4 women walk away with crowns at Staten Island pageant, with ‘Good Morning America’ staffer taking title

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y — And the title of Miss Staten Island goes to …..Gabriella Marinelli, a 23 year-old resident of Dongan Hills who impressed judges with her poise and powerful platform, her talent and her authenticity in interview.

Marinelli, who was crowned by Madison Gattullo, Miss Staten Island 2025, is an executive assistant and producer of ABC’s Emmy Award winning news show, “Good Morning America.”

The new titleholder wowed a panel of judges with a lyrical dance — that embodied various aspects of ballet, jazz, acrobatics and modern dance — to Whitney Houston’s “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.”

For her Community Service Initiative she chose “Promoting Mindful Media,” a project that encourages media literacy education.

On Sunday, on the newly refurbished stage of Port Richmond High School, Staten Island’s newest queen shared the spotlight with three other brand new titleholders.

Nadia Michel, 21, Miss Richmond County, whose talent is HERstory, a personal dissertation that references her life, and how a series of events transformed her into a stronger person.

For her Community Service Initiative Michel chose “Striving For Financial Literacy.”

Victoria DiPaolo, 17, Miss Staten Island Teen, whose talent is vocal, chose “Serving Those Who Served,” as her Community Service Initiative.

And Alexis Ryan, 15, Miss Richmond County Teen, who also performed a lyrical dance as her talent, selected the “Power of Pink,” as her Community Service Initiative.

The four winners will go on to compete for the Miss and Teen New York State titles during the spring of next year.

The statewide winners will then advance at the national level, the winner of which is crowned Miss America.

Interestingly, Jamie Lynn Macchia Homan, the pageant’s mistress of ceremonies, is the only woman to hold the title of Miss Staten Island twice — in 2012 and in 2014. She also was Miss Greater New York in 2013 and 2015, winning the title of Miss New York in 2015.

Carmine DeBetta, executive director of the Miss Staten Island-Miss Richmond County Scholarship Organization, commented: “This year we had an exceptional array of former delegates competing, as well as some who are new and are very enthusiastic. The panelists (judges) once again, had a difficult job of selecting our new titleholders.”

THE PAGEANT PRODUCTION

As the curtain went up and the stage set became brightly illuminated, the 59th annual Miss Staten Island-Miss Richmond County Scholarship Pageant kicked off its highly anticipated production — a fresh celebration of purpose, and community advocacy.

Titled “Heroes – Women Empowerment,” the theme referenced empowering women to be leaders through education, the mission of the Miss America Organization, which also emphasizes the four points of the crown: Scholarship, Service, Style and Success, in addition to Sisterhood.

Not just about crowns and gowns, the pageant aims to select a winner who embodies modern leadership and a commitment to service — with delegates judged on a blend of intelligence, grace and confidence — celebrating them as heroes and honoring the uniqueness of the everyday woman.

The event brought together a diverse group of women, each sharing their unique platforms and personal stories in a bid to represent their community and inspire future generations.

All told, 13 young, talented women who are academically accomplished and articulate, and who dedicated countless hours to community service, competed for the titles of Miss Staten Island, Miss Richmond County, Miss Staten Island Teen and Miss Richmond County Teen, during the 59th annual production.

Among the 13 delegates were six teens, ages 14 to 18, who are still in high school, as well as Miss-level delegates, ages 18 (high school grads) to age 28.

All competed for the titles of Miss Staten Island and Miss Richmond County within their respective categories.

PHASES OF COMPETITION

The phases of the competition begin with a private interview with the judges during the morning of the pageant, which accounts for 30% of the overall score.

The afternoon production includes competitions in Fitness (20%), Talent (20%), the Jim Smith Evening Gown on the Red Carpet (20%), and Onstage Question (10%).

COMMENTS FROM WINNERS

Gabriella Marinelli, Miss Staten Island:

“Being live on ‘Good Morning America’ was a very good prep for the pageant. They’re similar in that they’re both live and both spontaneous and you just have to roll with the punches,” the new titleholder told us.

And when queried about her new role as one of our borough’s spokespersons she revealed: “I still plan to be very much on Staten Island. It’s my home and I look forward to giving back to the community. I’m extremely excited to be competing for the title of Miss New York. And to able to be represent Staten Island means so much to me. I really hope to bring home the crown,” she continued.

