The competitor who “broke” the tradition of Miss America

Kelley Johnson, Miss Colorado 2015, surprised the jury and the entire audience with a unique presentation in the “Miss America 2016” testing talents competition stage.

Instead of singing, wearing a shiny suit or dancing in order to get the wanted crown, the young Kelley decided rather to talk about her nurse job in front of the numerous audience in Atlantic City.

On the second evening of the preliminaries, Kelley walked quietly on the stage, dressed in her usual nurse uniform, and began to present a short monologue about her professional experiences. She exposed her experience and feelings during the period in which she nursed an elderly patient, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

“Every nurse has a patient that reminds them of why they became a nurse in the first place. Mine was Joe,” she began.

We invite you to watch this short but beautiful presentation:

Despite the fact that many people advised Kelley not to present a monologue (taking into account the tradition of the talent stage), she ignored them:

“I am a nurse and that’s my talent – taking care of people, caring about other people, and so I wanted to give the nurses that don’t have that voice that voice and that recognition of just somebody going up there and being a little bit different and unique (…). And I just thought, you know, I want to go up there and I want to be authentic and I want to be Kelley, and if I’m ever going to win Miss America or win Miss Colorado I want to do it being myself, and I’m a nurse

The two minutes long monologue determined spectators and viewers to rethink their hunting of beauty and talents. The audience hurrahed Kelley for a long time for her sudden exposure.

Kelley Johnson ended the Miss America 2015 contest as 2nd runner-up. But she has gained national recognition for her sustained monologue and will certainly stay for a longer time in the Miss America audience’s memory.

But Kelley’s first impact was the gaining of a greater respect for the thousands of nurses who say: “I’m just a nurse”.

Pro Jesus’ sources:

Corithios A., „Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson Defends Nurse Monologue After Being Mocked on The View”, PEOPLE Magazine, September 17, 2015

Diamond B., „Miss Colorado Talks About Nursing Instead Of Singing For The Crown”, LittleThings.com, accessed in November 30, 2015