OXFORD, Neb.—When this year’s Miss Nebraska talks about her new “job,” her eyes twinkle and she flashes a dimpled smile.
“This is my new job,” Gretchen Bergquist said in her parent’s farm home near Oxford. “I’m having a blast.”
Bergquist, 23, was crowned Miss Nebraska in North Platte on June 7. She will represent the state in the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas on Jan. 24. Until then, she is living a whirlwind schedule of personal appearances, working with coaches, spending hours on the phone and shopping.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m getting tired of shopping,” Bergquist said.
She grew up as one of Bob and Martha Bergquist’s nine children, now ranging in ages from 11 to 27, on the family farm.
Until she entered the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Bergquist was home-schooled. Her major at UNK is organizational communications, which she says can be used in sales or marketing. Her minor is in health sciences. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy.
As a child, Bergquist said, she never wanted to be the center of attention. For many who know her, the idea of pursuing the title of either Miss Nebraska or Miss America seem out of character when she entered a local pageant in her freshman year at UNK.
“I wasn’t sure what I was doing, I just wanted to try it,” Bergquist said. “Dad said to give it a try and to apply myself. I ended up winning and discovered it was a lot of fun.”
Before winning that first pageant, Bergquist said, she didn’t realize the Miss America organization was the No. 1 scholarship program for young women in the country or that every state winner chooses a community service or issue she will work on for the year of her reign.
“There’s a lot more to it than wearing a crown and walking gracefully,” Bergquist said.
However, in addition to a vocal coach, interview coach and personal trainer, she also has two people coaching her how to walk in 4-inch heels gracefully.
“It wasn’t just the crown I wanted,” Bergquist said. “I wanted the job.”
The “job” (community service) she chose is promoting blood donation. Bergquist said she didn’t realize until getting involved in the Miss America program how many people take blood donation for granted and don’t take the time to donate.
“I didn’t realize how low the country’s blood supply is,” she said. “As Miss Nebraska, I have the opportunity to speak out on the importance of donating.”
Bergquist will also participate in a Miss America reality television program in Los Angeles from Sept. 10 through Oct. 10.
Everything is in preparation for the Miss America pageant.
“There is no better way to get ready for a new job than to do the job,” Bergquist said. “I’m doing my Miss Nebraska job while preparing for Miss America, and that preparation is just fun.”
She’s most looking forward to the talent section of the Miss America pageant because she loves singing and enjoys performing for people. Bergquist won the overall talent contest in North Platte with a song titled “Feeling Good,” and she will perform the song in Las Vegas.
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Information from: Kearney Hub,
