BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – On May 20, 2010, a mere month after graduation, Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Whitney Thorpe-Klinsky’10, was enjoying time off from school. Her future seemed set; she had earned a bachelor’s degree and would begin medical school at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine that August.
But Saturday, June 19, everything changed. The then 22-year-old Thorpe-Klinsky was crowned Miss Illinois, earning herself a spot in the Miss America pageant recently held in Las Vegas, Nev. at the beginning of January.
“It was very unexpected,” said Thorpe-Klinsky, who added that she had only competed in a handful of pageants before claiming the state title. “I came into the pageant hoping to at least make the top 10, learn some things and try again next year, and I ended up winning.”
Thorpe-Klinsky impressed the judges with her eloquent answers, confidence modeling, and her involvement during her college career. A biology major and psychology minor, she was also a cheerleader for four years, Vice President of Scholarship of Alpha Gamma Delta, and a member of the scholarship fraternities Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma.
Once she was crowned Miss Illinois, the New Baden, Ill., native deferred her acceptance into medical school until August 2011. Since then, her life has been a whirlwind of public appearances and preparation for the national contest.