Sandra Fachiol, a self-professed nerd and childhood tomboy, never saw herself as the pageant type.
“I’m not thin, I’m pretty heavily tattooed and I’ve been very open about living with mental illness,” said Fachiol, 22. “I think people’s perception of me does not align with someone they would expect to do pageants.”
But pageantry, she came to realize, was so much more than sparkly tiaras and beautiful evening gowns.
Fachiol was 15 when she began pursuing pageantry. Over the next seven years, she balanced high school and higher education with the demands of pageant circuit. She won the Miss Northwest competition in April 2024, and she took home the Miss Clark County crown in November. Since then, she has dedicated herself to breaking the stigma around mental illness — a cause deeply personal to her.
Fachiol was diagnosed with depression and anxiety at 14.
“I don’t want to make generalizations, but coming from a Romanian heritage where mental illness is heavily stigmatized, it was difficult for my family to acknowledge my condition,” Fachiol said. “Thankfully, my mother, who is also a psychiatric nurse, helped me get the proper care.”
Just 48 hours after her coronation as Miss Clark County, Fachiol contacted the National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwest Washington to start building a partnership.
She underwent training to become a presenter for NAMI’s Ending the Silence program, in which she will share her experience with local high school students and educate them about the importance of seeking help.
“What she really wanted to work on was mental health stigma,” said Kim Schneiderman, executive director of NAMI Southwest Washington. “She wanted to ensure others didn’t face the same hurdles she did. Her message is clear: You can succeed no matter what your mental illness is.”
Path to pageantry
Fachiol’s path to the crown wasn’t linear.
As a sci-fi nerd and avid Dungeons & Dragons player, she thought she wouldn’t fit the pageant mold. Still, that didn’t deter her. She started by competing in smaller competitions where, despite dedication and hard work, she never won.
She said it was easy to feel discouraged, but then she adjusted her mindset.
“I realized I wasn’t walking away with nothing,” Fachiol said. “I gained interview skills, public speaking experience, and the confidence to perform a talent and walk across a stage in an evening gown. Once I started viewing it like that, it didn’t matter as much if I lost.”
But as Fachiol ventured into adulthood, those doubts started to creep up again. The COVID-19 pandemic stalled her participation in pageantry for three years.
“It was an easier choice when I was a teenager and just starting out, because I was still very much discovering who I was at the time,” Fachiol said.
Even though she wasn’t competing, the hiatus gave her time to reflect and to decide whether pageantry was right for her.
When she came back in 2023, Fachiol — who had grown even more confident and self-assured — knew she was in the right place.
“I was pleasantly surprised at how well I fit in once I returned,” Fachiol said. “Meeting other women like me showed me there’s a place for everyone in pageantry. It encapsulates so much more than what people expect from a beauty pageant.”
The crown
Miss Clark County, which began in 1949, is an official preliminary event to the Miss Washington and Miss America competitions.
The Miss America Organization has become the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for women and is dedicated to empowering young women to achieve their personal, professional and education goals, according to its website.
When Miss America was founded in the summer of 1921, the organization revolved around women’s physical attributes, but with time, it has evolved. It is built on four pillars: style, scholarship, service and success, Fachiol said.
In preparation for the Miss Clark County competition, Fachiol dedicated months to refining her advocacy work and embracing her individuality. For the talent portion of the competition, Fachiol sang “All That Jazz” from the Broadway musical “Chicago,” in which she received the top talent award for her performance.
“Something clicked,” she said. “I no longer felt like I had to fit a predetermined mold. I knew if I was going to win, it had to be as myself — unapologetically and authentically.”
That authenticity struck a chord.
“When I won, my knees just buckled,” Fachiol said. “It was so special to know that something I had been working toward for so many years had finally come true.”
Fachiol will now go on to the Miss Washington competition, where she’ll compete against 26 other women.
“Miss Clark County works on mentoring young women. We help them with a lot of life skills, including resumes, essays and discovering who they are,” Miss Clark County Executive Director Sheri Backous said. “Sandra’s perseverance has really paid off. She’s shown so much growth and self-confidence.”
More than glitter
But the titles and crowns aren’t what Fachiol values most.
Fachiol is currently a first-year graduate student at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, where she’s pursuing an education specialist degree in school psychology.
After graduating from Battle Ground High School in 2020, Fachiol spent three years at the University of Washington completing her undergraduate studies.
When Fachiol’s not immersed in graduate program or pageant duties, she enjoys reading, playing piano, singing and playing video games.
Ultimately, she hopes others can take something away from seeing a titleholder speak so candidly about anxiety and depression — that they’re not alone and they can achieve their dreams, too.
“A lot of mental health conditions go unacknowledged, which means they go untreated,” Fachiol said. “When I mentioned I was in therapy or on medication, I was often shushed. But that’s exactly why we need to talk about it.”
