Sarah Rose Summers (born November 4, 1994) is an American model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss USA 2018 Miss USA 2018 was the 67th Miss USA pageant. It was held on May 21, 2018 at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey hosted for the first time, while Carson Kressley and Lu Sierra served as commen ...

. As Miss USA, she represented the United States at

Miss Universe 2018 Miss Universe 2018 was the 67th Miss Universe pageant, held at the IMPACT Arena, Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi Province, Thailand on December 17, 2018. At the end of the event, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa crowned Catriona Gray of ...

, where she placed in the top twenty. Previously, Summers was crowned Miss Nebraska USA 2018 and went on to become the first woman from Nebraska to win the Miss USA title.

Early life and education

Summers was born on November 4, 1994, in Omaha, Nebraska, and grew up in

Papillion Papillion is a city in Sarpy County in the state of Nebraska, United States. Designated as the county seat, it developed as an 1870s railroad town and suburb of Omaha. The city is part of the larger five-county metro area of Omaha. Papillion's ...

in the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. At four years old, she was hospitalized and diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). She graduated from

Papillion-La Vista South High School Papillion-La Vista South High School (commonly referred to as Papio South, PLSHS, PLSouth, or PLS) is a high school in Papillion, Nebraska, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Papillion-La Vista Public School District. The school's ...

, and later earned two degrees ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' from Texas Christian University in

child development Child development involves the biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. Childhood is divided into 3 stages of life which include early childhood, middle childhood, ...

and strategic communication, with a minor in business. While a student, she also joined the Zeta Tau Alpha (ΖΤΑ) sorority. Summers worked as a certified

child life specialist Child life specialists are pediatric health care professionals who work with children and families in hospitals and other settings to help them cope with the challenges of hospitalization, illness, and disability. They provide children with age-app ...

prior to becoming Miss USA.

Pageantry

Summers began her pageantry career at age ten, having convinced her parents to allow her to compete in pageants when they received a postcard advertisement for a local

child beauty pageant A child beauty pageant is a beauty contest featuring contestants under 18 years of age. Competition categories may include talent, interview, sportswear, casual wear, swim wear, western wear, theme wear, outfit of choice, decade wear, and eveni ...

. After four years of competing, she won the title of National American Miss Nebraska Junior Teen 2009 and represented Nebraska at the national pageant and was crowned the 2009–2010 National American Miss Junior Teen. In 2012, Summers was crowned Miss Nebraska Teen USA 2012. She represented Nebraska at

Miss Teen USA 2012 Miss Teen USA 2012 was the 30th Miss Teen USA pageant. The pageant was held on July 28, 2012 at the Grand Ballroom of the Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, The Bahamas. Danielle Doty of Texas crowned Logan West from Connecticut as the new ...

Atlantis Paradise Island Atlantis Paradise Island is an ocean-themed resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It is built around Aquaventure, a waterscape. Property history The property was originally part of the Paradise Island Hotel and Casino, which opened ...

in Nassau, Bahamas, but was unplaced. At the end of her reign, she crowned Jasmine Fuelberth as her successor. After a hiatus, Summers returned to pageantry and competed in Miss Nebraska USA 2016. In 2018, Summers was crowned Miss Nebraska USA 2018 by Fuelberth, who was the outgoing titleholder. At Miss Nebraska USA 2018, Summers represented Omaha.

Miss USA 2018

After winning Miss Nebraska USA, Summers earned the right to represent Nebraska at

, held at

Hirsch Memorial Coliseum Hirsch Memorial Coliseum is 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Shreveport, Louisiana, designed by the late local architect Edward F. Neild Jr. (1908–1958) who, with his father in 1937, had designed the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shrevep ...

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...

. She won the competition, beating out first runner-up

Caelynn Miller-Keyes Caelynn Marie Miller-Keyes (born June 15, 1995) is an American television personality, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. Miller-Keyes received national recognition after appearing as a contestant on season 23 of '' The Bachelor''. While c ...

of North Carolina and second runner-up Carolina Urrea of Nevada, becoming the first woman from Nebraska to win Miss USA. After winning Miss USA, she crowned Bree Coffey as her Miss Nebraska USA successor; pageant protocol states that the two titles cannot be held coterminously as her new Miss USA duties would have interfered with her duties as Miss Nebraska USA. At the national competition, co-host

Vanessa Lachey Vanessa Joy Lachey (née Minnillo; born November 9, 1980) is an American actress, beauty pageant titleholder, fashion model, and television host. She was named Miss Teen USA in 1998. She has been a New York–based correspondent for ''Entertain ...

asked the following: "You are on your way to a march where someone hands you a blank sign and a marker. What do you put on your sign and why?" As Miss USA 2018, Summers represented the United States at

Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

, where she placed in the top twenty. Her national costume was based on a red rose, the national flower of the United States which also happens to be Summers's middle name. The eventual winner was

Catriona Gray Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray (; born 6 January 1994) is a Filipino-Australian model, singer, beauty queen, television personality, youth advocate and arts ambassador best known for having been crowned Miss Universe 2018. She is the fourth Fi ...

of the Philippines. Summers ended her reign on May 2, 2019, after crowning

Cheslie Kryst Cheslie Corrinne Kryst (; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2019. Kryst was also an attorney and had served as a correspondent for ''Ex ...

Miss USA 2019 Miss USA 2019 was the 68th Miss USA pageant. It was held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, on May 2, 2019. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey served as hosts, while Lu Sierra served as commentator, all for the second consecutive time and ...

in Reno, Nevada.

Personal life

Summers became engaged to longtime boyfriend Conner Combs in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

on December 17, 2018, shortly after competing at

. They married on October 20, 2019, in

Anthem, Arizona Anthem is a master-planned community partially located within Phoenix and partially located within a census-designated place (CDP), New River. The community is entirely located in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, within the Phoenix Met ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Sarah Rose 1994 births American beauty pageant winners Living people Miss Nebraska USA winners Miss Universe 2018 contestants Miss USA 2018 delegates Miss USA winners 21st-century Miss Teen USA delegates Texas Christian University alumni People from Omaha, Nebraska People from Papillion, Nebraska