#46 Crowned & Candid: Raechel Warren, Miss Nebraska 2024

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What happens when you've aged out twice, moved to a new state, and decide to give your pageant dream one last shot? For Raechel Warren, Miss Nebraska 2024, that final attempt led to the crown and a transformative year of service that's coming to a close with only 45 days remaining.

In this candid conversation, Raechel reveals the powerful mindset shift that finally unlocked her success after years of top-five finishes. "I am her and I just have to go get the crown," she realized, embracing a sense of detachment from the outcome while still pouring everything into her preparation. This balance—caring deeply without being defined by results—created her most relaxing and enjoyable state competition experience ever.

The business side of being Miss Nebraska required entrepreneurial spirit and strategic thinking. Rachel approached organizations with a service-first mentality, asking "How can I help?" rather than focusing immediately on compensation. This approach opened doors across Nebraska, allowing her to expand the title's reach to new communities. She also tackled the uncomfortable conversations around appearance fees, working to establish the value of Miss Nebraska's time while ensuring her services remained accessible to schools and nonprofits.

As Rachel prepares to pass her crown, she reflects on a year filled with meaningful connections and personal growth. Her message to competitors and future titleholders centers on authenticity: "Whoever she is is exactly what Miss Nebraska needs that year... She doesn't need to be like me."

Ready to transform your own pageant journey? Listen now and discover how to embrace both the business and human sides of wearing the crown. Whether you're competing or supporting someone who is, Raechel's insights will forever change how you view the path to the crown and beyond.

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Episode Transcript

Raeanna Johnson (00:00):
Hello Sash and Soul community, Welcome back to
the show.
I am here with another episodefrom our Crowned and Candid
series with another amazingguest who I'm just so thrilled
to have on, excited to talk withher and excited to create a
space for her to share her heartwith all of you and her
perspective on her experiencesthroughout her year.

(00:21):
So, if you're just tuning infor the first time, Crowned and
Candid is a brand new specialSash and Soul series.
It's all about pulling back thecurtain on the state title
holder experience so that youhave something that we rarely
get when we're competing inpageantry.
Is this real insight, real talkfrom real women in the role
right now?
So I want to present thesereally candid conversations from

(00:45):
our current title holders sothat we can give you an honest
and really unfiltered look atwhat it really means to wear the
crown.
So this is beyond the stagephotos.
It's beyond the social mediahighlights.
This is a behind the sceneslook at the work behind
everything that goes into theheart of the crown.
So we're going to talk aboutthe emotional growth, the

(01:06):
leadership challenges, theunexpected lessons, who our
guests are today versus who theywere when they were crowned.
It's going to be.
It's a fun ride, so let's divein.
Today, I have the honor ofintroducing Miss Nebraska 2024,
Rachel Morin.
I'm going to let her speak forherself, but I just want to

(01:27):
share with you that I've askedevery single guest what they
want all of you to hear fromthem, and so she said she wants
you to remember to just keepgoing, to see every fail as a
step closer to achieving yourdreams, to make the absolute
most of each opportunity it'sall about perspective and to
build up a great circle ofmentors and supporters, which I

(01:50):
love, Rachel welcome.
Thank you so much for joiningme.

Raechel Warren (01:54):
Hi, thank you for having me.
I'm so excited to be here andto elaborate on that whole
sentence.

Raeanna Johnson (02:00):
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm so excited to dive in, sowhy don't we get started?
Tell us a little bit aboutyourself, everything about you
that really led up to who youare today, as much as you can.
That's a lot.

Raechel Warren (02:10):
Yeah, hi everyone.
My name's Rachel.
I'm Miss Nebraska 2024.
I'm not counting, but I have 45days left with this title.
It's been the absolute bestyear.
But I'm 29 years old justturned 29 a couple weeks ago and
, to be honest, I wouldn't besitting here with you today if
it hadn't have been for the MissAmerica program, and so I can

(02:30):
attribute so much of my successand just who I am in front of
you from the Miss Americaprogram and to it.
So I'm really excited to talkabout all that today.
But I grew up actually all theway back in Southern Oregon, so
born and raised there, and mytie to Nebraska that I love
sharing is I used to come hereevery summer as a little girl
for competitive roller skatingnationals and fun fact, the

(02:51):
Lincoln Nebraska is the home ofroller skating.
So I've always been close toNebraska.
So when I moved here five yearsago for work and they raised
the age one more time, it was ano brainer to me to try this one
more time because it had justbeen a dream that was deep in my
heart, and so I didn't startcompeting until I was 19.
After a soccer injury I had afriend come up to me and just
say you know, I think you shouldtry this and we can probably

(03:14):
dive into that more too, but Inever thought I would be on a
pageant stage.
I'll leave it there.
And one thing led to anotherand I kept going and I moved to
Washington for school and I ranthere a couple of years and up
till now, up till last year, Iwas top five every single year
and I've aged out twice and Ithought, you know, maybe this
just isn't the plan the Lord hasfor me, but I know that I've.

(03:35):
I got better each year.
I loved, I loved everythingabout every single year and I
always looked forward to thesummer because it meant pageant
week, right, it meant anopportunity.
There were so many things.
And then, like I said, when Imoved here, I thought I really
feel like this dream is stillthere and I felt so much like I
could represent a place that hadalways been so near to my heart
and just I just felt such apart of this community.

(03:56):
And so I did.
And as we discussed throughthis conversation, you'll hear
that like things throughout theyear were just very affirming
that this was the right path.
And so, as I won that local andprepared for state.
I just felt so at peace,knowing that I could have been a
great title holder every otheryear.
I had the opportunity in thattop five, but I'm so grateful
that this was the year that Iwas crowned Miss Nebraska,

(04:18):
because I just know that I'm abetter title holder this year
than I ever would have beenthose other years, and it's been
the best ride, the best yearever.

Raeanna Johnson (04:27):
Did you have any indication of this being the
right time for you before thecompetition last year?

