Nicole Rash
Encyclopedia
Nicole Elizabeth Rash is an American model and actress . She is the 2007 winner of Miss Indiana
and first runner-up to Miss America
2008 Kirsten Haglund
.
, lived in LaPaz, Indiana, and attended LaVille Elementary through the 3rd grade. While she was growing up, Nicole participated in a couple of children's pageants and modeling, showing up in some local advertisements.
In 1994 Nicole's family moved to Plymouth, Indiana
where Nicole attended Jefferson Elementary. In her 4th grade year, she experienced her first overseas travel when she entered a direct exchange program through the school with an elementary school in Ecos, France. She and her family hosted a student for 3 weeks and Nicole went to France for 3 weeks where she learned to appreciate other cultures and languages. She then attended Lincoln Junior High School in Plymouth for the 6th-8th grades where she excelled in academics, choir, and athletics being on the volleyball, basketball, and track teams. Nicole continued doing well throughout high school being an Academic Honor Society member, among many other clubs, and continued in sports; she helped lead the volleyball team to sectional championships, the track team to conference wins, and still holds the high jump record with a jump of 5'5" which she achieved her sophomore year. She also placed 9th at the Indiana Track State Finals her senior year in high jump. Nicole graduated from Plymouth High School in 2003 with an academic honors diploma, being in the top 12% of her class, was awarded many scholarships including the presidential scholarship from Ball State University
, and was even voted "Most Likely to be a Rockstar" by her class.
Upon graduation Nicole had unconventional plans for her immediate future. Rather than choosing to go to college right away, she chose to travel to South America as an exchange student through an AFS Intercultural Programs
-program. Having had several exchange students in her house, since her first experience in France (including exchange students from China, Japan, Switzerland, Belgium, and Austria some staying in their home for an entire year), Nicole decided she wanted to learn the Spanish language fluently and experience the South American culture. She chose Bolivia
as her host country and lived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia with a host family from September 2003 - August 2004. She attended a high school (Isabel Saavedra) in Santa Cruz for part of the time and even took some college courses while learning the Spanish language.
After she returned to the States in 2004 Nicole started attending Ball State University
studying telecommunications, theatre, and dance performance. Then, because of her experiences in South America she tested out of several levels of Spanish, and was chosen to go on another exchange. This time, she traveled to Chile, South America where she lived in Santiago and attended UNIACC University while earning college credits through Ball State for one semester. She continued to study theatre there, and helped teach English classes for 6 months from March 2005 – August 2006.
Because of the difference in the semesters, Nicole didn’t make it back in time to start the next fall semester at Ball State. So, she instead decided to pursue other opportunities in modeling. She started by sending in an audition tape to the CW network's America's Next Top Model, and was chosen as a semi-finalist. However, she did not advance any further in the competition and after sending pictures and resumes to many agencies across the country with no replies, she decided to focus on other things for a while. She was then offered a job at St. Joe Regional Medical Center in Plymouth as a Spanish interpreter because of her Spanish language abilities acquired while living in South America. Nicole worked at the hospital as needed for the year and also substitute taught for the Plymouth School Corporation on occasion
It was during this time that Nicole entered the Miss America Organization for the first time and became interested in fashion design because of an experience in designing her evening gown for Miss Indiana 2006. So, in the fall of 2006, Nicole decided to change her major from Theatre and Dance Performance to Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design. She stayed at Ball State for two semesters, Fall 2006 and Spring 2007, earning a 4.0 each semester with her new fashion major. While studying, Nicole decided to enter the Miss Ball State University Pageant, won the title along with the swimsuit & interview preliminary prizes, and went on to the Miss Indiana pageant in June 2007 where she became the first Miss BSU in its 50 year history to win the title of Miss Indiana .
