At selection weekend for Cherry Queen, Sierra Moore gave an unconventional answer to a common question: “What was the last good movie you saw?” Sierra’s answer?
“The Ted Bundy Tapes!”
Sierra laughs as she tells me about the experience.
“It just came out, I wasn’t really thinking about it but then I said it. The audience laughed so I had a minute to think about how I was gonna explain it. My response was, ‘the last good movie I saw was the Ted Bundy movie on Netflix, bold I know, but I found this movie very interesting because this case is so well known, it allowed me to gain a different perspective on the case itself and how it has brought so much controversy in the world.”
Being able to gain a deeper understanding of people and society is important for Sierra, especially since she minors in psychology at school. She conveyed her explanation eloquently enough to impress the judges because that weekend she was selected to be a finalist in competing for Cherry Queen.
Sierra works at Firefly, and we decide to sit down and have lunch there before going to Old Mission Peninsula for some sight-seeing.
“This is my fourth year here. I serve now but I started out hosting and bussing.”
Sierra attends Kalamazoo College where she studies biology. She hopes to be able to help people live a healthy life.
“I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do with it yet but I have some ideas. I’m thinking about dentistry, physical therapy, sports medicine, I love anatomy. Basically anything in the health science field. I’m still figuring it out.”
Health science makes sense for Sierra because she’s passionate about health, and looks after her own health so meticulously. She spends a lot of time in the gym and being conscious of not eating too much junk, or over indulging in her favorite dessert, ice cream.
If Sierra decides to pursue dentistry she could potentially intern for her sponsors, Traverse City Dental Associates.
Because Kalamazoo College works on a trimester schedule instead of a typical four semester academic calendar, Sierra has a longer winter break and is able to work at Firefly during the summer and some of the winter. Sierra loves where she works and it’s convenient for her because she lives in Traverse City.
“I was actually born in the U.P. and lived in Munising until I was 4. I still remember some things about it. I remember the house we lived in. I remember the lake we lived by and jumping off the dock.”
Although she has faint but fond memories of her first home, Sierra loved growing up in Traverse City. She says that the easy access to beaches and water is one of her favorite things.
“Going to school in the middle of the state, I realized how much water has been a big part of my life.”
We bond over a mutual love of sweet potato fries before leaving to check out Old Mission Peninsula.
I’m careful not to let myself get distracted by the beautiful views as we drive past idyllic vineyards and farms.
We make a stop at an old general store that Sierra and her four other siblings used to go to with their parents as kids.
“We’d get soda in the glass bottles before going to the beach.”
The general store, Old Mission General Store, looks like a movie set from the late 1800’s. There are old photos and pelts hanging up, along with other various antiques.
As if she was reading our minds, owner Marcy Levine shouts over to us, “are you here for glass soda and pizza?”
Sierra smiles and explains to Marcy that that’s exactly why she and her family used to stop in. She also explains that she’s running for Cherry Queen and wanted to show me around. Marcy offers Sierra some words of encouragement, and some homemade cheese before we leave to see a nearby beach.
It’s a lovely day at the beach and Sierra takes off her shoes to wade in the water.
“It’s freezing!” she says and she steps in and walks around.
Despite the tingle of the cold water it’s obvious that Sierra loves the setting and beauty of Northern Michigan.
We make one more stop at Sierra’s house so she can show me the family chickens.
“They’re all pretty well behaved, except Rosie. Rosie will get out because she can fly higher than the rest.”
Not only does Sierra love her family of chickens, she is also deeply close with her family. Being one of five, Sierra has always been surrounded and supported by siblings. Sierra and her older sister are particularly close and they have the word hermanas, ‘sisters’ in Spanish, tattooed on them. They also share a matching tattoo with their parents, the number seven.
“There are seven of us in my family, so me, my mom, my dad and my older sister have it tattooed on us in different places. Hopefully my younger siblings will get the same tattoo once they’re old enough.”
Sierra’s mother teaches Spanish and the family makes lots of international trips together. These multicultural experiences have inspired Sierra to study abroad in Greece this year, where she’ll be studying literature, culture, and greek language, among other things.
After chasing the chickens around Sierra leaves me with some sentiments on why she would like to be queen.
“I feel that I have the experience of living here and the desire to share this beautiful place with the world along with how much hard work is put into cherry farming.”
Sierra is a role model for her siblings and for her community, and these leadership skills will come in handy this upcoming week as she engages with the community as a potential next Cherry Queen.
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