Cornfields to crowns: Miss Nebraska reflects on 2013 Miss America bid

Despite national fame and regional accolades, Miss Nebraska 2012 Mariah Cook plans to exchange her crown for a lectern by continuing to educate people on the importance of adoption.

Cook, a CSC senior, initially intended to teach high school history; however, after a bid for Miss America 2013, Cook said the experience prompted her to reevaluate her plans and pursue social work instead.

“I still want to be a teacher, but I have spent a lot of time in the first half of my reign working with the Nebraska Children’s Home, which is the organization I was adopted through and the foundation of my platform,” Cook stated in a Jan. 16 interview. “I have realized that I might want to work with them instead of becoming a classroom teacher.”

As Miss Nebraska 2012, Cook has a list of responsibilities taller than a pair of five-inch stilettos. Her to-do list isn’t made any shorter due to Nebraska’s geography, which takes Cook nine hours to cross its distance.

“Miss Rhode Island gets to spend every night in her bed because it takes her 45 minutes to cross her state, while I will stay the night with relatives or in a hotel because it takes nine hours to cross out state,” Cook said. “The one thing that is consistent across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico is our work for our individual platforms and our advocacy for the Children’s Miracle Network.”

After spending more than a week in Las Vegas for 2013’s Miss America competition, which culminated Jan. 12 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Cook said she learned three things: “The job of Miss America might not be the right job for me; sometimes things that appear really scary and nerve racking are often times the things that we enjoy most in life; and a tent full of America’s best qualified women for the job of Miss America is not one big cat fight.”