Raechel Warren (04:36):
After I will say after the local I was really
excited.
I felt really good.
I was like, ok, we did it.
Like this is good.
And I will tell you, like,having competed for a couple of
times in other states for school, when you compete in a state
multiple years, right, everyoneknows your talent, everyone
knows who you are.
Everyone's like, oh, she'scoming back.
Oh, she was first runner uplast year.
Like there's all of this and Ididn't get to.
I didn't have that this yearand I kind of had this pressure

(05:02):
off of me.
I was the only one puttingpressure on myself and so as I
was prepping, I felt like Icould prep without that pressure
because I was like I havenothing to lose, it's my last
year, I know what I'm doing, I'mjust going to do, I'm going to
pour everything I have into it.
And there's a couple of thingsthroughout the year that just
really affirmed it.
So, for instance, like I tookthe CliftonStrengths test for a

(05:25):
work meeting and my serviceinitiative is Passion to Purpose
and I love CliftonStrengths,I'm all about that.
But I retook this test againand my number one strength was
belief.
And I looked at that result andwent okay, because I was
already.
I was just feeling really goodabout what I was preparing, and
so that was really cool.
And then there was a coupleother things that happened and

(05:48):
how my skating routine wascoming along.
And then I had a mindsetmeeting with another coach of
mine where I just had thisbreakthrough about my skating
and I kept I would always fallon this one piece of this one
step sequence in my routine andit kind of became a joke.
It's like, oh, I always fall atrehearsal and then it'll be
fine.
But it was like well, why areyou so in your head?

(06:08):
Well, it all boiled down to Ilove skating so much and I
wanted to help so many peoplethrough my skating that I was
caring so much about it that Iwas like making it harder than
it needed to be.
But it all stemmed from howmuch I loved the sport.
And once I like broke that, ohmy gosh best.
I'd never skated better.
And so I had a couple ofmindset breakthroughs.

(06:29):
And then the same coach was likenothing to pretend, nothing to
defend, you already are MissAmerica, if you are trying to
become someone.
And you're like, oh well, if Ijust do this, I will be her, or
if I just act this way, I willbe here.
Then you're never going to behere.
You need to be.
You are her right now, and soit was flipping this.
It was literally like a switchflipped of like I'm her and I

(06:52):
just have to go get the crown.
It's just not.
I have to wait till June 7th.
I can't, I don't have it yet.
I just have to wait, and not ina cocky way, but like if it's
meant for me, it will not passme by, and I just got to go be
ready.
And so that's a long-winded wayto say.
Like there's a few nuggetsthroughout the year where, like
I didn't know what was going tohappen, but I felt so secure in
what I was bringing to the tablethat I was able to have the

(07:13):
most fun state week.
Like every state week is fun,but it was probably the most
relaxing and most fun state weekI've ever had in my life.

Raeanna Johnson (07:20):
So I've heard I've heard it said before and I
think I can kind of relate tothis as well that when it's your
last go around there, there issome level of like I that I've
got nothing to lose.
How do you get that when it'snot your last shot, like because

(07:40):
it's such a powerful feelingyou know what I mean like how do
?
How do we help people get there, even when it's not their last
go around?

Raechel Warren (07:48):
Yeah, well, as you were saying that, I was
thinking about the year, Ithought it was my last go around
and I had been first runner upthe year before and so, and in
at that time it had justhappened where every girl that
was the first runner up then wasthe winner the next year.
So of course I go into thisyear like okay, here we go, and
I put so much pressure on myself, I got second runner up.
I was like I was devastatedbecause I was like, oh my gosh,

(08:15):
like what did I do?
I went backwards, you know, andit was my last year.
But being able to this actuallybe my last year, I realized
like there was no reason to putthat pressure on myself.
I say I have to say I think ageand the experience played a role
.
I think when you're just olderand you've gone through some of
those experiences and those upsand downs, you're able to reason
with it a little bit more,which I don't know how else to

(08:37):
attribute that.
Just, I was a little more atpeace with okay, like I know my
life's not over if I don't win,miss Nebraska, you know what I
mean.
Like I've seen the other side.
I have a great career like thattype of thing.
But I think you also have to bedetached and that's the one
thing I've really beenencouraging my local title
holders this year is be detachedfrom this title.
You can want Miss Nebraska, youcan strive for this goal, but

(09:11):
do not let that be your end-allall because it's so much like.
Your life is so much more thanthis title.
And I was able to go into mystate year with that mindset of
like, yeah, I want this jobreally bad and I know I'm ready
to do this job, but if I don'tget it, I get to get married in
a year.
I have a great job to go backto and I had the best experience
of my life, no regrets.
So if I could leave yourlisteners with that, it's just
to be detached from thisopportunity and don't like,
don't hold onto it so much thatif it doesn't happen, you don't
know what to do.

Raeanna Johnson (09:33):
It's an interesting balance, too, of
letting go but also awholehearted belief in yourself
that you can do it.

Raechel Warren (09:39):
Pouring everything into it.
Yeah, but I saw it.
But I felt like everything Iwas doing was for a bigger
reason right, like even the wayI prepped my health and fitness,
the way I worked with mynutritionist, the way that I
skated, everything I did I was,I could see like past the crown
with it, cause I was like, okay,well, I go, I want to figure
out my nutrition because I was acollege athlete and what was I
was doing five years ago isn'tworking for me as a 28-year-old,

(10:02):
let's figure this out.
And then I was in the bestshape of my life and that helped
me for state and so, likeeverything I did, I saw beyond
just the effect it would have atstate and that really helped me
feel like again, regardless ofwhat happens, nothing I did was
for naught.

Raeanna Johnson (10:18):
That is the epitome of what I'm talking
about when I say focus on yourbig picture.
We get so caught up in thedetails of preparing for a
competition, for preparing forthat interview yeah, you get the
tunnel vision and you get, likeyou can see, to the crowning,
but then we forget to look waybeyond that Right, and even like
beyond the 365 days of beingthe title holder, like you're

(10:41):
talking about the things thatyou gained that will help you
accelerate your career,accelerate your lifestyle, like
all of the things that you wantto do for the rest of your life.
This is not the end all.
There's so much more that comesnext, regardless of whether or
not you win.
So let's rewind to crowningnight last year.
I want to know what was goingon in your head.

