Where are they now: Princess moves from pageant lines to front lines

Back in 2015, Jaime Buchholz, then 24, was finishing her star-studded run as Miss City of Maricopa. Aging out of the program and fulfilling her dream of being a princess, she continued to remain a part of the local Miss City of Maricopa/Miss America organization until it dissolved in November 2020 after the national organization headed in a different direction.

“It’s not just the crown, it’s finding out who you are. I was given lots of opportunities, like learning to (public) speak and being a good role model,” she said. “Some of my girls that are current title holders I’ve known since they were 5. It’s been fun to grow up with them.”

During her time as a crown holder, Buchholz, now 29, made lifelong friends and continued her work as a nurse, bringing awareness to working with veterans in health care. She now works as an infection prevention and control professional at the Phoenix VA Hospital.

With COVID-19 cases still rising in Arizona, Buchholz said she works every day to keep her co-workers safe. She has already received her second round of the coronavirus vaccine as it rolls out to health care workers.

“I’ve had a pretty unique experience. I’m not doing direct patient care; the hospital and the staff have been my patients,” she explained. “My team has been the ones educating our staff on how to stay safe. We’ve been helping create the policies and procedures for COVID for the VA hospital as a whole.”

She described the frustration of educating people who debate the dangers of the virus, or those who don’t practice proper precautions in public. To illustrate the ease with which the virus spreads, she uses the analogy of COVID as fine glitter, especially when not properly cleaning hands and face masks. (She asks people to check out the CDC’s hand-washing protocol.)

“Think about where glitter would be if you got it on you. In your house, your car? Your wallet, your phone, your cash!” Buchholz said.

“The PTSD in our health care workers after this pandemic is going to really be hard. I know nurses that have zipped up more body bags in one month then they have in their entire career.”

“For the people that don’t believe it’s a real thing, I can tell you as a health care worker, it’s real.”

These days, Buchholz is mostly working and educating — she has even taught nursing programs at Arizona State University — but loves spending time with her dog, Sulley.

Before the pandemic, she continued to make her way down to Maricopa to meet up with old friends and grab a bite to eat.

“I’m still addicted to Cilantro’s,” she laughed.

JAIME BUCHHOLZ
Age: 29
Residence: Gilbert
Occupation: Infection prevention and control professional, Veterans Administration Hospital, Phoenix
Education: Master of Nursing degree with an emphasis on leadership
Family: I have an extensive family and support system that spans from New York, Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota and Arizona. I can’t wait for COVID to calm down so I can see all of my out-of-state family.
Favorite Maricopa memory: Mentoring and spending time with all of the Maricopa princesses and our titleholders. Merry Copa and the Salsa Festival are still some of my favorite activities to come to Maricopa.

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This story appears in the February issue of InMaricopa magazine.