My First Interview outside of pageant night

     My dad is a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force.  My mother is from San Diego California and my dad is from Hartford Connecticut.  I was born at my dad’s first duty station in Alaska.  I then spent 8 years with my family stationed in Germany at Ramstein Air Base.  We’ve been stationed here in Nevada for 3 years and this is where my dad is going to retire.   I was so excited to get back to America after spending from age 5 to 13 in Europe.  It was fun traveling the world and I know I was lucky to get to see so many places but nowhere beats the United States.  It’s like the best of every country I’ve been to and I see that every day as I meet people here in Las Vegas.  I remember the last time my family went to Paris, France.  It is only a four hour drive across the border from the base we were stationed at in Germany.  I thought “Wow, I better take a good look; I won’t be seeing this again.”  We only flew back to the United States as far as New York after those 8 years.  My mom said we had seen so many countries that we needed to see some of the amazing things in our own country.  We saw the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls, The Wisconsin Dells, the Corn Palace, Mt Rushmore and Devils Tower  on the drive across the United States to get to my dad’s new duty station at Nellis Air Force Base Nevada.  We drove straight to the Las Vegas strip and I saw it.  The Eiffel Tower.  I knew it then.  The state of Nevada really does have it all.  I knew I was home.   

     My first interview outside of pageant night as the new Miss Nevada Teen USA was given to the Air Force network through public affairs on Nellis Air Force Base.   My whole family ran around the house picking up things for them to bring in the video cameras.  We had lots of stuff lying around from the pageant the night before.  They set up the lighting and equipment and had me sit down.  One of the first questions they asked me was about the charity that I stand for.  For anyone reading this please pass the following on.  Autism Speaks is not just some charity that I latched onto because I wanted to win a pageant.  They raise awareness and fund research for Autism.  There is no known cause or cure and the percentage of children that are born with autism is rising.  My brother was diagnosed with Autism.  He is only a year younger than I am and I really feel like it could have been me in those shoes.  It was an amazing interview and I really felt like I got to say what I wanted to get out there.  I finally feel like through this title I can have a louder voice for my community.

  The Air Force motto is “service before self.”  I’ve been raised with this motto and I live the values and commitment that I have witnessed being a dependent child of an Air Force dad.  I will treat this title with the respect and hard work it deserves.  I will make my state and Air Force family proud.  A link on my Miss Nevada Teen USA Facebook page has a link to the full article that the Air Force did.