Mariah Cary is having an exciting year.
On Saturday, January 12, Cary will compete in Las Vegas for the title of Miss America.
In June of 2012 she was named Miss Iowa, earning her the right to represent the state in the Miss America competition.
It’s a year she always wanted to happen, but hadn’t expected.
“I wanted to do this for the experience,” she said of entering the Miss Muscatine, then Miss Iowa scholarship competitions. “I was going in thinking just that and I ended up winning.”
Since then, Cary has been traveling around the state of Iowa—and now to Las Vegas to compete in the Miss America competition—as Miss Iowa, talking to various groups about her passions.
One of her most important roles as Miss Iowa is to promote her platform, Tourette Syndrome: The Involuntary Companion Syndrome. She’s spent the last six months touring the state to share her story and inspire others. “I realized I can help people by sharing my experience. As Miss Iowa I’ve been able to reach out to a lot of people.” She said she’s done and will continue to do a lot of speaking to schools about bullying, and also presents to rotary clubs, optimist clubs and the like. She’s even spoken at an anime convention. “I tell people to embrace your imperfections. What would the world be if we were all perfect?”
It might seem like a strange message coming from a beautiful 20-year-old girl. But Cary knows first hand what it’s like to deal with imperfections. At the age of eight, Cary was diagnosed with a mild motor tick, a form of Tourette Syndrome. “I was extremely uncomfortable and hid it for 12 years,” she said. “I had low self esteem and was embarrassed.”
Today Cary is inspired by her struggles and is proud to share them with others. “We’ve all faced adversity and faced challenges in our life that we can overcome,” she said. Competing in the Miss America competition, she said, was like a dream come true. “I was so excited to have the opportunity to be on that stage and share my platform with America. It’s something I’ve hidden for 12 years and it’s a big step for me.”
Her family was an essential support system for her. “After my diagnosis my family encouraged me to do what I loved. They knew if I didn’t that my diagnosis could take over my life. My family instilled such good values in me. They were my rock.”
It was at the encouragement of her grandparents, in fact, that Cary first got involved with beauty pageants that same year. “I didn’t want to do it at first. I was more of a sporty girl,” said Cary. “But my grandparents wanted me to try for Little Miss Burlington and they finally talked me into it. I competed in pageants up through high school.” Over the years, Cary has held the titles of Lil Miss Burlington, Lil Miss Iowa, Jr. Miss Iowa, Teen Miss Burlington, and Miss Muscatine.
She has also learned there are a lot of misunderstanding about the pageants in which she competes. “A lot of people have one perception because of what’s portrayed in the media,” said Cary. “But I enjoy sharing what the program is about. When people hear that it is much more than being pretty and wearing pretty dresses they become completely supportive of it.” Cary said there is a lack of knowledge that the competitions are education and scholarship based. “All of us who compete have big dreams and aspirations to give back to our communities.”
In fact, in the last year Cary has been awarded more than $17,000 worth of scholarships towards her private university education through the Miss Iowa and Miss America program. “I’ve paid off my tuition bill. It’s wonderful.”
Cary enrolled at Mount Mercy University in 2011 after starting her undergraduate degree at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids on a volleyball scholarship. “My family had suggested Mount Mercy,” she said. “I wanted to compete for Miss Iowa so I wanted to stay in the state. I also wanted to study public relations and Mount Mercy has a good program.”
While she had to take the 2012-2013 academic school year off to fulfill her role as Miss Iowa, Cary said Mount Mercy has been a great fit for her.
“It has been a phenomenal experience so far,” she said. “I definitely learn better with smaller class sizes. I enjoy knowing everyone in my class and the faculty and staff are wonderful. They have time to help you outside of class and they know everything about you. I didn’t know anyone going into Mount Mercy and now I am in classes where everyone is accepting of others.”
Not surprisingly, Cary has gained quite the following of supporters at Mount Mercy and is proud to have represented her school when competing for the Miss America title. “Mount Mercy has been so supportive,” she said. “It’s incredible. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people supporting me.”
After her reign as Miss Iowa is over in June of this year, she plans on returning to class to finish her degree in Public Relations with a minor in Spanish. “I do want to get my Masters but I want to start my career first.” Cary said she’s interested in pharmaceutical and medical sales.
Where ever her career path takes her after Mount Mercy, Cary is already poised for success.