Miss Wisconsin, Paula Mae Kuiper headed back to UWM to run
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Miss Wisconsin, Paula Mae Kuiper, started out playing golf and basketball at Racine Case High School. For Kuiper, running was just a way to stay in shape.
But then, her steps took her to UW-Milwaukee on an athletic scholarship.
"I think it's because I have such a competitiveness within me. That's why I love running. And you can always continue to improve. Even if you're not winning the race, you're always racing against yourself," Kuiper said.
Kuiper's path to UW-Milwaukee wasn't a direct one. She had planned on going to another school, but fate intervened.
"I looked at my life and where I have gone and I am very obsessed with planning things. If I could plan out five years in advance where I'd be and what I'd be doing, I'd love to do that, but I have found through everything that the plan that God has for me is much greater than anything I could ever comprehend," Kuiper said.
God's plan for Kuiper was to go to school for a year and then enter another competition -- which led her to becoming Miss Racine, then Miss Madison, and finally, Miss Wisconsin last June!
"Your life, just, it completely changes the instant that that crown is put on your head. Like I said, people don't look at you as Paula Mae anymore. They look at you as Miss Wisconsin -- and you almost, in a sense, feel as though you have lost your identity," Kuiper said.
While Kuiper is grounded enough to keep from losing her identity -- keeping track of time as Miss Wisconsin may be even more challenging.
"Running by 5, done by 6, shower and ready by 7, 7:30, which sometimes is hard when you're trying to 'look the part' as Miss Wisconsin and then I am on the road -- going to like, Children's Hospital, for instance, and I am there for the day. Then I have an event at night," Kuiper said.
Quite a schedule for the young woman who plans to return to UW-Milwaukee next year to continue her academic and athletic careers, but it's worth every second for the aspiring doctor or physician's assistant.
"The best part would definitely be the kids that I get to work with. At the Muscular Dystrophy events, you see some of these kids that are in wheelchairs and they are some of the happiest children that you will ever meet in your life. Or you go into Children's Hospital and you see some of these kids that have these illnesses or these diseases that are sometimes life-long -- and they are filled with so much joy, and it puts your whole life into perspective," Kuiper said.
Believe it or not, there's a worst part to being the reigning Miss Wisconsin!
"The idea that I have to look a certain way all of the time, and in my opinion, that's not real," Kuiper said.
Real is what Kuiper stands for as Miss Wisconsin, and nobody knows better than Brooke Jameson, her good friend and teammate at UW-Milwaukee.
"I look up to her not only as just a friend, but as a teammate -- and all the little girls should be like Paula Mae. She's a good person to be around, and she just makes your day whenever you see her," Kuiper said.
Kuiper went on to finish in the Top 12 of the Miss America pageant. Being a competitor, she would have loved to have worn that crown too. Then she realized that something much more important and lasting was going on.
"I just kinda took a step back and I realized my family is here, and they are all so happy, and not only that, but my Nana who was 89 years old was able to be there, and that was honestly such a blessing. If you could've seen the smile on her face, it was unreal. She was so happy and beyond excited. To be able to see her like that -- not even a Miss America crown can replace that," Kuiper said.
While she is thankful to have a platform to help others -- especially young girls, turning in her crown and sash for her books and running shoes as a Milwaukee Panthers student/athlete will be a crowning moment for Kuiper.