The newly crowned Miss America is taking her win in stride. Caressa Cameron is the third Virginian to win the Miss America title, and the first from the Fredericksburg area.
The 22-year-old was even able to wow pageant judge Rush Limbaugh. The controversial conservative radio host told the Washington Post that Cameron won simply because she “has it all. Extraordinarily good conversationalist, amazing presence, unique and classic beauty, glamour… and the girl can sing!”
Yet Cameron felt her crowning moment was surreal.
“You’re sitting there and praying, ‘Thy will be done, thy will be done.’ That’s what I kept saying,” Cameron told an entertainment blogger. “It was like God’s will for me to be Miss America at this time, and I’m so excited and so blessed to be.”
The Virginia Commonwealth University senior’s prayers were answered after losing three Miss Virginia pageants before winning last year.
“There were a lot of times I left Miss Virginia [pageants] feeling like there was nothing else I could’ve done,” said Cameron during her first official press conference as Miss America. “All I could do was be myself and wait until somebody recognized I was what was needed. I didn’t go home and change myself.”
The newly crowned Miss America’s BlackBerry is booked for the next year. She’s going to tour the country on behalf of the Miss America organization’s partner charity, The Children’s Miracle Network. And she’s going raise awareness about her platform, AIDS and HIV.
It’s a personal platform for her. Fredericksburg.com reported Cameron’s uncle died of AIDS when she was 8 years old.
Cameron considers her family to be her backbone: “I am so thankful for them, for keeping me grounded, for keeping me centered, and for making sure that I always look my best, always say the right thing – and never to anything embarrassing.”
Cameron is majoring in broadcast journalism at VCU. She wants to become an anchor.