Since then, Nicole served as Miss Indiana for the entire year (June 2007-June 2008) performing numerous tasks as the state's titleholder. She also filmed the reality show "Miss America: Reality Check" in September 2007, which produced 4 episodes that aired in the weeks before the Miss America
pageant in January. She then represented the state of Indiana
in the Miss America Pageant, where she received 1st runner-up, and served the rest of her year as Miss Indiana traveling the state talking to various middle schools about the "Right Decisions, Right Now" program among other things. She then passed her title on to the 2008 representative, Katie Stam
, but remained the 1st runner-up to the 2008 Miss America until January 2009. Katie Stam, Miss Indiana 2008, went on to win Miss America in 2009 making her the first and only Miss Indiana to be crowned Miss America !
After Nicole completed her duties with the Miss America organization, she moved to Orange County, California
to pursue a job opportunity with a clothing company in L.A. which culminated from her appearance on Miss America
(where she showcased her self-designed evening gown). She was also accepted at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 2008 and studied clothing design. However, wanting to be closer to the city and her first love of theater, she moved to Marina del Rey and then North Hollywood to be closer to L.A. to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. She later moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to follow an modeling opportunity with Urban Talent Agency and while there modeled for companies such as Gold's Gym, , Maggie Sottero Bridal
She filmed the reality show Miss America: Reality Check in September 2007, which produced 4 episodes that aired in the weeks before the Miss America
pageant in January. She then represented the state of Indiana in the Miss America pageant, where she received 1st runner-up. Since then, she has pursued careers in fashion and entertainment.
-Career History-
Because of Nicole's unconventional education plan, she has yet to complete a degree at an accredited educational institution, but has a promising career ahead of her. Having started studying telecommunications and theatre, Nicole has always planned to pursue a career in acting or broadcasting. However, having many different interests and talents, choosing just one career has proved difficult; she had always been fascinated with fashion, enjoyed sewing, and became interested in a career in fashion design while preparing for her first trip to the Miss Indiana Scholarship Pageant:
After winning her first preliminary pageant, Nicole started searching for the perfect evening gown for the Miss Indiana pageant. Having searched at many gown stores, with no luck in finding the idea she had of the dress she wanted, it was suggested to her to go to a couture dress boutique in Chicago
. So, Nicole made the trip, with her sketches and ideas in hand, and had the team at 'Mira Couture' make her a halter top, backless, iridescent turquoise, chiffon gown with rhinestone accents. Nicole did so well at the pageant that year (receiving 1st runner-up her first try), had many good reviews from several of the pageant goers, and had such a great experience with the designing of the gown that she decided that perhaps a career in fashion would be perfect for her.
She has since taken classes in textiles, fashion illustration, garment construction, chemistry, economics, and merchandising math to further her understanding of the fashion industry. She also designed her Miss America evening gown (iridescent purple chiffon, sweetheart halter top, Swarovski crystal beading on the halter and bodice) also crafted at Mira Couture in Chicago, and was able to showcase it on national TV during the live pageant finale. Nicole planned on finishing her education at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in L.A., but was drawn in by the opportunities of her first love of performing. So, she has since been taking acting workshops, classes, and was even accepted into The Groundlings School (a prestigious comedy improv school where many well-known comedians learned their craft).
Between auditions and filming, Nicole continues to model. She has been in L.A. Fashion week, various magazines such as LA Weekly, several designer's websites , and most recently filmed an instructional video for "Pure Radicals" hair extensions , an infomercial for "Shadow Tan" spray on tanning , was the model for the "NuBra" website , as well as a model for bridal designer "Maggie Sottero" for her 'destinations' collection .
Job History:
Nicole started competing in pageants at the age of 5 yrs old when she was entered in some local pageants in the South Bend, Indiana area. Having enjoyed the experience, but not planning on competing much in the future, Nicole focused on other activities during elementary and junior high school.
She then entered a small pageant in Mishawaka entitled "Miss Michiana" where she received 2nd runner-up, and later entered the "Miss Sweetheart" pageant, also in Mishawaka, where she won the beauty category entitling her to be represented for the year by the AAA Modeling Agency in Northern Indiana.