Raechel Warren (11:00):
Okay.
So that whole weekend if I'mjust going to back up a second
that whole weekend was crazybecause I hadn't won a talent
prelim since my very first yearcompeting.
I'd kind of thought that wasnever going to happen again and
that was like, if I didn't win,that was my next goal.
I just it may be the last timeI ever roller skated on a
pageant stage.
I wanted to win that for my momand for my skating coach and
just for myself.

(11:20):
And I'm not oh, wow, that mightmake me cry.
And they called my name and Iwas like what, like I did, and
my mom and I embraced and I likeI couldn't believe it.
I could, but I couldn't believeit.
I was like mom, we did it, likethat's what I said to her.
And then they called my namefor Evening Gown Prelim.
I've never won an Evening GownPrelim in my life and I was like

(11:41):
, wait, I did that.
Oh my gosh, okay, and that wasreally fun.
And so I went into finals nightjust feeling so proud of myself
for the work and there was afunny little like technical
issue that happened on stage andI was dancing and so I was just
so joyful and so in that moment, when I'm standing there with
Elena, who I love so dearly, Iwas so excited, my heart was

(12:04):
pounding and I remember beinglike I think I did it, but if
not, wow, I just did the bestI've ever done in my whole life.
And then they called my nameand honestly, I kind of like I
have to watch that video a lotbecause I kind of blacked out.
I was like, oh my gosh.

Raeanna Johnson (12:19):
You're making me tear up.
I'm literally like literallytearing up right now.
Wow, that's so beautiful.
Sorry.

Raechel Warren (12:27):
That's okay and I get to.
I've gotten to share this videorecently cause I've been on a
little retirement home tour andthey love watching my crowning
video and, um, I kind of walkthrough all the women behind me,
cause it was all the formermiss Nebraska's, including a
couple of gals.
I'm really close to your formermiss Nebraska and her sister
and I.
The first thing I do was liketurned around and looked at them

(12:48):
and then the guy that sponsorsour car, the Wolf Auto Group,
dangles the keys in front of meand you can tell I completely
forgot that was coming, Cause Ijust like lost my mind and um,
so it was just a beautiful nightand just more of like.
Thank you, Lord, for trustingme with this opportunity this
year and being able to sharethat with so many people in the
audience that came from Oregon,from Washington, from Nebraska,

(13:10):
that had like followed methrough this whole year and we
got to celebrate that together.
So it was, it was the bestnight ever, to be honest, and I
can't believe it's a year agoalmost.

Raeanna Johnson (13:21):
No, it's crazy how fast the year goes.
It's so crazy, so not jokingabout that at all.

Raechel Warren (13:27):
Listen, it's not joking, it flies.

Raeanna Johnson (13:29):
It's so fast, there's so much going on trying
to keep up with it.
So, speaking of the year kindof being so fast and coming to a
close pretty soon, can youdescribe who you were at the
start of your year and who youare today?

Raechel Warren (13:42):
Yeah, I think.
Well, one of the questions toothat comes to mind when you ask
this is like the legacy, and Ithink at the start of the year,
I mean, I am proud to say that Ifeel like I'm just as ambitious
as I was on day one sittingdown with my directors as I am
today.
I'm a little more tired, forsure.
I feel just as excited abouttoday as I did almost 365 days

(14:05):
ago and I'm really grateful forthat.
But I also think I've gainedeven more confidence in
advocating for myself, becauseas a title holder, you really
have to know who you are and youhave to know your why.
And I knew my why going intoMiss Nebraska.
I believe that's why I won.
But I know my why even more nowand I'm really grateful that

(14:27):
this has just affirmed my skillsand my talents and that I'm
going in the right direction.
And it excites me for thefuture, to be honest, and I'm
really grateful that that's beenthe experience I've had.

Raeanna Johnson (14:38):
What did you think this job was going to look
like, versus what it actuallyis?

Raechel Warren (14:43):
So this is interesting too, because, having
watched so many state titleholders for so many years, I
definitely had a vision of, ooh,I liked that, oh, I didn't like
that, I'd do that differently,or I thought I would do.
You know, whatever you createyour image or or I'm really
excited to do this.
And so actually I can say thatthere's quite a few things that
kind of panned out the way Ithought they would.
I think the thing that makes itso different is every state is

(15:08):
different, and I don't think Iknew that, but I don't think I
realized how true that was untilI got to know some of my other
state title holders and I saythat in an encouraging way,
because you cannot compareyourself to another state title
holder.
You can't compare what theyhave, what their sponsors give
them, what they get to do youname it.
You can't compare it.
And I think I went in expectingit to be different, because

(15:33):
Nebraska is not a pageant state,but I realized there was also
so much more I could do if Ijust put my mind to it.
So I am kind of known as thequestion queen and I believe
that the answers always know ifyou don't ask.
And so, yes, do not compareyourself to other states, but
also ask.
If there's something you wantto do, do it Ask.
You never know, it could be noor it could be yes, and you just

(15:55):
took the state, organization oryour year to a different level.
But I think that's the biggestthing I learned is you just
can't compare yourself at all inthat way, because every state
is different and every girl'syear is different, for sure.

Raeanna Johnson (16:09):
I do think that that can become a mindset issue
.
Going into nationals, becausewe think about the big pageant
states and Wisconsin iscertainly not one of them and we
see the sponsors that they haveand we see that they have this
big team and like they were bornin heels right Is the
stereotype, right?
So we think that they have someleg up.
But that's a mindset issue,because the only person then

(16:34):
that is getting in your way, theonly barrier to your success
now, is you thinking thatsomehow you can't do it or
aren't going to be as preparedas someone else.
And I love your advice of ask,seek out the resources, seek out
, like, be aware of what youneed more of in order to best
prepare you for reaching yourgoals.

Raechel Warren (16:54):
And go into your year having a plan Like we talk
about this for interview, right, like I have this business plan
, here's what I want my CSI tolook like, these are my goals,
but also have a plan of likethese are the things I want to
do, these are the partnerships Iwant to expand on, these are
the places I want to go.
Or, like I didn't see this inthe contract.
Is this possible?

