MAYELI ALONSO: THE NEW ERA OF A WOMAN WHO TURNED EVOLUTION INTO POWER
September 17, 2026
Ashley Hayden is building a life shaped by confidence, creativity, purpose, and a deep commitment to helping others recognize their own potential. As Miss New England, a mother, musician, entrepreneur, and founder of Blooming Beyond Confidence, she brings together the many parts of her journey with a clear sense of intention. From pageantry and music to community work and her growing business, Ashley continues to create spaces where women and children can feel seen, supported, and encouraged to use their voices. Her story is not simply about wearing a crown, but about what she chooses to build beyond it.
You currently hold the title of Miss New England. What has been the most meaningful part of your pageant journey so far?
The most meaningful part of my pageant journey has been seeing how much I’ve grown—not only as a titleholder, but as a woman, a mother, and a person. I’ve learned so much about growth and freedom, and through both motivation and challenges, I have become more resilient. My experiences are the brick and mortar of the mission I am building, and my journey has become a testament to never giving up.
Pageantry has also taught me the importance of authenticity—being true to yourself, allowing your actions to reflect your values, and embracing both your strengths and your struggles. I believe the most impactful leaders aren’t the ones who appear perfect; they’re the ones who are genuine enough to make others feel seen, heard, and valued. I want to use my story to encourage other people to find that same confidence within themselves.
Wearing a crown is about so much more than glitz and glamour. It’s about showing up for your community, inspiring others, and using your voice for what matters. I was given the chance to rebuild my life, and now I want to use my voice to help others rebuild theirs. I want the people I meet to know that regardless of where they are starting from or what they have been through, they can prosper and succeed too.
And one of the most meaningful parts of this journey is sharing it with my children. I bring them with me to community events and fundraisers whenever I can because I want them to see service, ambition, dedication, strength, and perseverance in action. Being a mother while working toward your dreams isn’t a consolation prize—it is the prize. I want my children to know that it’s okay to go after their dreams, even when the path isn’t traditional.
Your platform is an important part of your work. Could you tell us more about what it represents and why it is special to you?
Blooming Beyond Confidence is bigger than any one project. It’s a movement rooted in confidence, kindness, resilience, and helping others recognize the potential already within them.
Blooming Beyond Confidence represents my belief that every woman and child deserves to know their value, find their voice, and have the confidence to bloom into who they were created to be. It is incredibly personal to me because the mission grew from my own experiences with adversity, rebuilding, and learning that confidence isn’t about having a perfect life—it’s about recognizing your value even during the seasons that challenge it.
My goal is to take those experiences and create something meaningful from them. Blooming Beyond Confidence is becoming much more than a platform; it is a collection of initiatives designed to encourage confidence, resilience, healing, self-expression, and personal growth.
Through my children’s book, Blooming Beyond Confidence, my Raise Your Voice Initiative workshops, music, community outreach, and my work through Shining Star Entertainment, I want to help people discover both their literal voice and their inner confidence—on stage and in everyday life.
Music is especially meaningful to that mission. I want to create spaces where children can express themselves creatively, learn positive affirmations, recognize their unique gifts, and develop confidence in who they are.
I also want women—especially mothers—to understand that motherhood and personal ambition do not have to exist separately. We can love and pour into our children while continuing to grow, heal, create, and pursue dreams of our own. That is part of what I hope to explore through Blooming Beyond Motherhood and the larger movement I’m building.
Looking ahead, one of my dreams is to create the Sparkle and Shine Princess Ball, an experience where young girls can dress up and feel beautiful, but leave understanding that their true beauty and confidence come from kindness, courage, character, and knowing their worth.
Ultimately, I want Blooming Beyond Confidence to become a legacy that extends beyond a book, a song, a workshop, or my time wearing a crown. I want to create a movement that empowers women and young girls to embrace their unique gifts, overcome life’s challenges, and bloom with confidence in every season.
My goal isn’t simply to wear a crown—it’s to help others discover the one they’ve been wearing all along.
You are currently preparing to open your own business offering music lessons and interview coaching. What inspired you to begin this new chapter?
This new chapter really feels like a culmination of so many different parts of my life finally coming together. Music has always been a huge part of who I am. I have a degree in music, I’m a singer, and I can read and write music. Performing has taught me so much more than how to use my voice musically. It has taught me confidence, discipline, vulnerability, and how powerful it can be to stand in front of people and allow yourself to truly be seen and heard.
Over time, I realized that those lessons extend far beyond the stage. Whether someone is singing a song, preparing for a pageant interview, walking into a job interview, or simply learning to speak confidently about who they are, so much of it comes down to finding your voice and trusting that what you have to say has value.
That realization inspired me to create Shining Star Entertainment. Through music lessons, performance intensives, and interview coaching, I want to create a space where people can develop their skills while also building confidence in themselves.
