Miss America Cara Mund made a special appearance in Williston, North Dakota on November 3,2017. She has a personal history here, being crowned Miss North Dakota on the Bakken Elementary School auditorium stage. WHS Journalism took part in the news conference, along with KUMV-TV, the Williston Herald, Williston State College and other local representatives.

Miss Mund shared her mindset during the Miss America pageant, taking one step at a time and never giving up. She remained confident in herself. All along the way, Miss Mund felt that she was already a winner, making history as the first representative from North Dakota to be named in the top five.

Her legacy serving as Miss America involves encouraging young women in rural areas to believe in themselves, hopefully seeing Cara Mund, a girl from Bismarck, North Dakota who became Miss America, as someone to look up to. “If you can dream it, you can do it!”

Miss Mund shared her dream to become the first female governor of North Dakota! She previously interned with former Governor John Hoeven.

One important aspect of her life is contributing time and energy to the North Dakota Make-A-Wish Foundation, a role which has now evolved into a national level as goodwill ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. WHS Reporter Elizabeth Leko participated in the local news conference, asking Miss America how she got started with the Make-A-Wish organization.  Miss Mund shared that her work with Make-A-Wish began when a friend was battling cancer and there was not enough funding to make her wish come true. Mund views the work at Make-A-Wish more than volunteering; it is “like changing lives, this is giving hope and inspiration.” 

Elizabeth Leko, WHS Reporter, asked Miss Mund what advice she had for students at Williston High. Miss America responded, “You are the only one who can limit yourself. There have been numerous people along the way who said I couldn’t do something. I trained with the Radio City Rockettes and they told me I was too short to be a Rockette. I just keep reminding myself that if that’s not the opportunity for me there was something so much greater. I didn’t become a Rockette, but I get to be in the Macy’s Day Parade on a float as Miss America, so I think I was the real winner there!”

Elizabeth Leko asked the final question of the news conference: “Who inspired you in high school?

Miss America Cara Mund stated, “My Make-A-Wish parents were very inspirational to me just because it’s really hard as a parent to watch a child go through a life-threatening illness, and the strength that they had. I’ve always said my celebrity role model is Emma Watson, and I think that’s also partly why I went to Brown (laughing); I thought she (Watson) was a life mentor. She works for women’s rights in the UN. She’s well-educated. I wanted to be just like Emma Watson. Then, my mom was also a huge inspiration. She’s been supporting me the whole way, and while there were other people telling me I couldn’t she was always my cheerleader, and my dad, too.”

Miss America wrapped up the news conference with an extension to Elizabeth Leko’s question, stating that her parents didn’t like the spotlight. Before the final night of the Miss America pageant, her mom told Miss Mund that it was okay if she didn’t make the top fifteen because they didn’t want to be on TV! The newsroom erupted in laughter!

Elizabeth Leko reflected on the experience: “Having the opportunity to meet and interview Miss America was amazing. Not only were all her responses heartfelt and meaningful, they were funny and brought smiles to the room. In my opinion, she is just as nice and beautiful as she portrays on national TV. I respect that she wanted to recognize North Dakota and acknowledge where it [her success] all came from. It helped to show how warm-hearted she is. The words she spoke about not giving up helped open my eyes and realize that you don’t always get what you want and it’s okay not to be accepted the first try. It’s all about dedication and not giving up on the goals you want to pursuit.”

Great insight, Elizabeth Leko! What a memorable event and what a remarkable role model Miss America, Cara Mund, is!

Click on the “Videos” section of the HOWL for more interview details.

Photo Credits of Miss America: Laura Bearce