(17:15):
Like, have those types ofquestions already ready to go?
Because my director wouldprobably laugh if she was
hearing me say this.
Like she, we both, we worktogether really well, which is a
huge blessing.
But I asked so many questionson that first day because there
was.
There was things.
For instance, I'll tell youlike I live on the East side of
the state and a lot of mysponsors are on the West side of
the state because of ourwonderful tie with North Platte,

(17:36):
where Miss Nebraska is held.
But one of my responsibilitieswith my sponsored car is to keep
it clean all year.
Well, my car wash sponsor is inNorth Platte and that's not
going to work, and a $15 carwash every two weeks adds up,
and so the car wash that I go toall the time I loved, and I
asked my director.
I said, hey, do you mind if Ireach out to them?
I'm going to reach out to themand see if I can get a sponsor,

(17:56):
because I need to be.
I can't do this by myself.
And she was like, okay, go forit.
So I cold emailed the car washin town and I said I'm Rachel
Warren, miss Nebraska, here'swhat I need, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah.
I kind of undersold myself.
I thought they were just goingto give me like a wash a month.
They said, rachel, we'd love tosponsor Miss Nebraska.
Oh, my gosh, they gave me freecar washes for the whole year

(18:17):
and now they're on for the nextMiss Nebraska.
But like, had I not have hadthat?
Okay, I know I'm going to needa car wash sponsor and I did
that within the first threeweeks.
So I say that too is like havethose big goals and big dreams,
because if you write five ofthem down, chances are two or
three of them may come tofruition if you already kind of
have a goal of how you're goingto reach them.

Raeanna Johnson (18:41):
Yeah, as I'm listening to you, I'm like but
how do you know what to ask, howdo you know what problems need
to be solved, unless you, like,have been there or you're part
of it?
And so how did you like you'rethe question queen?
How do you know what questionsto right, just like if you
research a?

Raechel Warren (18:58):
job that you're interviewing for in the real
world, not the pageant world,but when you research right, you
kind of know what's theirmission and vision, what are
their values.
You can ask the other titleholders, right, just like you
ask people that work at thecompany what's the culture like,

(19:19):
what is the day-to-day?
You can ask those samequestions to a state title
holder or formers, because we'reserving in a job too, and so
use your resources, ask all thequestions.
Some things you may not learn,like some things I'm sure I
would forget to talk about orlike couldn't talk about, I
don't know.
But, honestly, we're kind of anopen book and I want to help

(19:40):
the next girls.
Like, I want you to besuccessful in this role, and if
the board isn't allowed toanswer the question, someone
else may know the answer.
Read that contract, you know.
Figure out who are the sponsors.
Figure out, know what skillsyou bring to the table.
Know where you need help.
That's my other big talkingpoint, too is know the areas
that you're weakest in.

(20:00):
Like I have really enjoyedsocial media, but I'm not a
quick editor, I'm very I'm not,and so I knew I was going to.
I asked for that too.
I was like is there anyone inour like circle, our board or
anyone that can help me withsome of all these social media
activations if I need it?
There wasn't at the time, butwe were able to figure that out.
But make it figure out thethings that you need and the

(20:23):
things that you're good at andask who can help you with those
things, because chances arethere's someone that can help
fill in those gaps.
But yeah, just use theresources around you for your
state and really dive into anypaperwork that you have to kind
of familiarize yourself withwhat the job is like now and
that way when you sit down thatnext day with that director, you
can have those questions readyto go when you sit down that

(20:44):
next day with that director.

Raeanna Johnson (20:44):
you can have those questions ready to go.
I love this concept of beingreally proactive and getting a
really solid, realistic jobpreview.
That is absolutely somethingthat I preach.
It's so important.
It's something I did beforegoing into the job.
But I think the other piece ofthis oh shoot, rachel, I lost my
train of thought There- wassomething really powerful that
you said no, no, no, it's good.

(21:06):
Oh, don't play victim.
Be proactive, don't play victim.
I think I love this concept ofyou might get told no, but you
might get told yes, and so notasking means that you're at
fault, right Like you can't playvictim just because something's
not provided for you when thoseresources weren't there to

(21:28):
begin with, you do have to bemindful and proactive and
solution focused.

Raechel Warren (21:33):
And there may be certain boundaries, right,
there may be things that, no, wecan't do that or no, we don't
have access, like that mayhappen, but you don't know that
unless you ask.
You also have to recognize allthese people, for the most part,
are volunteering their time.
My director has four kids andworks full time as a pharmacist.
She's busy, she's so busy, but,man, she pours her heart into

(21:53):
this.
But that means that I have to.
There's a given, a take there,in our relationship at least,
and so I have to recognize thatsometimes she might be like this
because that's all that she canhandle at the moment.
So if we've worked and we'vecommunicated enough over
communicate ladies as well, ifyou've communicated enough and
you kind of figure out, like Iknow she's told me I'm not good

(22:16):
at social media, like I mightneed your help or whatever, like
can you help me with this?
Can you answer this question?
Like, if you communicate thosestrengths and weaknesses with
your board too, then they rightaway know like how they can help
you and one may be really goodat this and one may be really
good at this, and then you kindof know who you can talk to.
And again, I recognize everyboard's different, and there may

(22:37):
be some things that you don'tget to learn until you get the
job.
That's the mystery, right, likethat's kind of part of the fun,
but for the most part, you canget a general sense of what
things could look like, andthat's all we're encouraging you
to do.
Right Is just, yeah, beproactive and ask those
questions and get to know asmuch as you can before you go in

(22:57):
, because, yeah, that just mademe think of something else.
Now I'm losing my train ofthought.
We'll get to it, but, yes, beproactive.

Raeanna Johnson (23:07):
Yeah, graciously proactive.
Yeah, good message, solid.
Okay, keeping in the businessside of things, how involved
were you?
I know, believe me, I lovetalking the business end of
things as well, but how involvedwere you in the professional
aspects of your role?
A?

