Designs from New Hampshire

If Melissa Robbins weren't competing against the other Miss USA delegates, she might be dressing them. Actually, they would still be dressing themselves, but she would be creating things for them to wear.

Ms. Robbins is an aspiring fashion designer. She has already begun her academic courses, and eventually she will be opening her own show, complete with models on the runway. In a fashion design program, that is the equivalent of a bar exam. (Only the briefs are different.)

Unlike many designers, Ms. Robbins is able to see things from a model's perspective, because she's a model. In 1999, she was picked from a random snapshot and wound up in the Top 10 at the "L.A. Looks" competition on the West Coast. Then came the Miss New Hampshire USA Pageant.

Whether you're a model, a designer or just the girl next door, fear of the swimsuit is the great equalizer.

Break a leg

An old performer once told us that experience is the best vaccine against stage fright. If that’s the case, Gina Giacinto has had all her shots.

"I grew up doing musicals," says Miss Nevada USA. She literally broke a leg as a 4-year-old song-and-dance girl. Today, on two fine legs, she dances with the Radio City Rockettes. She has also hosted two TV talks shows focusing on show business.

Ms. Giacinto lives in Las Vegas, which is a congenial place for an entertainer. She’s finishing up her studies in broadcasting at UNLV, and working at a local television station.

Eventually, she plans to combine her love of show business and her enthusiasm for the news. "I’d like to be an entertainment reporter," she says. "That’s my comfort zone." As we see it, the whole world is her comfort zone.

Miss Nevada USA photos courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

Nebraska’s ranking beauty

Suejoing Drakeford has an unusual first name. Some people shorten it to "Sue," but we like the full version. It’s Korean. Her mother is from South Korea.

Growing up in a bicultural household, Ms. Drakeford developed a taste for spicy dishes that still seem exotic to most Americans. "Kimchi chigae [a rather fiery soup] is one of my favorite foods," she says. "I’ve got some at home in the refrigerator."

"I was Miss Fort Rucker and Miss Fort Hood," she recalls, mentioning the names of two large Army bases in the South. She was never Miss Korea, but she did get a chance to live in her mother’s homeland for a year.

When she was old enough, she followed in her father’s footsteps and joined the military. She spent four years in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in such far-flung places as Egypt and Nebraska. And she fell in love with Nebraska, which she made her home after leaving the service. (If she had chosen Egypt instead, the history of pageants might be very different.)

Maybe Americans were a little safer when Ms. Drakeford was in uniform defending them, but she looks terrific in civvies. Life is full of tradeoffs.

Miss Nebraska USA photo courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP