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Pageant Victory for Toms River Woman with Autism
Jacqueline Czarnecki trained for the Miss Dominican Republic of New Jersey pageant every Saturday for seven months. She attended seminars on manners, engaged in volunteer work, went gown shopping, and did her best to tell her own narrative.
The 31-year-old Toms River native placed among the top 10 finishers in last Saturday's finale, earning a title.
That was significant since Czarnecki is partially verbal and has autism; she speaks in small phrases or sentences. She was the first person with autism to compete in the pageant.
Eboni Henderson who works for New Horizons in Autism, a Freehold-based organization that manages group homes and day programs in the counties of Monmouth and Ocean has assisted Jacqueline during this process. She stated , “This shows that you’re beautiful no matter what people label you as,” “Don’t let other people define you. Show the world what you can do.”
At Saturday's big finale at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, Henderson and Czarnecki were both crowned. As a message to the hundreds of participants in the day programs at New Horizons, the prizes will be on display at the organization's headquarters.