Her senior year of high school, Nicole competed in the Plymouth Junior Miss
Pageant and was chosen as their representative for the state program that year. She bested a field of 9 girls competing in private interview, a fitness routine (for which she won a preliminary award), talent (for which she gave a vocal performance), evening gown, and on-stage question. She then went to Indiana's Junior Miss later that year.
Nicole also entered the Miss Blueberry Festival pageant that same year where she competed in private interview, evening gown, and sportswear. She placed 2nd in the contest to festival queen Sara Boyer. >
After returning from Bolivia, South America Nicole signed up for the Miss Ball State University pageant her first semester at the college, but was unable to compete when she was chosen for the UNIACC University exchange program in Santiage, Chile.
Upon her return from Chile, Nicole entered the Miss Indiana preliminary Miss North Central Indiana in Plainfield, Indiana and received 2nd runner-up in the well known preliminary. This entitled her to compete in the "Sweeps" pageant in Bluffton, IN which would choose two more contestants for the Miss Indiana pageant from runners-up during that year. There she won the title of Miss Wabash Valley and entered the Miss Indiana Scholarship Pageant for the first time in June 2006. That year she received 1st runner-up to Miss Indiana 2006, Betsy Uschkrat, which qualified her for the National Sweetheart Pageant in Hoopeston, Illinois . The National Sweetheart Pageant serves as a 'mock Miss America' inviting all 1st runners-up from the state pageants to compete with one another in order to hopefully better prepare them for competition the next year. Nicole was chosen as a top 10 finalist at the Sweethaert Pageant that year, and the representative from Georgia, Kelly Bradshaw, captured the title.
The following year, Nicole was fortunate enough to win the first local pageant she competed in, Miss Ball State University. She sang "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill, wore her turquoise state gown from the previous year, and won preliminary awards in swimsuit and interview. She then represented her school at the Miss Indiana Scholarship Pageant that summer; she returned to her original talent, singing "Bandido" by Ana Barbara in new wardrobe which won her a preliminary talent award, and she wore a baby blue one shouldered Tony Bowls evening gown . She was able to beat out a field of 27 contestants and captured the title of Miss Indiana 2007! She was the first Miss Ball State to win the pageant in its 50 year history, and the first person from Plymouth, Indiana as well.
As Miss Indiana, Nicole went on to film a reality series with the Miss America Organization entitled "Miss America: Reality Check" where the 52 contestants were given tips by 3 advisors on changes they need to make for the newer, fresher, more modern image that Miss America needs to have. The series included 4 episodes that aired before the live pageant finale, and each week the top 3 contestants that were progressing the most, and the bottom 3 contestants that needed the most work, were chosen with a final top 3 chosen on the final episode. Nicole, along with Miss Washington and Miss New Mexico, were chosen as those top 3 contestants on the final episode, and were awarded with a $10,000 scholarship from 'Crest White Strips' and a $2,500 shopping spree from 'www.shopintuition.com.'
Nicole then represented the state of Indiana at the Miss America Pageant in January 2008 where she competed in 3 nights of preliminaries before the final Live Pageant Finale on Saturday, January 21. There she was chosen as a Top 16 Finalist, competed in the swimsuit competition, moved on to the Top 10 Finalists, competed in evening gown (where she showcased her self-designed evening gown that she sketched, chose the fabric for, and had made at the Chicago boutique 'Mira Couture'http://www.miracouture.com/gallery/), then survived the Top 8 Finalists cut and competed in the talent competition with her vocal performance of "Bandido" by Ana Bárbara
. She answered an on-stage question as the final section of competition and was named 1st runner-up to Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund
of Michigan.
