Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 30, 1992 TAG: 9201300481
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYNN A. COYLE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
NO ORDINARY GIRL
SHE can't appear in lingerie or a bathing suit; drinking alcohol is prohibited; and she must be accompanied by her chaperone.What she does on her own time, under her own name, is another story. But when Julia "Julie" Slemp is making a public appearance as Miss Roanoke Valley, those are the restrictions.
In exchange, Slemp gets to compete in the Miss Virginia Pageant this July. Maybe even the Miss America pageant after that.
OK, at 17 she can't legally drink anyway. But there have been some changes in her life.
"I'm still Julie Slemp, senior at Cave Spring High School," she said. But, "sometimes I feel like I live two different lives. When I'm out I feel I represent the Roanoke Valley and I don't want to do anything that would make the valley look bad."
Even before being crowned last November, Slemp was no ordinary high school senior.
The girl has a resume. And it's two pages long.
Here's a smidgen of what's on it:
She's in the top 4 percent of her graduating class, a member of the National Spanish Honor Society, and a few years ago placed third in the Roanoke County Science Fair's physics/engineering division.
Slemp has taken dancing lessons since she was 3. She worked for five years as a dance assistant at Linda Watkins' School of Dance, where she also studied. She once had a summer job delivering singing telegrams.
At school, she plays flute in the concert band and is co-captain of the drill team. She's in the orchestra, youth choir and youth group at Cave Spring Baptist Church.
She was a national finalist for "Seventeen" magazine's cover model contest.
Slemp is the daughter of Dr. Andrew "Andy" and Sondra Slemp of Hunting Hills. She wants to become a doctor - possibly a general surgeon, like her father, or a neurologist.
Slemp at one time wanted to major in dance and pursue a career in teaching or physical therapy. She says she may still minor in dance.
Slemp had no previous pageant experience - unless you count working backstage at the Miss Virginia Pageant for two years. But she knew enough to start preparing early for the four areas she would be judged on: talent, interview, evening gown and swim suit.
Last January Slemp bought her royal blue and teal beaded and sequined gown. It doubled as her prom dress. And she got measured for her custom-made bright orange swim suit.
Last summer she began working on her lyrical ballet. She read "USA Today" and the Roanoke Times & World-News and watched CNN to prepare for the judges' interview that was conducted offstage before the pageant.
During the evening gown competition, contestants demonstrate poise by answering a short, unrehearsed question taken from that interview. Slemp was asked how she felt about Gov. Douglas Wilder as a presidential candidate.
She answered that Wilder's focusing on the campaign showed a lack of responsibility to Virginia. "My instincts were correct," she said, smiling. "He backed out."
Asked why he thought Slemp won the title, Sam Lionberger III, who chairs the Miss Roanoke Valley Scholarship Committee, said, "The interview is the key, and her interview was great."
"She can dance with the best of them and looks great in a swim suit and evening gown," he added.