Raechel Warren (23:25):
lot, a lot actually.
So, miss Nebraska, before thisyear it had been a long time,
but we didn't have a bookingmanager and we didn't have a
marketing board, a marketingchair, and so one of my asks
this year, when I knew I wantedto be a very busy and very
tangible Miss Nebraska and soone of my asks this year was
that I could have someone tohelp me with some bookings,

(23:46):
because I'm used to being veryproactive as a open title holder
.
Sometimes you don't have adirector.
You have maybe a liaison to thestate board, but you are really
in charge of getting your ownappearances and filling your
calendar.
So I was really used to doingthat already and thankfully, the
way Nebraska worked is that waskind of the responsibility put
on me, and so that was greatbecause I already knew that I

(24:07):
could, as long as wecommunicated, I could fill my
calendar how I needed to.
But I wanted to be extra busyand I wanted to expand my reach,
and so thankfully, we were ableto bring on a former Miss
Nebraska who's excellent atmarketing and social media and
she was able to kind of tag teamsome bookings with me, which
really helped, and so again, nowthe next girl has access to

(24:29):
that opportunity, which I thinkis great.
But going back to your originalquestion, we're very involved.
Every girl is going to bedifferent.
Since I'm a little bit olderand work full time as well, I
just naturally tend to do a lotmore myself and I like being
really involved and that workedgreat for my director and I,
because she functions a lot thesame way and she could trust me

(24:49):
with that responsibility.
If you're nervous about some ofthe business side and you are
in a state where you do a lot ofthat responsibility is put on
you.
That's where I really encourageyou to ask like what are the
best practices?
How do you prefer tocommunicate?
Can we have a standing meetingevery week?
Or how many really ask some ofthose basic questions?
Because if that's a newerconcept to you, that's totally

(25:12):
okay.
But go in prepared with thosetypes of questions as well, so
you can help them, help you.

Raeanna Johnson (25:20):
Absolutely, and I think that's gonna be
especially important for thisnext class, because they have
three months-h to prepare forMiss America.
So staying organized, staying ontop of that, communicating and
learning the job is a curve,typically like six months of
being in any position before youreally start to feel like
you're getting a hang of it.

(25:45):
So it's going to be a bit of alearning curve when you're
crowned and I think, expect that, expect that there's going to
be some bumps along the way andgo easy on yourself, Because I
know like Rachel you'vementioned it like every state is
run a little bit differentlybut every woman is experiencing
very similar things and there'sso much to relate on too.

Raechel Warren (26:05):
And if you're crowned, know that you earned it
.
Like they they thought that youwere the girl ready for this
job and so be confident in thatlike, be so confident in that
and lean in that because, yes,like I'm very thankful I had
like three months, I had sixmonths to enjoy the job and prep
at the same time and I kind ofdid those like this and I was
really grateful for that,because doing the service work
is prep, is the preparation, ina way, for Miss America, because

(26:28):
you're doing that job and so itwill be hard to balance.
But I do encourage the nextclass, like do a few of those
appearances that really do a fewappearances that make you feel
like you're advocating for yourcause.
Do some what I call princessappearances, where you feel like
you're Miss, whoever, and alittle girl calls you Barbie or

(26:48):
a princess and you just love youknow you get to experience that
and do some and do a lot ofadmin things.
Do some of the nitty gritty.
Like balance, try to do alittle bit of everything so you
have that experience to talkabout in the interview room, but
definitely don't overwhelmyourself.
I also recognize that I can'tspeak for an organization that
has a true like really busybooking manager or someone where

(27:09):
they like.
I do a lot of the communicationwith organizations myself and I
know that some of my sistersthey are not allowed to
communicate with the person whowants to book them has to go
exactly through the bookingmanager.
But, and if that's the case inyour state, I still encourage
you to be transparent andcommunicative with your board so
that they kind of know what isshe great at, what appearances

(27:32):
would she like to do and ifthat's still limited, at least
you know that you advocated foryourself and again, the answers
always know if you don't ask.
So still advocate to the extentthat you're able to.

Raeanna Johnson (27:45):
What did your research and outreach look like?

Raechel Warren (27:48):
for booking appearances In terms of like,
what email would look like, orhow I went about choosing my
appearances, both or both?

Raeanna Johnson (27:56):
Start with how you went about, like researching
what things you wanted to do,and go into how you connected
with people and how you likeactually you know took the steps
to communicate that.

Raechel Warren (28:08):
So one of the things I was most excited about
this year, my service initiativeis called Passion to Purpose,
so it's all about youthmentorship and that's been my
service initiative for 10 years.
And I was very excited becausethe year before I had partnered
with Mentor Nebraska, which is alarge umbrella organization
under the larger Mentor NationalProgram, and so I'd been
working with them for a year andhad really gotten into a lot of

(28:29):
these community groups.
And then I learned that whenMiss Nebraska was crowned we
were going to be reigniting ourpartnership with Teammates,
which is a mentoring programstarted here in Lincoln by Coach
Tom Osborne.
And that was awesome because Iknew that my service initiative
was going to fit really wellwith the teammates initiative.
And so I instantly started,even before Miss Nebraska, way

(28:51):
before I was like researchingteammates and learning how my
already like my mission and myvision tied in and correlated
with theirs.
And so as soon as thatpartnership was started, I
instantly reached out to the CEOand said hi, like.
And we already kind of knew,like he knew, what my skillset
were when we met.
But I made it very clear upfront I want to help speak at as

(29:12):
many events as possible.
I want to be in as many schoolsas possible.
Please let me know how I canhelp you.
And that was my, that was myphrase the whole year.
I would love to be a part ofyour event.
This is you know, my name isRachel.
This is what I do blah, blah,blah.
I know you have this eventcoming up.
I would love to serve.
Please let me know how I can bea part of your event.

(29:32):
And I have to tell you I knewthere's opportunity to make
money as a title holder rightOftentimes, which is amazing
because we need that in our job,but that is also can sometimes
be on you and.
But I also knew that I wastrying to build the brand of
Miss Nebraska.
So I was already kind of veryaware that some of my work was
going to be pro bono.

