One of the consistent things that helped Bayonne resident Rebecca Hosmer overcome tragedy has been reading, and she believes that it might help other people, too. So she has begun a campaign to collect books that she can donate to people who need them.
In a project that she calls “Becka’s Books: Everyone is Equal Through Reading,” Rebecca is going around town and the state in order to collect books.
She is doing this in conjunction with the Bayonne Board of Education throughout the town and the state. Already well on her way, she will appear at Kupcake Kouture on Broadway in Bayonne on Saturday, March 3, from 2 to 4 p.m., and the Ice House in Hackensack on March 10.
Several tragedies struck in a short period of time, such as the loss of her father about two years ago, and an accident on the ice that sidelined her career as a skater.
“My dad passed away suddenly 24 months ago, and my mom and I are just getting back on our feet after this huge loss,” she said.
Rebecca is the daughter of Patty Hosmer, a teacher who has worked at Bayonne High School for 26 years.
“Since the age of 8, I have been a competitive figure skater,” she said.“I trained daily at the Ice House in Hackensack for this, and was at one point ranked fourth in Northeast. I was very passionate about skating. Unfortunately, in September I fell and hit my head quite badly. I had a concussion, which caused me not to be able to skate.”
The pageant
In order to not let these things stop her, she decided to enter a pageant.
“I found that the similarities between skating and pageant training are that both are a lot of hard work and require dedication,” she said. “Both push you to do your personal best with whatever the task at hand is. Both are very personal activities. You alone are responsible for your own actions and your own growth in the activity required of you. The skills required for each activity must be done by yourself. Others can give you the advice and proper coaching, but the skill comes from within you.”
This seemed to be a good choice. She won the title of Miss Garden State TeenAmerica 2012 at the recent Miss NJ Teen America Pageant last November at the Parsippany Hilton Hotel, which qualifies her to enter the Miss TeenAmerica National Pageant in Tennessee on April 14.
A number of people, businesses, and organizations have stepped up to help her, such as Allure Bridal of Bayonne, which donated her pageant gown for the April event. Sernachio’s Meat Market, Famous Furs of Bayonne, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patricia McGeehan, The Winters Family, The Colabraro Family, Fernanda Lipka of Legenda Spa in Jersey City, and her mother are all sponsoring her at the pageant.
“When I lost my father, there were plenty of books to help me understand my grief.” – Rebecca Hosmer
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Helping the physically challenged
“As Miss Garden State TeenAmerica, I need to develop a platform,” she said. “I am developing my platform around recognizing the need to help people who are physically challenged, as well as working to help stop teenage bullying and encouraging reading.”
The book drive isn’t her first effort at public service. Over the last few years, she has volunteered to teach handicapped children how to skate and has volunteered with other organizations.
“When I lost my father, there were plenty of books to help me understand my grief and sometimes to just lose myself in the story of another person,” she said. “If someone was struggling with being bullied, they could read stories of others and how they dealt with their situations. If someone was seeking help for an addiction, there are books for that.”
How have these personal disasters changed her?
“I feel that everything happens for a reason,” she said.“I have become a stronger person. I have learned that I can succeed through anything that life throws at me. I have learned that it isn’t what happens to you, but it is how you deal with the situation that matters.”
Until her accident on the ice, she said she had intended to become a part-time coach and full-time writer and photojournalist.
“Now that I am in the pageant world, I would like to still be a writer, but I would also like to be able to use photography as a way to capture a moment in time,” she said. “I am thinking of pursuing a career in photojournalism. I would like to specialize in fashion photojournalism.”