Mund

“Whenever someone tells you ‘no’, you want to prove them wrong.”

That was a theme in 2018 Miss America winner Cara Mund’s lyceum to Rugby High School students Tuesday in the Tilman Hovland Auditorium.

Mund, a Bismarck native, recounted choosing to go to an Ivy League school in 10th grade. She graduated from Brown University in 2016 before coming back to compete for the title of Miss North Dakota.

A title she competed for four times.

Mund said she had thought about not competing for the title after competing three times and not winning, however she said “I think [the] ‘what if’ is worse than not” in thinking of not competing or going for a fourth time.

On the fourth attempt, Mund won in every category.

In getting ready for Miss America, Mund recalled people giving her advice that included changing her talent (dance), changing gowns, and not saying where she went to school.

“Why can’t I take [the] expectations and make my own?” Mund said, adding she saw a huge difference between “not fitting into some type of mold” and trying to fit expectations.

Mund had also recalled someone coming to her mother saying she was “good, but too bad she’s not from a bigger state.”

Going through rounds in the Miss America pageant, Mund recalled thinking “This is the round I get cut.” Mund said her goal was to make history for North Dakota.

Mund recounted also wanting to become a Rockette, and training with them for four years however not being able to become one due to height rules.

“When one door closed, another opened,” Mund said.

Students and faculty asked various questions of Mund, including favorite appearances and future plans.

In the former Mund recalled helping a four-year-old child named Skye get her wish granted during a parade as a local titleholder. On the latter, Mund said she plans to go to law school

Make-A-Wish has been part of Mund’s platform. Mund recounted organizing a fashion show at the age of 14 to help fundraise for a friend with cancer. The fashion show was a success, and after that it kept going for 10 years-helping to fund wishes for multiple persons.