(29:52):
And just how can I help at yourevent, getting in the door and
then eventually that would buildinto oh, can we book Miss
Nebraska?
Oh, this is my fee, I'm happyto be there, but, like, this is
my fee, respectfully.
And that worked and it wasreally cool because I was able
to get into some events andexpand into organizations that I
don't know if Miss Nebraska hasever been in front of.

(30:14):
And it all was because I foundan email.
I knew what types of events Iwanted to do Googled I was often
on like event calendars for acommunity.
Do that.
You'll never know what youmight find.
And reaching out and justintroducing myself and
enthusiastically saying like Iwant to help, how can I, how can
I help?
And then showing up and beingthe best servant leader, I could

(30:36):
be at that event and it wasawesome and I got to go all over
the state doing stuff like that.

Raeanna Johnson (30:42):
Do you ever struggle with money mindset when
it comes to like telling peoplewhat what the fees are?

Raechel Warren (30:49):
Yeah, because I often think, especially as local
title holders, right, we'redoing it out of the goodness of
our heart, we're doing it forvolunteering, and so you're not
used to asking for money.
And so then, when it comes tothe state role and you realize
you can get paid, I think,especially in our state, I don't
think it's valued that way.
I've had to really, um, build,help build that culture of, oh,

(31:13):
I pay Miss Nebraska to come toan appearance.
I think some organizations thatknow of Miss Nebraska or have
the funds readily available it'snot, it's not that big of a
deal, um, but for instance, Iknow some states where my sister
queens told me they couldn't doan appearance unless it was
paid, and that broke my heartbecause what if some of the
schools here couldn't pay forthat?

(31:34):
So that was really important tome, that that was never going to
be a barrier.
But if it was an option, Iwould go for it.
But that took about six toseven months, to be quite honest
with you, maybe five, but Iwould go for.
But that took about six toseven months, to be quite honest
with you, maybe five, but Iwould say five to seven for me
to feel confident in asking forthat fee and I really tried to
focus more on the organizationsI knew could pay that fee,

(31:55):
because it was really hard forme to ask and I didn't want that
to limit my year.
But I hope that I've helpedbuild that culture back, that
like she's doing a job.

Raeanna Johnson (32:10):
But I hope that I've helped build that culture
back, that, like she's doing ajob, she's traveling the state
and it's hard work and sheshould be valued and her service
should be valued Absolutely.
And I think, when it comes toservice, you can be of service
to people in exchange forcompensation, just like a job.
It's a job A hundred percent.
And just because we label itlike a year of service doesn't
mean that that service doesn'tneed to be, or can't be,

(32:32):
compensated.
Service of you know, being inservice to people is very
different than volunteering yourtime.
Yes, and I think that'ssomething that we all really
need to start clicking intounderstanding.

Raechel Warren (32:42):
And I think that's something that we all
really need to start clickinginto understanding and I don't
think that's talked about asyou're preparing for state Like
it is.
But it's not.
And it's not unless you reallyask those questions, because
oftentimes girls ask, well, doyou make money?
I get asked that all the timeLike, do you make money?
And it surprises me that thatseems to be, and maybe there's
something there that I'm naiveto over this decade, but like,

(33:03):
why?
And maybe there's somethingthere that I'm naive to over
this decade.
But why aren't we sharing thatwith women?
Why aren't we empowering themthat, yeah, this is a job.
You can make money in this jobin a really positive way, that
then you can give back.
Right, miss Nebraska, missWisconsin, that opened so many
opportunities that that moneyyou made or the people you met

(33:23):
that paid you for thatappearance like that might lead
you into more philanthropicservice Like you never know,
right, and that's okay.

Raeanna Johnson (33:31):
Yes, we could go down a rabbit hole of talking
about like why we don't talkabout this more as women and why
we fall into this Like we arejust going to live with a
servant's heart and expectnothing in return type of
mentality.
You totally do that, but I feellike that is a topic for a
completely separate episode, andI think the main message here

(33:53):
is it's going to take a littlebit of growth and getting over
some of the mindset struggleswith charging what you're worth
and accepting reimbursement foryour service.
But that can be, and oftentimesis, a very real part of the job
of a state title holder.
There are states that do notcharge anything for their
appearances and that's verydifficult, like not even travel

(34:14):
reimbursement.
So, yeah, it's very interestinghow each organization is run.

Raechel Warren (34:19):
I mean, one of my sisters told me she gets paid
to be in parades and I loveparades.
I was like you get paid to bein parades?
Well, I would never not.
I said I have to pay my wayinto a parade and I never again.
I wanted to be accessible.
So I would never like not do aparade Like those are some of
the best appearances andexperiences.
But I thought that was reallyamazing and I'm like that's so
great for you that you get paidto be an apprentice and maybe

(34:41):
we'll be there one day.
But again, that's setting thatculture and you can be a part of
that.
Like every girl, like you cando something to make it leave it
better than you found it.
That's also part of your job,right?
And if I know that I encouragethe next girl to maybe feel like
she can charge a little bitmore or ask a few more people
for that fee, then like cool, Ihelped, I helped encourage them
in that way.

Raeanna Johnson (35:02):
Yeah, all right , let's dive into more of the
competing at Miss America,because obviously that is a huge
part of your experience as astate title holder and one of
the dreams that we all aspire toexperience.
So how did your prep for MissAmerica differ from your prep
for Miss Nebraska?

