Cierra Kaler-Jones overcomes developmental hip dysplasia to wow the judges with her dance performance
'Dance was my way of feeling like I was normal. Even now it is difficult and my hips are still a bit misaligned. I will never be able to do a split. But I believe things happened for a reason and you grow from your challenges.'– Cierra Kaler-Jones
The fourth try has proven to be a charm for Cierra Kaler-Jones, who was named Miss New Jersey on Saturday, June 14. Her perseverance has led the rising senior to her next competition, Miss America.
Kaler-Jones, who is studying social work through the School of Arts and Sciences honors program and is a member of the Douglass Residential College, will head to Atlantic City in a few months to compete against the other state contestants. The winner of the Miss New Jersey pageant receives scholarship money totaling more than $50,000.
Ranking in the top 10 percent of her class, Kaler-Jones is a member of the nationally ranked Rutgers University dance team. She won the judges over with her platform of "Empowering Today's Youth Through Arts" and her dance to Beyonce's "Listen."
Kaler-Jones was born with a developmental dysplasia of the hips and had to wear a Pavlik harness in order for the hip ball and socket join to develop correctly. Dance was a tool to overcome her hardship, and it gave her a goal to work towards.
“Dance was my way of feeling like I was normal. Even now it is difficult and my hips are still a bit misaligned. I will never be able to do a split. But I believe things happened for a reason and you grow from your challenges. My issue makes me very relatable to children who have a disability, or anyone who is poor or a minority. Anyone who struggles with something.”
Today she is a strong supporter of the arts and she founded The Arts Empowerment Project, which uses visual and performing arts to empower economically disadvantaged young women and girls. She offers free arts lessons in visual arts, acting and dancing and allows children to produce and perform in their own showcases. Over 400 children have been involved in the program.
A first-generation college student in her family, Kaler-Jones hopes to become an education law and policy advocate, shaping curriculum so that it is engaging for all students. She founded the Rutgers chapter of She's the First, a nonprofit organization that sponsors girls' education in developing nations.
She has interned with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, and The Office of the Attorney General-Criminal Justice Division, and is a research assistant for the New Jersey Child Welfare Training Partnership through the Institute for Families at the School of Social Work. She recently completed from the Institute for Women's Leadership Scholars Certificate Program.