In attempting to win an online contest to become Ms. Health and Fitness, Sudburian Emma Carniello said she hopes to act as a role model to other young women.
If she were to win the contest, Carniello would not only take home the title of Ms. Health and Fitness, but also appear on the cover of the magazine “Muscle and Fitness HERS” and take home $20,000 cash.
The deadline to vote for Carniello to get into the next round of the contest is tonight (May 18). You can vote for her online here.
Carniello, who both plays and coaches hockey, works at the South End Walmart, and is also starting a job at ARC Climbing & Yoga soon. She said she spends a lot of time weight lifting and rock climbing, goes for daily jogs or walks, and sometimes plays pickleball with her dad.
“For me, to be physically active, it keeps my mind, my body, it keeps everything happy, it keeps me healthy,” she said. “It just keeps me away from the negativity.”
As an active person, she said she follows a lot of fitness accounts on social media, and saw the Ms. Health and Fitness pop up on Instagram.
While the $20,000 prize was obviously eye-catching, she said she also liked the concept of the magazine putting on the contest.
“Being a woman, going into fitness sometimes is scary,” Carniello said. “Throughout society, you're told men are stronger than women. Doing something like that can be scary, it can be intimidating.
“So seeing a lot of women active in this magazine was super cool to see. Seeing that I can be the face of this as a young woman who also coaches young children in hockey, climbing, (and) a bunch of different sports, I can be more to those children than just a small role model as a coach. I could be in this huge magazine and being like, ‘Hey, look, you can do this too.’ As a little girl you can make your dreams come true.”
If she were to win the contest, Carniello said she would use the prize to build a home gym and put money toward her future, saying she eventually aspires to start a training program for women in sports, as well as to become a teacher.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s associate content editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