Raechel Warren (35:23):
So it was a lot of the same, to be quite honest,
just a different priority set.
So I was prepping with theintention of that preparation
from state was going to pourright into Miss America, so that
it wasn't going to feel like,oh my gosh.
Now I'm prepping for MissAmerica because I didn't believe
that's how it should be.
It was more of a lifestylething, and so I kept a lot of my
routines the same, but I alsoknew what areas I really wanted

(35:47):
to focus on.
Interview is really natural forme.
I love being in the interviewroom.
So, yes, of course I preppedthat, but I really wanted to.
I wanted to perform my talentto like the peak of its ability,
um, bearing all unforeseencircumstances.
So I really prepped my talent.
I really focused on nailingsome things there, dialing in
some things, um, I really wantedto make sure that my evening

(36:09):
wear and my fitness phasehighlighted the best of myself,
focused on practicing my hairand makeup.
I did have someone come with me, but I wanted to make sure I
was prepared and that mywardrobe perfectly showcased who
I was as Rachel in every pieceof that week.
So, whether Arrival, our AHAevent that day, whatever, it was

(36:30):
the tea party, I wanted eachpiece of wardrobe to represent
me, so there was little detailslike that that, after having
this dream finally be realized,I was like I'm pouring
everything I have into thesecertain pieces so that I can
know I left with no regrets sothat I can know I didn't.

Raeanna Johnson (36:49):
You know, I left with no regrets.
And what were some of thebiggest lessons, or even
unexpected challenges, that youencountered on your way to the
national stage?

Raechel Warren (36:57):
So oftentimes you know, you hear that you need
to be adaptable.
That's a word that I feel likea lot of state title holders are
told be adaptable, be adaptable, and it's super true.
One director once told me beflexible and gracious, and I can
tell you that that phraseologyhas been one of the most
important phrases I could everhold on to.

(37:17):
But the other one that I wouldencourage your listeners in is
perspective, because there aregoing to be things.
Miss America is the best weekof your life.
I mean we all got sick, but itwas the best week of my life.
But there were still challengesthat came up that I don't think
you could have ever imagined.
But if I hadn't have been somentally strong in this is what

(37:39):
I'm bringing to the table.
You cannot take away thisexperience, and I also made sure
that in that first comment Isaid make sure you have a circle
of people around you.
Know your people, Know yourvillage of people, whether
they're there or on a phone callaway.
Know what people you need formental mindset.
Your coach, Like my skatingcoach, is really important.

(38:02):
I knew my director was reallyimportant for certain things.
I knew my mom and I.
She used to be my skating coach.
That doesn't work anymore.
I can't talk to her aboutskating stuff.
I talked to my skating coach,but each one of those people on
talent day specifically played avery big role in helping make
sure that I was still able toperform what I was able to
perform.
And if I hadn't have had thatand I hadn't been able to switch

(38:24):
that perspective and go, okay,this may not be what I wanted it
to be or what I prepped for itto be, but no one else knows
that but me, and I'm going to goout there and give the best
performance that I possibly can,because that's why not like no
regrets.
And so talking about it makesme emotional, because it was
hard to know that you all didn'tget to see exactly what I had

(38:47):
prepared.
But I also still know that man,I'm so proud of myself for,
like, getting up and going outthere and doing it.
But I wouldn't have been ableto do it without just that
mindset, preparedness ofperspective and the people
around me.
Like I just credit it all tothe people that I had in my
corner.

Raeanna Johnson (39:04):
Can you dive a little bit deeper into some of
the struggles that you facedwith your talent that weekend?

Raechel Warren (39:11):
So again, I had prepped my talent so hard Over
the last few years I've skatedon a lot of different surfaces
and I carry three sets of wheelswith me.
I carry different stuff thatcan go on my wheels if the floor
is really slick.
I have tools in my bay, stuffthat can go on my wheels if the
floor is really slick.
I have tools in my bay.
Like, I've skated on so manysurfaces that I felt very

(39:32):
prepared for anything that thisstage could be.
And I went out on the stage forthat rehearsal and I couldn't
roll.
I couldn't roll.
The stage was a differentmaterial than what I thought it
was and I always touch the floorbefore.
Like when I first get on thatstage.
I touch it and I kind of telland I felt really good about it.
But the stage was like adifferent material.
It was a vinyl.

(39:52):
It wasn't um, it wasn't um,marley or anything like.
It wasn't wood anything.
And so I had met a coach inFlorida.
I was able to call the rink.
They were able to get me a newpair of wheels.
My mom had to run and get newwheels.
Oh, my goodness it was.
It was a lot and there weretears.
For sure my sisters can attestto that Like but I usually keep

(40:15):
things pretty stoic, but it waslike this whole you had built,
built, built, built, built andit was like all crashing down.
But I was like my skating coachwas like Rachel, no one knows
what your routine is except you.
You can't even do take thatroutine, but you practice book,
go like this, because whatthey're going to see it may be
different, but no one knows thatand that's the routine that
they get today.
And that's what I went outthere and I took my entrance and

(40:38):
I just skated as best as Icould and I had, I had fun and
that was my goal was to showcaseskating with everybody and even
though it's really hard to knowthat like there's things that
you didn't get to see, and thatwhole day was really hard, um, I
was, I was so prepared for anysituation and I knew who I
needed to ask if things came up,that I was able to get through

(41:01):
it and I was able to still bereally proud of what I performed
.
Um, because I was just, I wasjust so prepared, and so that's,
that's just my encouragement.
Is you just?
You don't know what you'regoing to be prepared for, but do
all the things you need to doin case the worst case scenario
happens, because even if it isworst case, you still know that,

(41:40):
like you did all that you coulddo, you know, yeah, sorry, and
I love it because that's real,yeah.

Raeanna Johnson (41:46):
So solution focused, though and that is so
much of what we talk about onSash and Soul is having that
perspective of, like, whatmatters here and turn your
attention away from the thingsthat are not serving you, that
you can't control.
Turning your attention awayfrom those and focusing on the

(42:07):
things that you can do somethingabout, even if that's like five
minutes of crying and focusingon yourself and I think that was
my setback when I went to MissAmerica was not allowing myself
and giving myself the grace tofeel what I needed to feel.
Just feeling like I wassupposed to have it all together
all the time, or somehow I wasfailing or not prepared for this

(42:29):
job was the biggest mistakethat I could have made, because
it is an emotional journey, itis a roller coaster.
When you're there, it'sphysically exhausting, it's
mentally emotionally exhausting,there's so much going on, there
can be so many hiccups and likefeel what you're going to feel,
allow yourself to feel that,give yourself that grace and
that validation.

