LYNNFIELD — History has a way of repeating itself when it comes to beauty-pageant winners from Lynnfield.
Seventeen-year-old Jillian Driscoll, a senior at Lynnfield High School, was crowned 2022 Miss Massachusetts Teen USA Sunday night at the Boston Marriott Burlington hotel.
Driscoll said that when she heard the name of the first runner up announced, it was “surreal.”
“It was a dream,” she said. “My dad and skating coach kept talking to me about manifestation so I kept envisioning the crown being placed on my head and I refused to let any negative thoughts enter my head. But still, when they actually called out the first runner up and I realized I had won, I was shocked. Now that I have the chance to digest it, I feel like all of my hard work paid off.”
Driscoll defeated 37 other contestants from across the state to punch her ticket to the Miss Teen USA national pageant in July, which is run by the Miss Universe organization.
But that’s only part of the story.
In winning the title, Driscoll became the second member of her family to win a Miss Massachusetts crown, joining her mother Jacqui, who won the Massachusetts Miss USA title in 1996 as Jacqui Doucette at the age of 26.
“We’ve been told that this is the first time that a mother and daughter have won titles,” said Jacqui Driscoll, who was living on Tophet Road at the time she won the pageant. “It was so exciting, but I have to say it was much harder to be on the audience side than I remember it was as a contestant. We all want our kids to be happy, but it’s so hard because you know the judging is so subjective and can go anywhere. But at the same time you want the best.”
Driscoll’s name was one of the last to be announced as a round of 16 semifinalist. At that point, her mother said all they hoped was for her to make the final five.
“Once she made the final five, we (husband, James, and mother, Candace Doucette) just held hands throughout the rest of the pageant. It was so nerve-wracking, just super crazy and needless to say, it was just incredible to see her win.”
The five finalists drew random questions from a fishbowl and also had to do one more walk for the judges.
When Driscoll pulled her question, the audience groaned.
“It was a really tough question about what lessons she had taught her parents,” Jacqui said. “She salvaged a great answer about setting an example for us on how important it is to be resilient. She said it was all about getting up after you fall.”
“I could hear the crowd say ‘ugh’ but I saw my mom’s face and she looked shocked by that question,” Driscoll said. “I stumbled a bit but then called upon what I learned from figure skating ― how you need to be resilient. I like to think that my parents have learned never to get down on themselves after a hard challenge.”
A two-year member of the National Honor Society, Driscoll is a competitive figure skater with the Burbank Arena-based North Shore Skating Club. Her mother said that experience paid off in dividends.
“She’s used to high-pressure situations,” said Driscoll. “It’s tough when you are alone on the ice, so I have to think that the pageant was a bit easier as, instead of being all alone, Jill was in a group, which might have been less pressure. And her answer to that final question was definitely based on her skating experience. Falling is a big part of skating, but it’s all about being able to get up.”
Driscoll plans to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville this fall, majoring in health sciences. She said she and her mother have been attending the pageant since she was a little girl and “we love it.”
“My mother has given me lots of advice, but probably the best was to just be myself,” Driscoll said. “She thinks that’s what made the difference the year she won. I tried to let my authentic self shine and I guess it worked. I just love that we now get to share this experience as what we believe are the first mother and daughter to ever wear these crowns.”
