By Barbara Davis
Katie Millar packed her bags for a long awaited trip to Las Vegas. But her bags weren?t packed with swimsuits and sunglasses; rather, sequined dresses, business suits and shiny jewels.
Millar, a 20-year-old BYU student crowned Miss Utah 2006, will battle for the crown at the Miss America Scholarship Pageant in Las Vegas, Nev., tonight, airing on CMT.
For a girl who has only watched the Miss America pageant once, Millar has done her homework to prepare for the competition.
?She spends between six to eight hours a day getting ready for Miss America,? said Millar?s mother, Rita Millar.
She said her daughter practices her electric violin a couple hours everyday, listens to music to train her ear, performs mock interviews, keeps up with issues going on in the world, trains at the gym about 10 hours a week and attends fittings for various costumes. The preparation is so time consuming that state title-holders usually take a semester to a year of school off to prepare for the Miss America pageant.
Miss America contestants arrived in Las Vegas six days before the pageant for rehearsals, promotional opportunities and other relevant activities for the competition, Katie Millar said. A lot of work and effort goes into preparing for pageants and even more effort is required after winning a title.
?Miss Utah is not just ribbon cutting and being pretty,? said Leean Gray, Miss Utah scheduling and traveling companion.
Gray said Millar has spent her year as Miss Utah working with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She has been a spokesperson for the organization and has visited schools to raise money for research and raise awareness among children. She has also been working with Down syndrome students who have diabetes. Along with working on her platform, Millar has been taking violin lessons to refine her 10 years of violin training.
Millar began her journey to Miss America by being crowned Miss Timpanogos and then Miss Utah. She has also done Junior Miss Pageants.
?Once you win a local pageant you keep going,? Rita Millar said. ?Katie has continued and kept working hard.?
Millar is majoring in neuroscience and plans to get a doctorate in neuropsychology. Her interest in pageants was sparked when she learned about the scholarship money that was available to help pay for her education.
?Miss America is not about the image of a girl,? Katie Millar said. ?It is about education.?
She said the Miss America organization is different from other pageants because it focuses more on education rather than outward beauty and image. The money pageant participants receive is solely for education. Millar has greatly benefited from the scholarship money and has earned about $17,500 through her experience.