Victoria DiPaolo, 17, of Port Richmond, Miss Staten Island’s Teen:

“I’m beyond grateful to have been given this opportunity. Thank you so much to everyone who helped me along this journey. Keep an eye out for information regarding my Community Service Initiative, ‘Serving Those Who Served!’ Our veterans have done so much for us. It’s time we help them too!”

Nadia Michel, 21, of Rosebank, Miss Richmond County:

“After three years of competing, I’m so ecstatic to represent the borough that I was born and raised in! I can’t wait to connect with my community and give back throughout my year as Miss Richmond County and make a lasting impact. This has truly been the highlight of my year.”

Alexis Ryan, 15, of Huguenot, Miss Richmond County Teen:

“This has been an unbelievable experience. I learned a lot about this amazing organization and I’m excited for this new journey. I would like to encourage everyone to follow their dreams because if you learn to believe in yourself anything is possible!”

Ashley Marie Davis-Parascondola, Miss Staten Island Teen 2013, Miss Richmond County 2017, Miss Staten Island 2019 and Social Media Coordinator and Choreographer for the Miss Staten Island-Richmond County Organization:

“I am incredibly proud of all of our delegates and winners for how far they’ve come throughout this journey. Each of them worked tirelessly and represented Staten Island with such grace, heart, and determination. As a former titleholder, it truly means the world to have the opportunity to give back to an organization like the Miss SIRC Organization —one that has given me so much. I’m so excited to continue working with Gabriella, Nadia, Victoria, and Alexis as they prepare for the state competition. It’s going to be an amazing year, and I can’t wait to see all that they accomplish!”

SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS

Pageant scholarships and awards were presented to this year’s titleholders and other delegates, prior to the crowning ceremony.

Miss Staten Island – $800 Gabriella Marinelli

Miss Richmond County- $800 Nadia Michel

Miss First Runner Up- $300 Felicia Gambino

Miss Staten Island Teen – $400 Victoria DiPaolo

Miss Richmond County Teen- $400 Alexis Ryan

Teen First Runner Up- $200 Jaymie Alio

Miss Overall Jim Smith Evening Gown- $100- Gabriella Marinelli

Teen Overall Jim Smith Evening Gown $100 -Victoria DiPaolo

Miss Overall Health & Fitness $100- Gabriella Marinelli

Teen Overall Health & Fitness $100 – Alexis Ryan

Miss Overall Talent Award: $100 – Jacqliene Mangini

Teen Overall Talent Award: $100- Alexis Ryan

Miss Congeniality $200- Ashley Lawerence

The Katie Dishuk-Burkhart Kindess Award $150- Victoria DiPaolo

People’s Choice $150- Victoria DiPaolo

The Angelina Secher Community Service Award -$200 – Felicia Gambino

People’s Choice – Victoria DiPaolo

The Higher Education Award – $150 Nadia Michel

Most Ad Sales- $100 Alyssa Ruggerio

THE PANEL OF JUDGES

The panel of judges with varied backgrounds in areas of business, education, and the art, tasked with evaluating contestants on criteria such as interview skills, on-stage presence, and scholarship potential, were, Shreya Jain, Alisa Vasquez, Lisa Bova-Hiat, Dennis McGarry, Dana Talese, Ed Thompson and Ben Truncali.

MORE ON THE PAGEANT

Once crowned, the four titleholders will hit the ground running with a busy schedule of winter holiday appearances and appointments, and community service assistance.

The Miss Staten Island-Miss Richmond County Organization has been especially successful at the Miss New York State Competitions the past several years with a first and second runner-up.

And this year our Miss Staten Island team, Nadia Anwar became Miss New York State’s Teen and was awarded $5,000 to use toward completing her education.

She then went on to represent the Empire State and Staten Island, at the Miss America Competition, in Orlando, Fla. where she nabbed a $3,000 educational scholarship.

Five Staten Islanders have held the title of Miss New York and competed in the Miss America Pageant: Kari Pedersen Cynar in 1967, Lezley Braun in 1977, Alice Knisely in 1987, Deana Herrera Walker in 1998 and Jamie Lynn Macchia in 2015.