After the national pageant, Nicole continued to promote the national platform of Miss America, Children's Miracle Network, in her home state of Indiana as well as throughout the nation. She gave speeches at several middle and elementary schools throughout the state about the "Right Decisions, Right Now" program which emphasized the importance of making good decisions, setting goals for yourself, and choosing to be smoke and tobacco free. She also sang the National Anthem at the Indiana Society of Chicago's annual banquet, at the 4th of July celebration in Zionsville, Indiana (where the state pageant is held), and at other events. She helped with different organizations such as "Hearts and Hands" organizing a Latino Festival and toddler pageant, "The United Way" helping at their campaign launch and the annual United Way of Marshall County motorcycle ride, "Children's Miracle Network" by visiting the CMN hospital in Indiana Riley's helping coordinate a holiday party as well as helping hand out blizzards on "Miracle Treat Day" at the Plymouth Dairy Queen, and more.
Nicole continues to use her title to benefit causes throughout the United States and plans to compete in other pageants to continue to help others through these empowering organizations.
Miss Indiana
The Miss Indiana competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Indiana in the Miss America pageant.- Winners :- External links :*...
and first runner-up to Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
2008 Kirsten Haglund
Kirsten Haglund
Kirsten Lora Haglund is a beauty queen from Farmington Hills, Michigan who was Miss America 2008.-Biography:Haglund graduated from Walled Lake Western High School in 2006 and spent one year pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in...
.
Biography
Rash was born in South Bend, IndianaSouth Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
, lived in LaPaz, Indiana, and attended LaVille Elementary through the 3rd grade. While she was growing up, Nicole participated in a couple of children's pageants and modeling, showing up in some local advertisements.
In 1994 Nicole's family moved to Plymouth, Indiana
Plymouth, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,840 people, 3,838 households, and 2,406 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,414.0 people per square mile . There were 4,100 housing units at an average density of 589.2 per square mile...
where Nicole attended Jefferson Elementary. In her 4th grade year, she experienced her first overseas travel when she entered a direct exchange program through the school with an elementary school in Ecos, France. She and her family hosted a student for 3 weeks and Nicole went to France for 3 weeks where she learned to appreciate other cultures and languages. She then attended Lincoln Junior High School in Plymouth for the 6th-8th grades where she excelled in academics, choir, and athletics being on the volleyball, basketball, and track teams. Nicole continued doing well throughout high school being an Academic Honor Society member, among many other clubs, and continued in sports; she helped lead the volleyball team to sectional championships, the track team to conference wins, and still holds the high jump record with a jump of 5'5" which she achieved her sophomore year. She also placed 9th at the Indiana Track State Finals her senior year in high jump. Nicole graduated from Plymouth High School in 2003 with an academic honors diploma, being in the top 12% of her class, was awarded many scholarships including the presidential scholarship from Ball State University
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
, and was even voted "Most Likely to be a Rockstar" by her class.
Upon graduation Nicole had unconventional plans for her immediate future. Rather than choosing to go to college right away, she chose to travel to South America as an exchange student through an AFS Intercultural Programs
AFS Intercultural Programs
AFS Intercultural Programs was established in 1915 by A. Piatt Andrew, a onetime economics professor at Harvard University and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury...
-program. Having had several exchange students in her house, since her first experience in France (including exchange students from China, Japan, Switzerland, Belgium, and Austria some staying in their home for an entire year), Nicole decided she wanted to learn the Spanish language fluently and experience the South American culture. She chose Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
as her host country and lived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia with a host family from September 2003 - August 2004. She attended a high school (Isabel Saavedra) in Santa Cruz for part of the time and even took some college courses while learning the Spanish language.
After she returned to the States in 2004 Nicole started attending Ball State University
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
studying telecommunications, theatre, and dance performance. Then, because of her experiences in South America she tested out of several levels of Spanish, and was chosen to go on another exchange. This time, she traveled to Chile, South America where she lived in Santiago and attended UNIACC University while earning college credits through Ball State for one semester. She continued to study theatre there, and helped teach English classes for 6 months from March 2005 – August 2006.
