Pageant News Bureau - Miss Teen USA 2004, Page 7

Midwestern angels

Once there were three Midwestern girls who went to the Police Academy . . .

Actually, it wasn't the Police Academy, it was the Miss Teen USA Pageant. But their hair was beautiful. And so were they.

Nature lover

Carissa Kelley wants to be a zoologist, a scientist who specializes in the animal kingdom. She has an interest in preserving wild creatures in their natural habitat.

It occurred to us that we should ask her a zoological question, just to show our breadth of knowledge. But the only question we could think of was "What kind of dog do you have?" It turned out she has three, a Siberian husky, a Chihuahua and a Maltese-Chihuahua mix.

Ms. Kelley is getting her education in an unusual way. She is home-schooled in academic subjects, mostly by her mother. But she plays in the orchestra at the local high school (no orchestra at home) and she takes dance lessons from a private teacher. This girl from the "flat farm country" of Kansas is more culturally connected than most people in the big city.

We were curious how she got into pageants, originally at the age of 9. "It was my decision," she said. "I started just for fun, and I had a blast." That's the best short explanation that we've ever heard.

This girl knows what she wants. In April, she was at the Miss USA Pageant in Los Angeles. She also checked out Palm Springs, like a boxer dropping by the ring the night before the match, just to see how the ropes feel. "It got me all pumped," she said of this trip.

In case you don't remember, the last aspiring zoologist who was featured on PNB went on to win fame and a lot of money. So watch Ms. Kelley very closely. (Of course, you would be doing that anyway.)

Photos courtesy of Carissa Kelley

Buddy-buddy

A few years ago, a friend of Alissa Reitmeier's got a pageant flier in the mail. She wanted to compete, but she was shy. So she talked Ms. Reitmeier into entering with her. It's what they call the buddy system. "She thought it would help her come out of her shell," Ms. Reitmeier recalls, "but then she forgot to send in her application, so I wound up competing on my own. I was pretty mad."

The easygoing young blonde didn't hold a grudge, especially after she won the contest herself. She beat out 139 other girls to claim the title of Miss Missouri Junior Teen. A pageant career had been born.

As she continued competing, Ms. Reitmeier found a new buddy -- more like a big sister -- a girl named Shandi Finnessey. "I'll never forget the day I met her. She was so pretty."

The two beauties' pageant careers have intertwined ever since. "She can't shake me," Ms. Reitmeier says of her fellow Missourian. When Ms. Finnessey won Miss Metro St. Louis, on her way to bigger things in the Miss America system, Ms. Reitmeier won Junior Miss Metro St. Louis. When Ms. Finnessey was crowned Miss Missouri USA, Ms. Reitmeier was crowned Miss Missouri Teen USA.

And now Ms. Finnessey is Miss USA. She will be on hand Aug. 6 in Palm Springs to help crown the new Miss Teen USA. Will this be the year of Big Mo and Little Mo? America is aching to know.

Ms. Reitmeier just hopes she can take the heat -- of Palm Springs. "I don't deal well with heat," she says. "Some girls worry about their hair going limp. I worry about hitting the floor."

Photos courtesy of Alissa Reitmeier

Ah, sweet mystery!

Talking to Meagan Winings is like a voyage of discovery in friendly waters. She doesn't try to steer the conversation. She doesn't hold anything back. She just lets you find out things on your own.

When we wanted to talk about Nebraska, she was happy to talk about Nebraska. She lives in the bread basket of America, and her dad is in the fertilizer business. As she described her small but bustling hometown, we almost wanted to move there.

When we asked about her career goals, Ms. Winings told us about her love of children and her dream of being a pediatrician. When we asked about her pageant experience, she mentioned every win and every show, speaking slowly so we could take it all down.

With Carissa Kelley
Photo by Joe Whiteko / PNB

Finally, when we asked her about places she likes outside Nebraska, she said, "Rio."

Rio? As in Rio de Janeiro? Yes, she was talking about that sultry city in Brazil. The place where she once went gliding, high above the blue sea and the white beaches and the Sugarloaf.

And when we asked her where she would be going to college, she said, "Pepperdine, in the fall." She loves the blue Pacific waters, the cosmopolitan atmosphere. And California.

So this Nebraska girl is almost a California girl, and don't you wish they all could be like her? We would never have known it if we hadn't asked.

Who knows what else we will find out about Ms. Winings? We can't wait to see her at Miss Teen USA.

First two photos courtesy of Meagan Winings

Aug. 6, 2004, in Palm Springs, Calif.