Teresa Scanlan talks about life after Miss America
Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan waves at the crowd as she walks on stage during the Miss Nebraska pageant on June 11. Scanlan held the title of Miss Nebraska before being crowned Miss America when she was 17.
Posted: Sunday, June 12, 2016 12:25 pm
Teresa Scanlan had just turned 17 when she won a local-level pageant and became Miss Southeast 2010. She looked forward to the Miss Nebraska Pageant, viewing it as a practice run — and then she won.
Scanlan, originally from Gering, suddenly saw her dreams of someday becoming Miss America fading, because she felt less experienced that the other women vying for the title. But she won that, too, becoming Miss America 2011.
She had her life planned up until that moment. She was going to go to law school and maybe the Miss America title would be down the road. Instead, she stood in shock as they placed the crown on her head.
The next year was a whirlwind of appearances, speeches, projects and interviews. As Scanlan’s star rose, so did the voices of those who didn’t like her. She’d been told by former Miss Americas that she couldn’t please everyone, so she hoped for a 50-50 split. Eventually, she realized that the group of supporters was never going to be as large as the detractors, regardless of what she did.
“At first, I looked at criticism as me failing at my job,” Scanlan said. “Now I realize, yes, you should take things with a grain of salt. ... Everyone comes from a different level of understanding molded by their experiences. You can’t undo a whole lifetime of that with who you are.”
The chatter of critics was constant, even after she’d passed her title to the next Miss America. Last year, the hateful comments came in droves after Scanlan competed for Miss World America 2015 as Miss Nebraska World. She finished as first runner-up. Several people commented on her Facebook page that she shouldn’t have bothered competing.
“I can’t say that stuff doesn’t hurt anymore,” Scanlan said, but she reminds herself that she doesn’t owe an explanation to anyone but God and her family.
“If there’s not a lot of pain and sacrifice involved, it’s not really worth it,” Scanlan said. “You appreciate it more when you’ve been through a lot.”
Scanlan was in North Platte this week for the Miss Nebraska pageant. Walking into North Platte High School made the last five years feel like yesterday. But instead of wearing her Miss Southeast sash, she was pushing her 7-week-old son, Jace, in a stroller.
She was instantly surrounded by those who’d welcomed her as Miss Southeast, watched her being crowned as Miss Nebraska and cheered for her on the Miss America stage. They wanted to see the little guy in person.
“He’s beautiful,” they told her.
She smiled as they talked to him and touched his tiny feet. She’s accomplished a lot in the last five years and will graduate soon from Patrick Henry College in Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in government. She’ll be applying for law school this fall, but in the meantime she’s spending time in her Connecticut home with her husband and little boy.
“In high school, I thought I would be graduating from law school around 24,” Scanlan said. “I didn’t expect to get married and have a baby so soon. I never thought Miss Nebraska and Miss America would be there.
“Looking back, this is way better than where I thought I’d be. The things I planned are still happening, just in a different order.”
http://www.starherald.com/news/local_news/teresa-scanlan-talks-about-life-after-miss-america/article_0979428e-30cb-11e6-91ae-3767b25810ee.html
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