Miss Wisconsin

Meghan Coffey

What is your hometown like?
New Berlin is a large suburban city in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It has grown remarkably in the 19 years that I have called it my home. It provides a wonderful combination of small town friendship and comfort but with big city opportunities and progress.

What were you like when you were a child?
For most of my childhood, I was a very shy and timid little girl. I loved using my dancing and twirling talents as a performer, and I exuded confidence, but off stage, I was a much quieter person. This shyness had a lot to do with my extreme curiosity. I always wanted to know how and why things worked the way they did, and I was very perceptive because I was always an observer. While I am no longer as shy as I used to be, this curiosity is what led me to my career as an engineer, and falling into my observation mode is still quite common.

Who is the most influential person in your life?
My grandma is one of the most important people in my life. For her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she wanted nothing other than that we had all that we needed to be good and do good. I am thoroughly convinced that long before the army ever thought of it, she urged herself and all whom she loved to be all you can be.

What is one thing about you that people you meet may not immediately realize?
I am a combination of opposites. I grew up in a city but have a lot of small town values learned on a farm. Meanwhile, I am a left-brained engineer who has spent a lifetime dancing and twirling on stage. Most people don't expect to find these apparent contradictions in the same person.

What was one defining moment in your life?
Clearly, the day my parents hired a local eighth grade neighbor to baby-sit me at age 2. She was a baton twirler and got me started in what would become a life-long passion. Her involvement in my life led me to years of dance, baton twirling, pageants and now Miss America.

What was one defining moment in your life?
I had two experiences at Miss Wisconsin. The first time I went and competed in the way I thought I was supposed to. In my second attempt I performed from my heart, doing and saying exactly what I thought and felt. I learned from this experience that sincerity will always prevail -- a lesson I'll carry throughout my life.

What was one defining moment in your life?
By creating and funding a life-saving, national Start a Heart campaign, I hope to prove that my generation can make an immediate and remarkable impact upon the entire nation. I want to create nothing less than a global awareness of what America's youth can accomplish when their talents, intelligence, creativity and hard work are focused upon truly life-changing commitments. In 2008, I want Meghan Coffey to be a household name identifying what is best in the dreams and dedication of my generation.