With interview coaching especially, I want to help people move beyond memorizing the “perfect” answer. The most impactful person in the room is rarely the one trying to appear perfect—it’s the one who is authentic enough to connect with the people listening. I want my students to understand who they are, what they stand for, and how to communicate that with confidence.
Starting a business at this stage of my life is meaningful to me, too. I’m a mother, I’m a titleholder, I’m building my platform, and now I’m stepping into entrepreneurship. There was a time when I might have believed I had to choose between those different parts of myself, but I’ve come to understand that they can complement one another.
Ultimately, Shining Star Entertainment is another extension of the same purpose behind Blooming Beyond Confidence: helping people recognize their gifts, develop confidence, and become comfortable with who they are.
For me, this new chapter is about taking everything I’ve learned through music, performance, pageantry, motherhood, and life experience and turning it into something that can genuinely help another person grow. There is something incredibly fulfilling about building a business around the things I love while creating opportunities for others to discover what they are capable of.
I think some of the best new chapters begin when you realize that everything you’ve experienced has been preparing you to create something you’ve dreamed of.
Through music and interview coaching, you will have the opportunity to help others develop their skills and confidence. What are you most excited to share with the people you work with?
What I’m most excited to share is everything I’ve learned about the power of believing in yourself and having someone else believe in you, too. I want to be that person for the people I work with.
Through music and interview coaching, I’ll be able to share the skills I’ve developed through years of performing, my education in music, and my experiences in pageantry. But I also want to share the lessons that can’t necessarily be taught from a textbook—how to trust yourself, how to recover when something doesn’t go as planned, how to walk into a room knowing your worth, and how to remain authentically yourself while doing it.
Music has taught me that there is so much power in allowing yourself to be vulnerable enough to be heard. You can teach technique, breath support, stage presence, and preparation, but eventually you have to trust yourself enough to step forward and perform. I think life asks the same thing of us in so many ways.
Interview coaching is very similar. I don’t want to teach someone to memorize an answer they think a judge, employer, or audience wants to hear. I want to help them understand what makes them unique, recognize the value of their own experiences, and communicate that authentically. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s connection.
I also believe that, much like wearing a crown, leadership is most valuable when it is used to lift others up. Kindness always wins. To me, the best leaders and teachers aren’t simply the people with the most knowledge or accomplishments—they are the ones who make others feel seen, heard, and valued. They lead by example, encourage people to recognize their own potential, and create an environment where others feel safe enough to grow.
More than anything, I want the people I encounter to believe in themselves, trust themselves, and love themselves. If I can leave someone with a little more confidence in who they are and what they’re capable of, then I know I’ve made a meaningful impact.
Looking ahead, what are some of the dreams and goals you are excited to pursue through pageantry, your platform, and your new business?
Looking ahead, I’m most excited about taking everything I’ve been building and bringing it to life in ways that allow me to connect with and impact more people. I have so many dreams for Blooming Beyond Confidence, and I truly feel like I’m only at the beginning of what I hope it can become.
One project especially close to my heart is the Sparkle and Shine Princess Ball. My vision is to create an experience where young girls can put on a beautiful dress, feel like a princess for the day, and enjoy all of the magic that comes with that—but with a much deeper message woven throughout it. I want them to leave knowing that what makes them truly beautiful has nothing to do with a dress or a crown. It comes from their character, kindness, courage, confidence, and the way they treat others.
I’m also excited to continue developing my Raise Your Voice Initiative workshops, creating opportunities for children to build confidence, practice positive self-expression, recognize their individual strengths, and understand that their voices deserve to be heard. Music and creativity will be an important part of those experiences because I believe they can be incredibly powerful tools for helping children express themselves and discover who they are.
Another dream I’m excited to pursue is my Blooming Beyond Motherhood podcast. Motherhood is such an important part of my identity, but I think so many women reach a point where they wonder where they went in the middle of taking care of everyone else. I want to create honest conversations about motherhood, identity, ambition, rebuilding, confidence, and continuing to dream. I want women to know that loving your children wholeheartedly and wanting something for yourself can coexist.
Through my business, I’m excited to continue combining my background in music with everything pageantry has taught me about communication, presence, and confidence. Whether I’m teaching someone to sing, helping them prepare for an interview, or encouraging a child through one of my workshops, I want what I do to have an impact that extends beyond that individual moment.
The title I now hold is a catalyst for expanding these initiatives. Ultimately, my biggest goal is to build something that lasts beyond my time in pageantry. Crowns and titles have a season, but the impact we make on people can continue long after that season ends.
I want to look back and know that I used every opportunity I was given to create something meaningful, lift others as I climbed, and leave a legacy my children can be proud of.