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New Miss Florida blends Barbie and Madame Curie
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
Carrie Ann Mewha (pronounced mee-wha) is a second-year medical student at the University of Miami, working toward a career in maternal-fetal medicine. She was valedictorian of her class at St. Petersburg High School. She was a National Merit Scholar. The 23-year-old graduate of the University of Florida holds a bachelor of science degree in microbiology and cell science. In 1999, she was the university's homecoming queen. She was crowned Miss Florida USA on Saturday. "I'd like to dispel some of the pageant myths and stereotypes," she said this week. Her mother, Pam, elaborated. "She likes putting on stunningly attractive clothes and putting a crown on her head and then going out and talking about the importance of academics," Mrs. Mewha said. "She wants to see girls getting into sciences and breaking through those stereotypes. She really believes we need more women in medicine." The new Miss Florida USA describes herself as tenacious, compassionate and unconventional. "My daughter, besides being a very pretty girl ... is also a very intelligent young lady," said a proud Jim Mewha, former football coach at St. Petersburg High School. Her title means she will represent Florida in the Miss USA Pageant. That winner will go to the Miss Universe Pageant. As recently as 1996, beauty queens from Venezuela -- who went on to compete for Miss World and Miss Universe -- admitted they had used plastic surgery to enhance their physical attributes. It's not an issue that bothers her, Ms. Mewha said. "The idea of other contestants' having plastic surgery doesn't threaten me, because it is obvious that the pageants are aesthetic to begin with. What you notice is that what wins these pageants is not the girl with the whitest teeth or the biggest breasts or the slimmest thighs. "It's really about the young woman who can project to the audience an eloquence enough to present her message and we don't have any surgery that can change that. That's really the inner beauty." As for countries like Venezuela, whose contestants regularly walk away with the top beauty prize, she said: "That's what they do for the whole year. The whole culture is so supportive of that and that's what makes them a powerhouse. I don't think that it is the surgery that makes them what they are." Ms. Mewha worked out in the gym for an hour and half every day to prepare for her swimsuit competition.
She watched what she ate. She had to find sponsors for her wardrobe. One, Malindy Elene, at 1180 Central Ave., provided her evening gown. She had to be knowledgeable about current events. "Getting ready for the interview is what I worked on last," Ms. Mewha said. "So I've been a CNN addict for the past couple of months." Saturday night, her efforts paid off. "We were thrilled when she made the top 15," said her mother. "And then we were ecstatic that she made the final five. She competed last year and was the fourth runner-up. When they called the fourth runner-up and it wasn't Carrie, we were breathing much easier. It was wonderful. ... There was some very tough competition." Added Mrs. Mewha, who has two other daughters: "We were very proud of Carrie and her accomplishments before Saturday. She is a very focused, intelligent, determined young woman." Even as a 13-year-old, her daughter worked to put her mark on the world. Back then, it was an environmental club she helped to form at Bay Point Middle School. "Ozone depletion, rain forest destruction, garbage on our beaches, it stinks," she told the St. Petersburg Times. Reminded of that interview, Ms. Mewha laughed. "I was such a dork back then," she said. "I really was. I still am." Now she wants to use her recent beauty pageant win to help other young girls. How did a busy medical student find time for both academics and a beauty contest? "It's just a lot of time management," the new Miss Florida USA said. "School is always my first priority and my focus." But Ms. Mewha believes beauty and brains can come as a package and that pageants offer a way to showcase both. "I think that you find that most of the girls that compete in these pageants are very ambitious. They are extremely outgoing and they are really intelligent," she said. "I think pageants have a lot to offer. It's a great outlet for me. It's a lot of fun. It teaches a lot about competition, sportsmanship." What are her fellow medical students saying? "I don't know how many of them know. My friends are a bit surprised," she said, adding that they mostly see her in scrubs and a pony tail. "I'm still kind of numb. It doesn't seem real until I see pictures of myself with the crown on."
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