Because of the difference in the semesters, Nicole didn’t make it back in time to start the next fall semester at Ball State. So, she instead decided to pursue other opportunities in modeling. She started by sending in an audition tape to the CW network's America's Next Top Model, and was chosen as a semi-finalist. However, she did not advance any further in the competition and after sending pictures and resumes to many agencies across the country with no replies, she decided to focus on other things for a while. She was then offered a job at St. Joe Regional Medical Center in Plymouth as a Spanish interpreter because of her Spanish language abilities acquired while living in South America. Nicole worked at the hospital as needed for the year and also substitute taught for the Plymouth School Corporation on occasion
It was during this time that Nicole entered the Miss America Organization for the first time and became interested in fashion design because of an experience in designing her evening gown for Miss Indiana 2006. So, in the fall of 2006, Nicole decided to change her major from Theatre and Dance Performance to Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design. She stayed at Ball State for two semesters, Fall 2006 and Spring 2007, earning a 4.0 each semester with her new fashion major. While studying, Nicole decided to enter the Miss Ball State University Pageant, won the title along with the swimsuit & interview preliminary prizes, and went on to the Miss Indiana pageant in June 2007 where she became the first Miss BSU in its 50 year history to win the title of Miss Indiana .
Since then, Nicole served as Miss Indiana for the entire year (June 2007-June 2008) performing numerous tasks as the state's titleholder. She also filmed the reality show "Miss America: Reality Check" in September 2007, which produced 4 episodes that aired in the weeks before the Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
pageant in January. She then represented the state of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in the Miss America Pageant, where she received 1st runner-up, and served the rest of her year as Miss Indiana traveling the state talking to various middle schools about the "Right Decisions, Right Now" program among other things. She then passed her title on to the 2008 representative, Katie Stam
Katie Stam
Katie R. Stam is a beauty queen from Seymour, Indiana, crowned Miss America 2009.-Biography:Growing up, Stam was a 4-H member and showed dairy cattle at the Jackson County Fair....
, but remained the 1st runner-up to the 2008 Miss America until January 2009. Katie Stam, Miss Indiana 2008, went on to win Miss America in 2009 making her the first and only Miss Indiana to be crowned Miss America !
After Nicole completed her duties with the Miss America organization, she moved to Orange County, California
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
to pursue a job opportunity with a clothing company in L.A. which culminated from her appearance on Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
(where she showcased her self-designed evening gown). She was also accepted at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 2008 and studied clothing design. However, wanting to be closer to the city and her first love of theater, she moved to Marina del Rey and then North Hollywood to be closer to L.A. to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. She later moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to follow an modeling opportunity with Urban Talent Agency and while there modeled for companies such as Gold's Gym, , Maggie Sottero Bridal
She filmed the reality show Miss America: Reality Check in September 2007, which produced 4 episodes that aired in the weeks before the Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
pageant in January. She then represented the state of Indiana in the Miss America pageant, where she received 1st runner-up. Since then, she has pursued careers in fashion and entertainment.
Career
Most notably Nicole had a part in the Lionsgate feature film "Warrior" (currently in post production - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1291584/). The movie includes actors such as Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, and Bryan Callen. The story is based on Mixed Martial Arts Fighting and Nicole was a 'ring girl' in the film. She filmed in Pittsburgh, PA for 6 weeks for her part and the film is set to be released in September of 2011 .-Career History-
Because of Nicole's unconventional education plan, she has yet to complete a degree at an accredited educational institution, but has a promising career ahead of her. Having started studying telecommunications and theatre, Nicole has always planned to pursue a career in acting or broadcasting. However, having many different interests and talents, choosing just one career has proved difficult; she had always been fascinated with fashion, enjoyed sewing, and became interested in a career in fashion design while preparing for her first trip to the Miss Indiana Scholarship Pageant:
After winning her first preliminary pageant, Nicole started searching for the perfect evening gown for the Miss Indiana pageant. Having searched at many gown stores, with no luck in finding the idea she had of the dress she wanted, it was suggested to her to go to a couture dress boutique in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. So, Nicole made the trip, with her sketches and ideas in hand, and had the team at 'Mira Couture' make her a halter top, backless, iridescent turquoise, chiffon gown with rhinestone accents. Nicole did so well at the pageant that year (receiving 1st runner-up her first try), had many good reviews from several of the pageant goers, and had such a great experience with the designing of the gown that she decided that perhaps a career in fashion would be perfect for her.
