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Purpose and Perspective ML: During your reign as Mrs. North America Galaxy, you devoted more than 225 hours to volunteering and community service. Was there one experience that had a particularly lasting impact on you? Joëlle Krinickas: It’s incredibly difficult to choose just one because every experience has taught me something different. During my reign, I was fortunate enough to complete more than 70 appearances across seven US states and eight countries, supporting everything from environmental conservation and disaster relief to food banks, children’s charities and animal welfare organizations. One of the experiences that have stayed with me most is donating vital items for young children and infants in Brazil during my visit there and receiving pictures from the families afterwards still warms my heart today. Another experience that was particularly meaningful was organizing a coastal cleanup in the Bahamas during Galaxy International week, alongside Mrs. Bahamas Galaxy and local environmental partners. Being able to bring my passion for ocean conservation into the very week I was competing for the international title was incredibly special. The ocean has always been a huge part of my life, particularly through kiteboarding and travelling, and seeing firsthand how much waste affects our coastlines reinforces why protecting these environments matters so much to me. If there’s one thing volunteering has taught me, it’s that you don’t need to do something extraordinary to make a difference. Sometimes the smallest actions can have the biggest impact on someone else’s day. ML: You’ve said that women should never have to choose between being feminine and being fearless. What does that idea mean to you today? Joëlle Krinickas: I think women are sometimes made to feel that they have to fit into a particular category, and I’ve never really understood why. I absolutely love being feminine. I love fashion, beautiful gowns, getting dressed up and everything that comes with pageantry. But I also love adrenaline and adventure, such as kiteboarding, dirt biking, snowboarding and practicing martial arts. To me, those things aren’t opposites. They’re simply different parts of who I am. Being feminine doesn’t mean you have to be delicate in everything you do, just as being adventurous or physically strong doesn’t make you any less feminine. I think that’s something I’ve become even more passionate about as I’ve got older. Women are wonderfully multifaceted, and we should feel comfortable embracing every part of ourselves without feeling the need to fit somebody else’s expectations. I can wear a crown and an evening gown one day and be covered in mud in another adventure the next day, and I love that about my life! If anything, I hope that being Mrs. Galaxy International shows other women and young girls that they don’t have to limit themselves to just one version of who they can be. ML: From skydiving and kiteboarding to dirt biking and martial arts, you’ve consistently pursued things