Joplin

I entered the 2011 Miss Missouri USA pageant off of a whim to say the least and I never could have forseen or imagined how much winning the title would have changed my life.

I have been working as an intern in the Governor's Office in the state Capitol and traveling around Missouri at least a couple times a week. I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunities of meeting incredible people and attending all sorts of events. Visiting children in schools and hospitals in addition to attending charity events and appearances have been the most humbling experiences of my life.

Throughout this process, I have been preparing for the 2011 Miss USA pageant. I always knew I wanted to do my best to make Missouri proud, but I never could pin point the exact personal reason that I wanted to be Miss USA. That all changed after my visit to Joplin with founder and owner of Farouk and Chi products, Farouk Shami.

Mr. Shami actually got his start in Joplin, where he attended beauty school in the mid 1960's. After hearing about the tragic devastation, Farouk got to Joplin as soon as possible to begin handing out personal hygiene products to victims in addition to thousands of dollars worth of supplies to local beauty salons to help them get back on their feet. I have never seen someone as genuinely compassionate as Mr. Shami... he truly has a love for helping others and does so with such an incredible spirit.

Miss Missouri USA has been a wonderful and exciting experience, but it wasn't until I got to go to Joplin with someone representing the Miss USA pageant, Farouk Shami, that I realized it was something so much more. Farouk wanted to give to these people and brought something so basic such as shampoo and conditioner. He went there, talked to the victims, made residents feel like the rest of the United States truly cared. I was able to be a part of that, and what I realized was that this is what Miss USA is really all about in so many ways.

I think I have always been a compassionate person, but I feel like I have really been able to connect with people and that others respond to me because I care so much about them. Wearing a sparkly hat and sash puts me in the position to help on a larger scale than I have been able to do before. I would be so honored to do that as Miss USA and would be honored to represent the United States in the Miss Universe Pageant and bring the title home to the USA.