Laura Kaeppeler, the newly crowned Miss America, took a unconventional approach to the annual pageant, using her father's incarceration as her platform to win.
Kaeppeler's competitors pushed platforms including promoting the health benefits of milk and protecting the environment, but she went against the grain and said she wants children of incarcerated adults to feel less alone.
In her winning speech she said beauty queens and politicians should remember they represent all Americans, and encouraged kids with incarcerated parents to remember that their mistakes shouldn't define them as people.
"What happened with my father is not what my year is going to be focused on, It's going to be focused on looking forward and moving to the future because that's what my family has done and that's what I'll encourage others to do, as well."
Kaeppeler's father was locked up for mail fraud, which he served 18 months for when she was graduating high school and entering college.
Source: abcnews.go.com
