GAINESVILLE -- Miss America 2018 Cara Mund made her first speaking appearance since winning the title in September and she did so at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville.
Mund, of North Dakota, made her appearance as part of Riverside's Norman P. Blake Distinguished Speaker Series. Integrated Marketing Associate for Riverside Cassidy Collier said the school began looking into bringing a Miss America in as part of the series last year and contacted the Miss America Organization.
"A few weeks ago they let (Riverside President Col. William Gallagher) know that she would be able to make her very first public appearance and speech here if we were ok with that," Collier said "Of course he said 'yes, absolutely, bring her here.'"
The speech was held in the Carlos and Sandra Cervantes Theatre. Mund spoke for around 15 minutes before joining Col. Gallagher in a question and answer segment on the stage that lasted for roughly 20 minutes.
During the speech, Mund said she had defied most people's expectations of her.
"I was this five-foot-three female that some people just saw as this naive individual, but I dreamed big and I was ready to make those dreams come true," Mund said.
Mund said it was also a point of pride for her to be the first ever Miss America from North Dakota.
"Up to this point, North Dakota had only ever been to the top ten three times," Mund said. "I said ok, that's what I want to do. I want to inspire all of these young women and I want to inspire all of these young men to know that it doesn't matter where you come from or how many people say you can't accomplish something."
Cadets were also encouraged to ask questions to Mund and three were able to do so. The event started at 10:45 a.m. and was streamed on the school's Facebook page.
Col. Gallagher started the event by asking for a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Sunday concert shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada.
