WESTFIELD – Triumphant over

an ongoing battle with cancer and a

learning disability, beauty queen

Sherryl Pascal feels that she has a lot

to share. The Westfield resident said

her title as Mrs. New Jersey Globe

2009 has provided her with “so many

opportunities to reach out and help.”

Through Mrs. Globe, an organization

that sponsors beauty pageants,

Mrs. Pascal advocates for personal

issues like dyslexic awareness, thyroid

cancer and the importance of

physical therapy with activities like

ballet.

Each titleholder in the Globe organization

has a platform, which can

be a charity or issue of social importance

for which they advocate.

“Sharing my message is important,”

Mrs. Pascal said. “I want people

to get to know me and benefit from

what I want to give.” The Mrs. Globe

organization arranges for her to speak

biweekly at various organizations

and benefits.

Often, she is asked to speak about

thyroid cancer. “I’m a two-time thyroid-

cancer survivor,” said Mrs. Pascal,

who currently lives in Westfield

with her husband, Roy, and their

three kids. She is still battling the

disease but is optimistic that her

doctors will soon have her in remission.

“I’m asked to speak at a lot of

cancer conventions,” she said. “I try

to go out there as a cheerleader, but

it’s very hard. I just try to remain

positive and let people know that

you don’t have to look sick if you are

sick.”

Through the Mrs. Globe organization,

Mrs. Pascal also speaks about

dyslexic awareness. Mrs. Pascal went

through school undiagnosed.

“I struggled a lot,” she said. “When

I did poorly, teachers wrote me off as

a bad student. It wasn’t until my son,

Spencer, became diagnosed as dyslexic

that I thought, ‘Hey, I may have

that, too.”

Mrs. Pascal said she feels that a lot

of teachers and school systems are

unequipped and uneducated about

teaching a child living with dyslexia.

She said that since kindergarten,

her son has “been through four

different school systems to find one

that can cater to his educational

needs.”

Currently, Spencer is enrolled in

the public-school system.

His mother is happy with the way thee Westfield

school approaches Spencer’s education,

saying, “Westfield has exceeded

my expectations.”

She also believes that ballet has

helped Spencer become more focused

and that learning dance sequences

involved with ballet has

improved his memory.

Mrs. Pascal was so moved by the

therapeutic impact of dance that she

decided to start her own dance company.

“The school, Proia Dance Theater,

will be based in New Jersey.

Our teaching will be about loving

and accepting yourself and taking

that love and projecting it into the

world,” Mrs. Pascal said.

In April, Mrs. Pascal is competing

for the national Mrs. Globe title.

Whether or not she wins, she hopes

to continue her involvement with the

organization because she believes in