"Believe yourself, value your inner beauty and be open to opportunities," Cooley told Reanna, 14, and dozens of other young women and children at the mother-and-daughter event.
The morning started with a fashion show and was followed by motivational speeches by Cooley, Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, and Sue Straughn of WEAR-TV.
"When I was younger, I was shy," Cooley told the audience. "I was overweight. I wore glasses. I got teased a lot, I grew up watching pageants, but I never thought I was going to become Miss USA."
The 22-year-old started competing in pageants to receive scholarship money when she was 16.
Before she was crowned Miss USA, she was attending college in North Carolina studying fashion marketing.
"After I was crowned, I had to pack and go," she said. "Three weeks later, I was in Thailand to compete for Miss Universe."
Cooley wasn't the only one honored during the event, which benefited the ARC Gateway Foundation, an organization that provides services to children and adults with developmental disabilities.
Cameron Northup, 20, got on stage to share a message that many were proud to hear.
"I have Down syndrome, but that is not a bad thing. It just means we learn different than other people," said Northup, who has a passion for makeup and is opening her own birthday party business with the support of ARC Gateway Foundation members.
"Some people think we don't have dreams, but we do. I'm really excited about mine," Northup said.
Cooley, who is typically surrounded by the media, said the hardest question she was asked during numerous interviews came from a Brown Barge Middle School student during an appearance at the school Friday.
The question: "What would you do if you were president?"
Her answer: "You can't cure all the world's problem and cure all the hunger, but I would try to change the way people view each other."
Polyana da Costa
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
Source: http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060326/NEWS01/603260328/1005
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