Trail, and visit Hole in the Rock. We’d sprinkle in a few visits to Escape Rooms Mesa and then finish off the week by belting out a few tunes at 414 Pizza Pub & Karaoke.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Diane Nutz Pamper Our Parents: Uplift Those Who Uplift

Instagram: @missazforamerica

Image Credits
Mosi Jelani BESTVOY Images