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Miss SOLAC 2026 Rica Mae Villasana joins Kinske to discuss pageantry with purpose, disability inclusion, public speaking, business, resilience, and using every title to help more people be seen and heard.
Episode 49: Rica Carries The Crown With Purpose
with Rica Mae Villasana
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Rica Mae Villasana joins Kinske to trace a journey from starting a small business at fourteen and facing bullying to entering her first pageant, becoming Ms. Mercedes and Ms. Mabini 2022, and earning the Miss SOLAC 2026 crown. She explains why strong Q&A answers begin with genuine values, how losses and criticism changed her, and why a title only matters when its platform is used to serve other people.
The conversation centers on Rica's advocacy for persons with disabilities. She discusses the difference between awareness and action, the importance of recognizing every person's abilities, and why representation should create real opportunities rather than pity. Rica also reflects on confidence, anxiety, family guidance, boundaries, business, gratitude, and the grounded person she wants to remain when the crowns and public roles are set aside.
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Rica Mae Villasana is a Filipino pageant titleholder, public speaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for persons with disabilities from Camarines Norte. Official provincial PDAO records identify her as Ms. Mercedes and Ms. Mabini 2022, document her sharing lived perspective during a 2023 Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion seminar, and record her service as a judge for PWDs Got Talent.
Rica began earning through a small business at fourteen and entered pageantry as she approached eighteen. Her first competition became personally significant when she stood onstage, identified herself proudly as a person with disability, and challenged the shame created by earlier bullying. Over time, she came to see a crown less as a reward and more as a platform that carries responsibility to a community.
In Episode 49 of Good To Live Podcast, Rica discusses becoming Miss SOLAC 2026, answering pageant questions through both preparation and personal conviction, and learning from competitions that did not end in the main title. She describes confidence as something compatible with nervousness and social anxiety, sustained through preparation, self-talk, and a clear reason for being onstage.
Her advocacy emphasizes action beyond awareness. Rica wants persons with disabilities to be recognized for their abilities, included without pity, and given real opportunities to participate. Beyond pageantry, she remains focused on business, family, gratitude, healthy boundaries, and the grounded life she wants to build when no title is attached to her name.
Rica Mae Villasana joins Kinske to trace a journey from starting a small business at fourteen and facing bullying to entering her first pageant, becoming Ms. Mercedes and Ms. Mabini 2022, and earning the Miss SOLAC 2026 crown. She explains why strong Q&A answers begin with genuine values, how losses and criticism changed her, and why a title only matters when its platform is used to serve other people. The conversation centers on Rica's advocacy for persons with disabilities. She discusses the difference between awareness and action, the importance of recognizing every person's abilities, and why representation should create real opportunities rather than pity. Rica also reflects on confidence, anxiety, family guidance, boundaries, business, gratitude, and the grounded person she wants to remain when the crowns and public roles are set aside.
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