Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Pageant Finale continued from Page 26 After arriving in Branson, Mo., Jan. 19, Carraway said the women attended rehearsals, which lasted about eight hours each day, and had required publicity events in the evenings. A lot goes into getting ready for this caliber of a pageant, Carraway said a few days before the pageant. We sometimes don ' t return until 11:30 or 12 at night, and that ' s the time when we ' re supposed to return messages and do the things we need to do. I took my pillow to rehearsal this morning because I was so tired. Security was tight, and guards accompanied candidates any time they were in public, Carraway said. This pageant is huge, so we had 24-hour security, she said. I literally could not go to the restroom without having a security guard escort me. Duke Myers, Carraway ' s grandfather, said due to the security, family members did not get to see Carraway much before the pageant. They kind of kept the girls away from the general public, he said. We had to sign her out to see her, and we only got to see her for a few minutes here and there between rehearsals. Caraway was not a stranger to the pageant circuit. She won the Miss Kansas Teen title at age 16 and was crowned Miss Kansas USA Sept. 26 in Wichita. She said those experiences gave her confidence. I think once you reach this level, you don ' t really get nervous, she said. I was actually more scared because I didn ' t get butterflies. I think that you ' re so prepared and you have rehearsed this thing so many times that it just seems like it ' s another rehearsal. Kristy Waggoner, Carraway ' s roommate and senior in elementary education, said Carraway ' s confidence was noticeable to the audience. She is very comfortable onstage, she said. There ' s a look on the girls who are uncomfortable and scared, and Amanda just doesn ' t have that look. Though she was confident onstage, Waggoner said it was especially important for Carraway, whose parents and sister died in a car accident when she was 15, to have family and friends attend the pageant. Amanda is such a strong person that she could go on and do this alone, she said before the pagent. But I think she ' ll be more relaxed if she has everyone there to support her. Family and friends attended the preliminary competition, which included the one-on-one interview, swimsuit and evening gown events. After the final event Feb. 1, Carraway said all she could do was wait. It ' s hard because our scores are locked in the computer, tabulated and already determined, she said. It ' s out of my hands now. I feel like I did the best job that I could do, and whatever is meant for me will happen. Monty Beisel, Carraway ' s boyfriend and sophomore in journalism and mass communications, said Carraway ' s pageant director was optimistic after preliminaries. He told me that he thought Amanda had a real good chance of winning the preliminary swimsuit competition, Beisel said. That would be big because I know she will do well in interview and is excited about her dress for the evening gown. I think she has a real shot. Carraway said she was disappointed when she was not chosen as a finalist, but she was not disappointed in her performance. I did the best I could, and I wouldn ' t have changed anything, she said. I think things work out how they are supposed to. Christa Quinn, Carraway ' s former roommate and senior in accounting and marketing, said she hoped Carraway could take some time off after the pageant. I know the last couple of weeks have been really hard, and she is very tired, she said. I hope she can take a break for a while now and spend some time with her family. Carraway said she did not plan to take time off and would remain busy with her duties as Miss Kansas USA. She also intended to pursue acting and modeling. I have a feeling there is something bigger and better waiting, she said. I just need to find it. 29 miss usa pageant Country singer Collin Raye performs All My Roads during a rehearsal of the competition. A Venezuelan designer provided Carraway ' s navy velvet gown for the pageant.

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Greeting her family after dress Feb. 5, Amanda Carraway, Miss Kansas USA and in and mass hugs her cousin, German. German and her family traveled from St. Louis to Branson, Mo. Shemar Moore, an actor on the daytime drama The Young and the Restless, hosts the 48th Miss USA Pageant Feb. 5. Carraway spoke with Moore about acting at the Coronation Ball after the pageant. I want to be on a soap opera, she said. Shemar told me how to go about things and who to talk to. Carraway waves to her family in the hotel lobby. Although it was less than six hours before the pageant, Carraway said she did not feel nervous. The bus ride to the Grand Palace seemed really long, and it was just across the street, she said. I was anxious to get there. Congratulating her after rehearsal, Carraway ' s boyfriend Monty Beisel, sophomore in journalism and mass communications, kisses Carraway. Beisel attended the preliminary competition, dress rehearsal and the pageant to support Carraway. It was amazing to watch her on stage, Beisel said after preliminaries. She was so smooth and confident. She really knows how to handle herself. 28 student life

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Shaping the wax, Lisa Gaume, senior in arts and the candle she made Feb. 1 in the K-State Union Courtyard. UPC the event, which drew more than 400 (Photo by Jill Jarsulic) 30 student fife