Virginia Commonwealth Student Crowned Miss America
Posted by Jasmine Ball - Washington Informer on Feb 4, 2010, 10:56
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| Virginia Commonwealth student Caressa Cameron was crowned Miss America during the 2010 Miss America Pageant, Saturday Jan. 30 in Las Vegas.Courtesy Photo |
Caressa Cameron, a broadcast journalism student at Virginia Commonwealth University, now plans a second year away from college as she travels the world to raise money for charity and wears America’s crown.
The 22-year-old Fredericksburg Va., native, who once said that her only talent was singing, finds herself in an enviable position as Miss America 2010. She was crowned during the 89th Miss America Pageant at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., Sat., Jan. 30.
Cameron emerged from a group of 53 contestants who were selected for their beauty, poise, compassion and interview savvy.
Even conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, one of the pageant judges said that Cameron won because she “has it all.”
The first African American Miss America since Ericka Dunlap in 2005, Cameron said that she wants to get a Master's degree and eventually become a TV news anchor.
Cameron won the coveted title and a $50,000 scholarship after strutting across the stage in a skintight yellow dress, belting out Beyonce’s ballad "Listen" from Dreamgirls and advising parents to limit video games and television when asked about childhood obesity during an onstage interview.
Cameron, the daughter of a researcher for the government and a contractor, said she was inspired to compete in pageants at age 14, when Miss Virginia 2003 Nancy Redd visited her school.
“We need to get our kids back outside, playing with sticks in the street like I did when I was little. Expand your mind, go outside and get to see what this world is like,” she said.
Cameron reportedly won her state's title on her fourth try, and said that she saw pageantry as a way to raise money and awareness for her platform issue, AIDS awareness. She said the issue is personal for her because her uncle died of AIDS and her family fostered a young girl who lives with the disease.
Cameron was crowned by Miss America 2009 Katie Stam. Cameron was also recognized by Congress in 2007, for her work in bringing instant-result HIV testing to her home state of Virginia.
The Miss America pageant started in 1921 as a publicity stunt to persuade tourists on Atlantic City's Boardwalk to stick around after Labor Day.
The last Miss America from Virginia was Nicole Johnson in 1999.
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