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A natural friendIf Rebekah Keller wins the Miss USA title, she will be bringing it home to its birthplace. She is from the Long Beach area of California, where the Miss USA Pageant was launched back in 1952. The Miss Universe Pageant started at the same time and same place, and of course Ms. Keller would like that one, too. But first things first. Though she is a teacher by profession, she has been performing since age 4, and she's exploring opportunities for an entertainment career before she settles down to the full-time academic life. "I only have my youth once," she says, " and I would love to try musical theater." |  |
 | Pageants and beauty titles have given her lots of visibility. While serving as Miss Welcome to Long Beach, she greeted visitors from around the world. And as California Walnut Queen, she represented that irresistible snack food at personal appearances in Japan and South Korea. Walnuts are delicious, but animals are Ms. Keller's real weakness. "I'm a free-lance rescuer of stray animals," she says. She has four dogs at the moment, but she has sheltered everything from chickens to fish to tarantulas. One of her most memorable house guests was a crow who had been abused by humans. |
| When she found him, he had a broken wing and a broken leg and was starving. She nursed him back to health. He learned to trust her, and he even learned to talk. "He knew two words," she recalls. "He would say 'Bekah,' because he had heard my name, and he would say 'sit,' because he heard me say it to the dogs." The crow is now gone, but his last words were "Bring that Miss USA title back home to Long Beach." (OK, so we're stretching it a little bit. But we're sure that's what he was thinking.) Swimsuit photos courtesy of Rebekah Keller; pink dress photo courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP |  |
Strong when it countsWhen she was 16, Juel Casamayor, Miss District of Columbia USA, won a national beauty title. When she was 18, she was diagnosed with cancer. She took both experiences in stride. |
| Ms. Casamayor beat cervical cancer, and she is now active in the Cervical Cancer Association. (She is also active in the fight against endometriosis, a gynecological condition from which has periodically suffered.) Today, she is healthier and stronger than ever. She's working on an MBA and is a cheerleader for the Washington Redskins. |  |
 | She also stayed active in the pageant world, where she has made many friends. In 1997, while living in Atlanta (and working as an assistant to the city's mayor), she was Miss Fulton County in the Miss Georgia Pageant. In late 1999, she was crowned Miss District of Columbia USA. |
| Besides being a winner, she's a budding pageant organizer, and hopes to become a leader in the field. She's also an outdoor enthusiast who likes to disappear into the woods occasionally to hike in solitude. Is there anything she's missing out on? Surprisingly, she's not much involved in politics, even though she has experience in government and lives in Washington, the most political city in the world. "I'm just too busy," she says. "I care about issues, and it's interesting on Capitol Hill, but I can't get distracted right now." Is there anything she's itching to jump into? "I have a passion for acting," she says. Photo at right by Joe Whiteko, | 
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| Beauty without boundaries A few years ago, Tiffany Meyer was Miss Missouri Teen USA. Now she's Miss Kansas USA. But she's not a "carpetbagger," and she hasn't strayed far from her roots. She's a beauty queen from the borderlands. "I was born in Kansas City, Missouri," she says. That's about as close to Kansas as you can get without being there, and when she was growing up in her native state, she traveled into Kansas more times than she could count. Now that she lives in Kansas, she finds herself making frequent trips into Missouri. It's a rare day when she doesn't cross the state line. |
| She has made a difference in the lives of children from both states. She works as a pediatric nurse in a major hospital, and she has used her role as Miss Kansas USA to speak publicly about the preventable tragedies that are taking the lives of youngsters. "Everything you see in the news, I've seen up close," she says of her hospital work. "Abuse cases, everything." Ms. Meyer wants to continue in the medical field, earn a Master's degree and become a nurse practitioner. She would prefer that profession to a career as a doctor because there are more chances for interaction with patients, especially children. |  |
 | But she's also a model, an occasional actress and a nationally known beauty queen. Hollywood may come calling on this knockout blonde in spite of her other plans. Is there a TV show that she could see herself in? "Maybe E.R.," she says. "It's pretty realistic."
Photos courtesy of Tiffany Meyer |
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