Miss North Dakota

Annette Olson

What is your hometown like?
It is a rural community where the kids talk about sports, the men talk about farming and the women talk about everyone!

What were you like when you were a child?
I was a tomboy. My favorite things to do were competing in wrestling tournaments, building snow forts and catching gophers.

Who is the most influential person in your life?
My aunt, Judy, is a successful entrepreneur, a devoted wife and mother and the most generous and encouraging woman I know.

What is one thing about you that people you meet may not immediately realize?
I am a field epidemiologist with the state health department. I investigate communicable diseases in North Dakota.

What was one defining moment in your life?
Finishing my first marathon taught me that everything is a state of mind. Between mile markers 23 and 26, I noticed my knees hurt less if I smiled.

What was one defining moment in your life?
I am confident in my abilities and comfortable with who I am. I work hard to improve the things I can, but I have also learned to accept the things I cannot change.

What was one defining moment in your life?
The most inspirational people I can think of have accomplished something no one expected them to. I want anyone who has a dream to be able to say, "If she can do it, I can do it."