2008 Miss America Pageant

LAS VEGAS - JANUARY 26: Kirsten Haglund, Miss Michigan, reacts after being crowned Miss America during the 2008 Miss America Pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino January 26, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Miss Michigan Kirsten Haglund Wins 2008 Miss America Live!

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Miss Michigan Kirsten Haglund from Farmington Hills, Michigan was crowned Miss America 2008 tonight at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The final night of Miss America Live! was broadcast from Las Vegas on TLC.

Kirsten's triumphant walk across the stage was just the beginning of a journey that will take her to every corner of the country during her year of service as Miss America 2008. She will travel approximately 20,000 miles each month speaking to audiences about her platform of Raising Awareness of Eating Disorders and acting as the official National Goodwill Ambassador for Children's Miracle Network. Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals, is the national platform partner of the Miss America Organization.

Kirsten is a student at University of Cincinnati. Her scholastic ambition is to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre and she ultimately hopes to become a Broadway performer. Along with the title of Miss America 2008, Kirsten won a $50,000 scholarship to continue her education. For the talent portion of the competition, Kirsten sang "Over the Rainbow."

The first runner-up was Miss Indiana Nicole Elizabeth Rash who earned a $25,000 scholarship. Her talent performance was the vocal, Bandido and her personal platform is Get on the L.-B.U.S. to break language barriers in the U.S.

Second runner-up honors and a $20,000 scholarship were awarded to Miss Washington Elyse Umemoto. Her talent was also a vocal performance, Angels, and her personal platform is Embracing Diversity, Empowering Women.

Miss Utah Jill Stevens was the winner of TLC's America's Choice, an online competition where viewers got the opportunity to vote for their favorite Miss America contestant. The contestant was announced at the beginning of the Miss America Live! broadcast and became the 16th Finalist to compete in the live finale.

As the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women and one of the nation's leading achievement programs, the Miss America Organization last year made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. The Miss America Organization provides young women with a vehicle to further their personal and professional goals and instills a spirit of community service through a variety of nationwide community-based programs.

Additional information about the Miss America Organization can be found at www.MissAmerica.org.

For up-to-the-minute competition news and information, as well as downloadable high-resolution images of Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund and the 2008 contestants, visit the 24-hour online pressroom at www.MissAmericaPressRoom.com.

To download photos of tonight's crowning moment, go to www.missamerica.org.

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