Miss New Jersey tells us her favorite Shore beach, breakfast, and more

Belle Nicholas, 27, of Wenonah, Gloucester County, was crowned Miss New Jersey 2025 earlier this month.

A student in Widener’s graduate clinical psychology program, Nicholas is a mental health advocate whose platform (and podcast) is Shout Our Struggle‚ which is “cultivating a new culture around mental health by using lived experience as an educational tool.”

Nicholas said that she’s earned $40,000 in scholarships during the last four years she’s competed in Miss New Jersey, and wants to model a healthier social media space.

Nicholas said that she is looking forward to being a positive presence on social media, a space that has been shown to negatively affect young people’s mental health.

“What’s exciting is I have the opportunity to change that and be a good role model and show people it doesn’t have to be that way,” she said.

Around the time she entered college, Nicholas was diagnosed with vasovagal syndrome, a condition that will cause patients to unexpectedly pass out.

“This, along with the stressors of graduating high school, created an anxiety and depression loop for me, which led to an intense battle with suicidal thoughts,” she wrote on her website. “Mental health became a huge factor in my story around this time, an obstacle that I overcome time and time again.”

Nicholas graduated from James Madison University with a degree in musical theater and “always thought I’d be an actor.” But she decided instead to become a psychologist and is on track to enter the doctorate program at Widener. In addition to the scholarship money, she said the pageant process has “helped my find my purpose and my voice,” she said.

She’ll compete for Miss America in September.

A winner of Miss Seashore Line local pageant, Nicholas is a North Wildwood regular, and answered our rapid-fire questions.

Favorite beach: North Wildwood, around like 18th, 20th — depends on where family will be that day.

Favorite summer breakfast: I love to get a pork roll, egg, and cheese at the Fractured Prune. I’ll get one of those and an iced coffee, and go sit down on the beach and watch the dolphins.

Your idea of a perfect beach day: I love to just sit on the beach. I don’t go in the water. I sit in the water and do word searches.

Perfect night at the Shore? Probably take a walk on the boardwalk, get some ice cream at Hassles.

Best Shore sandwich: I think it’s called Five Girls in Wildwood. They have a pretty good cheesesteak that I like. I’m a cheesesteak girl.

Ice cream/water ice order? I love mint chocolate chip ice cream. That’s always my order.

When summer approaches, I feel ... relieved. Because the school season’s over. Have a little more time to myself.

It wouldn’t be the Jersey Shore without … family time.

Best thing for kids to do at the Shore is … build sand castles.

Surfing or fishing? Neither.

Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise.

Shore pet peeves? When there’s room on the beach and someone sits right next to you.

The Shore could be improved if … we clean up after ourselves and take care of our planet.