I’ve known for years that the transition from pageant winner to corporate life would be difficult. In 2013, I heard a former Miss California finalist, and then Facebook employee, talk about how she distances herself from her pageant past. This woman was a direct report of Sheryl Sandberg, and I was disappointed when she told me that she never, ever mentions at work that she had done pageants. She was sure that going public with her pageant past would hinder her advancement, and that it would be the same for me. To succeed as a respected woman in tech, I would need to erase it from my LinkedIn.