She has since taken classes in textiles, fashion illustration, garment construction, chemistry, economics, and merchandising math to further her understanding of the fashion industry. She also designed her Miss America evening gown (iridescent purple chiffon, sweetheart halter top, Swarovski crystal beading on the halter and bodice) also crafted at Mira Couture in Chicago, and was able to showcase it on national TV during the live pageant finale. Nicole planned on finishing her education at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in L.A., but was drawn in by the opportunities of her first love of performing. So, she has since been taking acting workshops, classes, and was even accepted into The Groundlings School (a prestigious comedy improv school where many well-known comedians learned their craft).
Between auditions and filming, Nicole continues to model. She has been in L.A. Fashion week, various magazines such as LA Weekly, several designer's websites , and most recently filmed an instructional video for "Pure Radicals" hair extensions , an infomercial for "Shadow Tan" spray on tanning , was the model for the "NuBra" website , as well as a model for bridal designer "Maggie Sottero" for her 'destinations' collection .
Job History:
| Job Title | Name of Company | Location | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Arlene Wilson Modeling Agency | Chicago, Illinois | 1999–2002 |
| English Teacher | UNIACC University | Santiago, Chile Santiago, Chile Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level... (South America) |
March 2005 - August 2005 |
| Spanish Interpreter | Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center | Plymouth, Indiana Plymouth, Indiana -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,840 people, 3,838 households, and 2,406 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,414.0 people per square mile . There were 4,100 housing units at an average density of 589.2 per square mile... |
October 2005 - June 2007 |
| Substitute Teacher | Plymouth School Corporation | Plymouth, Indiana Plymouth, Indiana -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,840 people, 3,838 households, and 2,406 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,414.0 people per square mile . There were 4,100 housing units at an average density of 589.2 per square mile... |
October 2005 - May 2008 |
| Miss Indiana 2007[www.missindianapageant.com] | Miss America Organization | Indiana | June 2007 - June 2008 |
| Model/Actress | MSA - www.msaagency.com - Agent: Jennifer Hebert | Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
June 2009 - December 2010 |
| Model/Actress | Urban Talent - www.urbantalent.com - Agent: Tina Bullen | Salt Lake City, UT | Current Job |
| Model/Narrator at Auto Shows for Chrysler Inc. | Gail & Rice Inc. - www.gail-rice.com - Supervisor: Terri Maloy | Southfield, MI | Current Job |
Pageant career
She then entered a small pageant in Mishawaka entitled "Miss Michiana" where she received 2nd runner-up, and later entered the "Miss Sweetheart" pageant, also in Mishawaka, where she won the beauty category entitling her to be represented for the year by the AAA Modeling Agency in Northern Indiana.
Her senior year of high school, Nicole competed in the Plymouth Junior Miss
Junior Miss
Junior Miss is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in The New Yorker. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in The New Yorker, some under her pseudonym of Esther Evarts...
Pageant and was chosen as their representative for the state program that year. She bested a field of 9 girls competing in private interview, a fitness routine (for which she won a preliminary award), talent (for which she gave a vocal performance), evening gown, and on-stage question. She then went to Indiana's Junior Miss later that year.
Nicole also entered the Miss Blueberry Festival pageant that same year where she competed in private interview, evening gown, and sportswear. She placed 2nd in the contest to festival queen Sara Boyer. >
After returning from Bolivia, South America Nicole signed up for the Miss Ball State University pageant her first semester at the college, but was unable to compete when she was chosen for the UNIACC University exchange program in Santiage, Chile.
