Rowan College at Burlington County alum Chimere Nicole Haskins has won International Mrs. USA 2023, her second nationally recognized title, after winning Mrs. New Jersey America in 2020.
Growing up in Trenton, Haskins found her passion for helping and connecting with others. She began her journey in cosmetology, a career of 20+ years, and soon after, she began running her own salon styling looks for models and pageant queens alike.
Getting her foot in the door of pageantry with her clients pushing her to compete, Haskins started her educational journey while managing her busy life.
Finding RCBC the best fit for her busy schedule, she became versed in multitasking as she is a recent graduate of RCBC and Rowan University’s Liberal Studies 3+1 program, CEO of Chimere Nicole Salon LLC, author, non-profit organizer and mother of two. Managing this by following a mantra said by Benjamin Franklin, “If you fail to plan, you are preparing to fail.”
In 2018, she started attending RCBC for Liberal Studies while writing and releasing her book, “Girl Yes,” and creating her non-profit peer mentorship program that same year. Her schedule may be full, but her motivation pushed her on with the help and flexibility of RCBC 3+1 program playing a huge part in her journey. “I actually started writing my book based on one of the lessons I had in one of my courses,” she said
Haskins said she had help and encouragement along the way from professors such as David Blyweiss, who consistently offered encouraging thoughts and recognized her as a person and a student. As Haskins said, “I think he knew I had a lot on my plate, and one day he pulled me to the side and he said, ‘I see that you're trying to make the best out of your workload and help others, and I commend you for that. Just keep going.’ “It was really great to have a professor see what I was doing and push me in the direction I needed to go,” she said.
Her passion for helping her community remained, and she knew she needed to reach more people. And she found pageantry as the answer. Finishing her associate degree in 2018, she competed in her first pageant in 2019 later winning Mrs. New Jersey America in 2020.
After winning her first title, she was introduced to the 3+1 program by Allie O’Neil, Director of Rowan Relations, during an enrollment fair. With the help of O’Neil, Haskins obtained a private scholarship and funding to begin taking classes at Rowan University, working towards her bachelor’s degree, which she completed in May of 2023.
Chimere, with great enthusiasm, encourages individuals who are facing difficulties in moving forward or discovering their purpose to consider the idea of aligning their personal passions with their professional goals. By doing so, they can make a positive impact on a community of people.
