June 26, 2008
Erin Nurss, Miss Arizona 2009 |
Erin Nurss, who holds a bachelor's degree in nutrition from The University of Arizona (UA) and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health at the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, was announced as the 2009 winner of the Miss Arizona pageant on Saturday, June 21, 2008.
Nurss, a Tucson resident, will represent Arizona at the Miss America 2009 pageant on January 24, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Being on that stage dancing and competing for Miss America has been a dream since I was seven years old,” Nurss, who also was an honors student at the UA, said of the next challenge awaiting her.
This year marked the Miss Arizona pageant's 70th anniversary. |
Sixteen contestants from throughout the state competed for the title, including two other UA students. Second runner-up Stephanie Brooks is seeking a UA degree in fine arts and fourth runner-up Katie Blodgett is an honors student majoring in marketing and musical theater at the UA.
Nurss, who was born in Sierra Vista, Arizona, was a member of the UA Pom Line from 2003-2007 and built her Miss Arizona platform from her studies at the UA and the work she did to promote healthy habits to youth. “I worked with the Girl Scouts of America to teach nutrition and physical activity with the aim of promoting positive self image through a program I developed called ‘Be Fit, Fueled and Fabulous.’ The program worked to counter media notions of what being fit and healthy means and also gave them the tools to do so,” Nurss said.
Nurss credits her advisors and studies at the UA Mel and Enid ZuckermanCollege of Public Health with the development and strength of her pageant platform message, which promotes healthy habits for young girls. A contestant's platform is the core message and cause supported and promoted by the contestant throughout the competition and the winner’s reign.
She has completed the first of two years of graduate study at the UA and will suspend the remaining year of study to focus on her Miss Arizona duties, which include the filming of a reality series for the TLC network called “Miss America: Reality Check.”
Nurss will dedicate her time as Miss Arizona traveling throughout the state to promote her health habits platform and also to raise money for the organization’s scholarships and her charity, the Children’s Miracle Network. |
Erin Nurss receives the
Miss Arizona 2009 crown from last year's winner, Nicole Turner,
Miss Arizona 2008. |
“I also will use the opportunity to recruit more contestants from throughout the state to compete in the Miss Arizona pageant. I have met and know so many talented women on the UA campus alone that should be competing. I want to let all young women know what a great opportunity this is and let them know that anything is possible,” Nurss said.
Nurss’s Miss Arizona 2009 pageant package includes a two-year tuition waiver to Maricopa Community Colleges, a $78,000 scholarship to Palmer College of Chiropractic and a $6,500 International Air Academy Scholarship. She also will receive free tuition to Dale Carnegie Training and $3,550 Miss Arizona Organization/Miss Arizona Legacy Scholarship.
Good luck at the Miss America 2009 pageant in January, Erin!
The proud faculty, staff and students at the
UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
will be cheering for you and hoping for you to win!
Original uanews.org story by Rebecca Ruiz-McGill.
More Information:
- Previous Arizona pageant titles that Ms. Nurss has received include Miss Sierra Vista in 2006 and Miss Tucson Valley in 2008. Erin Nurss was the first runner-up in 2007 for Miss Arizona.
- The 2009 Miss Arizona pageant was held in Gilbert, Arizona, at Gilbert High School on Saturday, June 21, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
- This 70th-anniversary edition of the state-wide pageant featured finalists competing in the categories of Interview, Talent, Evening Wear, and Swim Wear for the title of Miss Arizona 2008. Lisa Mandel, Miss Arizona 2008, hosted the pageant.
- Nurss says that when her pageant days end and she receives her advanced degree, she will have funded her graduate school education at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health through pageant scholarship programs.
Related Links and Stories:
- Erin Nurss is a volunteer speaker for the Sahuaro Girl Scouts Council in Tucson. Passionate about educating girls on nutrition and wellness, she enjoys inspiring young women to take care of their bodies by eating right. Erin has presented at outreach troop meetings in South Tucson and enjoyed the interaction with the Girl Scouts, and gives presentations to any Girl Scouts age level, from Daisy to Senior.
- The UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health has had another student pageant winner:
Ada Dieke, right, a MEZCOPH doctoral student specializing in Maternal and Child Health was crowned Miss Black Arizona for 2007. Ada represented Arizona in the 2007 Miss Black USA pageant. She graduated from University High School in Tucson, Arizona and received her Bachelor of Science Degree in General Biology from the University of Arizona and her Master's in Public Health (MPH) degree from the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health in 2007. More...
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Listing of Miss Arizona 2009 Winners:
- Miss Arizona: Erin Nurss, UA MEZCOPH Graduate Student
- 1st Runner Up: Rachelle Gurule
- 2nd Runner Up: Stephanie Brooks, UA Student
- 3rd Runner Up: Christine Solis
- 4th Runner Up: Katie Blodgett, UA Student
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