Brother recalls Haglund playing at winning Miss America
Growing up in this Detroit suburb, Kirsten Haglund dressed up as if she was in the Miss America pageant. On Saturday night, she won the real thing.
Haglund, 19, a student at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, won the 2008 Miss America pageant in Las Vegas. She claimed a $50,000 scholarship and a year of travel that comes with the title.
Her brother, Lars Haglund, said his sister would pretend she had been crowned Miss America when they were kids. The family displayed pictures of the siblings' grandmother, Iora Hunt — who was named Miss Michigan in 1944."When we were younger, shed dress up like she was Miss America in the dress," Lars Haglund told the Detroit Free Press during a telephone interview Saturday night.
Haglund is the reigning Miss Oakland County and was crowned Miss Michigan last June in Muskegon. She is a graduate of Western High School in Walled Lake, where school officials recalled her as a good student and citizen.
"Its a testimony to her ability and she was always a good student and citizen of our building," Western principal Leit Jones said. "Were very proud of her. Shes done well for her school, community and family."
Miss Michigan representatives accompanied Haglund and her family to Las Vegas for Saturday's pageant.
"We're all thrilled beyond words," Shelley Taylor, state executive director of Miss Michigan, told the Free Press. "There isnt anyone more deserving."
Source: http://www.mlive.com
A special celebrity edition of Fox�s Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is set to hit TV screens on January 17 8:00-9:00PM ET/PT. Celebrity contestants this season have included Clay Aiken and Kellie Pickler (both of American Idol fame), Regis Philbin (Live with Regis and Kelly), TV personality Billy Bush, skateboarder Tony Hawk, and this week, Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson.
The hit game show, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, is a game show that tests an adult�s knowledge against - you guessed it - a 5th grader�s. Contestants are asked questions in subjects from math to social studies to art, with the questions ranging from first to fifth grade-level. Watch as Lauren earns cash for the Miss America Scholarship Fund, which makes available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance at the state, local and national levels, helping young women all across the country to reach their dreams and goals.
Tune in this Thursday, January 17, to see Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? on FOX. - By MissAmerica.org News