Culture

Newly crowned Miss Syracuse uses past experiences as motivation, hopes to discover racial identity

Courtesy of Anneliese Trust

Anneliese Trust, who was crowned Miss Syracuse on Nov. 9, works with the youth mentoring organization Big Brothers Big Sisters to guide children in the right direction.

All Anneliese Trust wants for Christmas is to find out who she is.

“I just wish I knew what race I am. I don’t have any facts. I look at myself and I’m like, ‘I couldn’t tell you,’” Trust said.

Trust, 22, was crowned as Miss Syracuse 2015 on Nov. 9. For the next year, she will represent the city of Syracuse in the Miss America Organization and will go on to compete for the title of Miss New York next June. The past three Miss New York champions have won Miss America, so she’s working to keep that streak alive.

But Trust, a woman who’s not afraid of the spotlight, questions her true identity. She doesn’t know because she was adopted.

For Christmas, she’s getting a DNA kit to find out all the answers. A simple cheek swab and a six to eight-week wait will determine the missing piece to her life.



“I get asked constantly what race I am. ‘Are you mixed?’ Oh, people ask it all the time. And I’m like ‘I don’t know.’ So, it’ll be nice to have the answer,” Trust said.

Trust thinks Caucasian and Hispanic are definitely in the mix. But until now, she hasn’t tried to figure it out. She’s been focused on her academics since the fourth grade, but from her elementary to high school years, she struggled in school.

“It just didn’t click. It was frustrating, and I thought school was very frustrating,” Trust said.

Trust remembers a harsh fourth-grade teacher who would tell her, “You’re not doing too well in this” or “You’re not very good at math, are you?”

“It was awful. I was eventually really nervous just to go to school, which nobody wants. You shouldn’t be nervous to go to your fourth-grade class,” Trust said.

Her tutor, Andrea Backus, helped her overcome this barrier. Backus, a kindergarten teacher at Palermo Elementary School in Fulton, tutored Trust from sixth to eighth grade.

Backus guided Trust through a process she calls “coaching,” built on constant practice and encouragement. By saying phrases such as, “Hey you know what, you can do this. You’re very smart,” Backus gave Trust the encouragement her fourth-grade teacher never supplied.

This method worked on the days Trust struggled the most. Backus said when things got difficult, Trust would do “silly kid stuff.” But Backus helped her refocus and encouraged her academically.

“I’m really proud of her determination. When I tutored her, she was always determined to get it even if it didn’t come as quickly to her,” Backus said.

After two years of tutoring, Trust told her tutor she wanted to try and get through the next school year on her own. As the years went on, she became more academically successful and eventually attended Siena College in Loudonville.

“She’s had a terrific education. I’m very proud of her achievements. She’s very driven,” said her adoptive father, Stuart Trust, 78.

Trust’s father was her greatest mentor growing up, and she became a mentor herself. She began working with Big Brothers Big Sisters to guide children in the right direction, particularly with their education.

Stuart Trust said he was thrilled when his daughter took a 12-year-old girl under her wing. Although Trust’s mentee was very young, all she talked about was her future college education. Trust went as far as giving her a tour of Siena College.

“She’s just a good soul. I don’t think she has a mean streak in her,” Stuart Trust said.

Since August, Trust has been an intern for the Oswego County Clerk’s office. For three days every week, she works alongside professionals to help modernize the office.

Michael Backus, the Oswego County Clerk, agrees that Trust is perfect for the role of a mentor. There are numerous things that Trust can help anyone with, he said.

“From day one, she was ready to step in. She was ready to get down and get a little dirt in her fingernails. You don’t see that in every recent college graduate,” Michael Backus said.

That motivation reflects upon her newest role as Miss Syracuse, said Linda Dracker-Hochenberger and Kristy Lee Witt, the Miss Syracuse co-directors.

After receiving the title of Miss Syracuse, Trust immediately searched for sponsors for the Miss Syracuse Scholarship Organization, Hochenberger said. She also wrote thank you letters for the sponsors from this year’s pageant.

“This year, we know we are going to accomplish great things, especially with Anneliese as the face of the organization,” Witt said.





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