Upon her return from Chile, Nicole entered the Miss Indiana preliminary Miss North Central Indiana in Plainfield, Indiana and received 2nd runner-up in the well known preliminary. This entitled her to compete in the "Sweeps" pageant in Bluffton, IN which would choose two more contestants for the Miss Indiana pageant from runners-up during that year. There she won the title of Miss Wabash Valley and entered the Miss Indiana Scholarship Pageant for the first time in June 2006. That year she received 1st runner-up to Miss Indiana 2006, Betsy Uschkrat, which qualified her for the National Sweetheart Pageant in Hoopeston, Illinois . The National Sweetheart Pageant serves as a 'mock Miss America' inviting all 1st runners-up from the state pageants to compete with one another in order to hopefully better prepare them for competition the next year. Nicole was chosen as a top 10 finalist at the Sweethaert Pageant that year, and the representative from Georgia, Kelly Bradshaw, captured the title.
The following year, Nicole was fortunate enough to win the first local pageant she competed in, Miss Ball State University. She sang "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill, wore her turquoise state gown from the previous year, and won preliminary awards in swimsuit and interview. She then represented her school at the Miss Indiana Scholarship Pageant that summer; she returned to her original talent, singing "Bandido" by Ana Barbara in new wardrobe which won her a preliminary talent award, and she wore a baby blue one shouldered Tony Bowls evening gown . She was able to beat out a field of 27 contestants and captured the title of Miss Indiana 2007! She was the first Miss Ball State to win the pageant in its 50 year history, and the first person from Plymouth, Indiana as well.
As Miss Indiana, Nicole went on to film a reality series with the Miss America Organization entitled "Miss America: Reality Check" where the 52 contestants were given tips by 3 advisors on changes they need to make for the newer, fresher, more modern image that Miss America needs to have. The series included 4 episodes that aired before the live pageant finale, and each week the top 3 contestants that were progressing the most, and the bottom 3 contestants that needed the most work, were chosen with a final top 3 chosen on the final episode. Nicole, along with Miss Washington and Miss New Mexico, were chosen as those top 3 contestants on the final episode, and were awarded with a $10,000 scholarship from 'Crest White Strips' and a $2,500 shopping spree from 'www.shopintuition.com.'
Nicole then represented the state of Indiana at the Miss America Pageant in January 2008 where she competed in 3 nights of preliminaries before the final Live Pageant Finale on Saturday, January 21. There she was chosen as a Top 16 Finalist, competed in the swimsuit competition, moved on to the Top 10 Finalists, competed in evening gown (where she showcased her self-designed evening gown that she sketched, chose the fabric for, and had made at the Chicago boutique 'Mira Couture'http://www.miracouture.com/gallery/), then survived the Top 8 Finalists cut and competed in the talent competition with her vocal performance of "Bandido" by Ana Bárbara
Ana Bárbara
Ana Bárbara is a Mexican Latin Grammy Award winner, songwriter, producer, and Grammy-nominated recording artist.-Early life and early career:...
. She answered an on-stage question as the final section of competition and was named 1st runner-up to Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund
Kirsten Haglund
Kirsten Lora Haglund is a beauty queen from Farmington Hills, Michigan who was Miss America 2008.-Biography:Haglund graduated from Walled Lake Western High School in 2006 and spent one year pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in...
of Michigan.
After the national pageant, Nicole continued to promote the national platform of Miss America, Children's Miracle Network, in her home state of Indiana as well as throughout the nation. She gave speeches at several middle and elementary schools throughout the state about the "Right Decisions, Right Now" program which emphasized the importance of making good decisions, setting goals for yourself, and choosing to be smoke and tobacco free. She also sang the National Anthem at the Indiana Society of Chicago's annual banquet, at the 4th of July celebration in Zionsville, Indiana (where the state pageant is held), and at other events. She helped with different organizations such as "Hearts and Hands" organizing a Latino Festival and toddler pageant, "The United Way" helping at their campaign launch and the annual United Way of Marshall County motorcycle ride, "Children's Miracle Network" by visiting the CMN hospital in Indiana Riley's helping coordinate a holiday party as well as helping hand out blizzards on "Miracle Treat Day" at the Plymouth Dairy Queen, and more.
Nicole continues to use her title to benefit causes throughout the United States and plans to compete in other pageants to continue to help others through these empowering organizations.