Miss Iowa 2013 Winner, Nicole Kelly, First One-Armed Beauty Queen to Compete for Miss America
Nicole Kelly was recently crowned Miss Iowa over the weekend and in the process, became the first one-armed beauty queen to compete for the Miss America title.
After being crowned Miss Iowa in Davenport, Kelly is using her newfound exposure to highlight the limitless possibilities for people struggling with disabilities by using her own story to inspire others with shortcomings to overcome anything.
Kelly was able to use her time as a contestant to focus her energy on inspiring others as well as starting a conversation over the place disabled people have in beauty pageants and society.
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"As I grew up I learned to counterbalance the initial stares I received from people with an outgoing personality that would not give into 'no.' This means that I tried everything," Kelly posted on her official Miss Iowa page.
She also goes on to explain that her dream career is in theater and that she wants to become a Broadway stage manager.
"From baseball, to dance, to diving – there is nothing I would not try. I found my passion within a world where I was giving people permission to stare: the stage," eKelly wrote.
However, she never envisioned herself becoming Miss Iowa.
"If you would have told me a year ago that 'pageant queen' was in my future I would have laughed. So maybe I didn't see this path coming my direction, but now that I am here I can see it is a perfect fit and I feel so blessed to have been surrounded by people who have encouraged my steps," she says.
In September Kelly will face the other 49 contestants for a chance to be named Miss America.
