Miss Iowa will visit Luther College

Miss Iowa 2013, Nicole Kelly, has accepted an invitation to speak later in March at Luther College.

Her presentation on "The Power of One" will discuss overcoming stereotypes.  It is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 18th, in room 206 of the Valders Hall of Science on the Luther College campus.  The speech is free and open to the public.

"A year ago, I certainly didn't see 'pageant titleholder' in my future. Perhaps I didn't originally envision this path, but I now know that being Miss Iowa is the perfect fit for me, and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by people who have encouraged me every step of the way. Giving a voice to my platform, Overcoming Disabilities, is a tremendous honor and I am thrilled to continue my adventure by speaking out and touching lives as Miss Iowa 2013," said Kelly.

Kelly's presentation at Luther focuses on the seemingly incompatible labels "pageant queen" and "disability" and how one person can make a difference in changing stereotypes. In sharing her experiences, she hopes to challenge audiences to question their preconceptions, think outside the box and critique the practice of labeling people.

The 23-year-old, born without her left forearm and hand, learned to offset the initial stares she received from people with an outgoing personality; she would not give in to "no" and tried every activity from baseball to dance to diving.

"I found my passion within a world where I was giving people permission to stare… the stage," Kelly said.