Last week, Miss America hosted its second night of preliminaries in Atlantic City. For the talent competition, most contestants showcased their singing, dancing, and musical talents while donning their sparkly, glittery costumes — but Kelley Johnson walked out on stage in her nurse’s scrubs. Kelley is Miss Colorado, and she decided to forgo the traditional talent routine. Instead, she delivered a unique monologue about her experience as a nurse, and with an elderly Alzheimer’s patient. The results are unexpected, original, and touching.
“Every nurse has a patient that reminds them of why they became a nurse in the first place. Mine was Joe,” she begins. Kelley is a beauty pageant titleholder from Windsor, CO, who was crowned Miss Colorado 2015. Her platform is “The Health Initiative PLUS: Prevent, Live, Uncover, Study.” She is a 2015 graduate of Grand View University where earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, graduating as valedictorian of her nursing class. Today, Kelley is a registered nurse.
Nurses are the ones who make the most direct contact with the patient. They’re the advocates, the planners, and the glue that holds it all together. Regardless of whether Kelley wins the Miss America crown this year, she’s already made her mark in a wonderful way.