Raechel Warren (42:49):
I had to do that even now, because it's still
surreal to know that we werethere.
It went so fast and I tried tolike be so present the entire
time, which I feel like I was.
I'm really grateful for that.
But sometimes I still havemoments where I'm like, man,
that was really hard, liketelling you that story.
Like sometimes I'm like dang it.
Like telling you that story,like sometimes I'm like dang it

(43:10):
Like what if?
Like what if I could haveskated better, you know?
Or like why did that happen,why was, and?
But you and it's okay, I think,to like work through those
emotions because it does mean somuch to you, right, we all work
so hard for that one moment.
But again, that's why it's soimportant to be detached and as
detached as I was, it was stillreally hard, but like that is
okay for us to feel that.
And as someone who is very likehardcore, sometimes I allow

(43:33):
myself like it's okay to cryevery once in a while about it,
or like it's okay to wonder whatif?
But that just shows again howmuch you care about it, you know
.
And now, when I put my skateson, when I put my skates on for
the first time a couple monthsago to practice that routine,
and like I bawled because I waslike man, why couldn't the floor
have felt like that?
That felt really good, you know, and like that was okay.

(43:56):
I called my mom and she waslike Rachel, it's okay that
you're like having that moment,because this is your, like you
love to skate, so, yeah, it'sokay to have those emotions, to
have those emotions.

Raeanna Johnson (44:05):
You're grieving .
There is Kaylee, and I talkedabout this like at length.
There is a grieving processthat comes with coming home from
Miss America having notachieved your goals.
Even if you did achieve yourgoals I mean, the first runner
up my year still, like, alsostruggled with those things,
like she, she did so very welland also had that grieving

(44:27):
process of, oh my gosh, thisexperience is done.
It's like everything we yeah,yeah, there's such a significant
letdown that most people,unless they've been there and
been through it, will not beable to understand.
And I, as I'm listening to yourstory about your talent, I
listened to Kaylee's story abouther talent.
We talked about these thingsand my interview was awful.

(44:49):
I still struggle with my MissAmerica interview.
I was just telling a clientthis morning I have the DVD of
my interview.
It has been a decade.
I don't think I will ever watchit back.

Raechel Warren (45:00):
I didn't buy the DVD of my talent.
I have it on video, but I waslike no, and I watch it
sometimes, but I'm like no, Idon't need to.
But yeah, love that.

Raeanna Johnson (45:24):
You share that, though, and I appreciate that,
rihanna, because you're almost10 years out from that
experience and you still havethose moments.
I think that's encouraging toknow that it's not just going to
go away next year when I don'thave the crown on my head, and
that's okay because it's a partof your life.
Yeah, there's going to be a lotof post experience processing.
That's going to go on.
It's it's what, and that'sthat's a huge reason why I
wanted to do these, the seriesas well as like, let's talk
about the reality here.
Like, yeah, there's thebusiness side, which is awesome,
and yeah, there's theappearances, which are so fun,

(45:45):
and there's the excitement andbuildup of going to Miss America
and being a part of thisincredible class of women during
your year, and all of thosethings are wonderful.
And there's also this otherside of it.
This is the side that forcesyou to grow.
This is the part of it thatchanges you throughout your year

(46:05):
.

Raechel Warren (46:06):
Like I remember when I was preparing, when I was
still at school at Seattle U,and everyone was waiting for
that spring forum where thedirector would leave and the
Miss Washington would come inand you're like, okay, what can
you tell us about the job?
But I still felt like we nevergot to know about the job.
But it was like you wanted tofinally hear from her.
Like, what are all thesemysterious things?
And and I don't want it to bethat way Like, of course, again,

(46:28):
there's going to be things thatlike maybe she can't talk about
, like whatever, but like I wantyou to feel like you can ask me
about the job, because I wantyou to feel so prepared, as
prepared as you can be, to dothe job.
Because if you, if you are andif you go into it with wow, how
can I like make this better?
What can I do today?
Dale Thomas, she came and spokeat Miss America this year.

(46:50):
I don't know if you're familiarwith her, but her story is
phenomenal and she told us onfirst day at orientations.
She said you're not tired,you're energized, you're not,
you're too blessed to bestressed and you're not
overwhelmed, you're in demand.
And while there's going to bedays where, like, you feel
really overwhelmed.
Maybe you have threeappearances and you're driving
all over and you haven't eaten,maybe a Jimmy, but a Jimmy

(47:12):
John's sandwich, and you've hadfive cups of coffee, like
whatever.
If you can like remind yourself,like, okay, today's a little
crazy, but, wow, I get to beMiss Nebraska today.
This is awesome.
And like, you can do that asmuch as possible.
Like it you're going to have,you're going to have a great
year.
And then if you need to have amoment, that evening where you

(47:34):
call your mom or your friend oryour director or whoever your
confidant is and go, wow, todaywas nuts, and you like let that
out, that's okay.
But remind yourself that thisis a gift and every day with
that crown is a blessing.
And if you can do that everyday, then you're going to have a
great year, no matter whatlittle things come up, because
you'll just be able to go well,that was kind of weird, but okay
.
And you can like laugh it offand move on to the next thing.

Raeanna Johnson (47:55):
There's so much power in gratitude and
appreciation, even in, like, thelittlest, tiniest things.
It just you're, you're just soright.
It's really odd, but okay.
That wasn't how I thought wasgoing to make for a really good
memory someday.

Raechel Warren (48:11):
Or a great story .
That's what I say.
It's going to make for a greatstory when I emcee my next event
, like you know.
So.

Raeanna Johnson (48:17):
Yes, yeah, exactly.
Isn't it funny, though, likeyour year kind of turns into
this culmination of stories.

Raechel Warren (48:22):
Oh, yes, for sure.

Raeanna Johnson (48:24):
And then.

Raechel Warren (48:25):
it's been fun with these retirement home
visits because they ask greatquestions and I've gotten to
really reflect and tell some ofthese stories about as the year
especially starts to wind down.
It's been really fun.

Raeanna Johnson (48:36):
All right, let's talk about the human side
of this a little bit more.
I want to get deeper in this.
We're past, miss America.
We are well into your year.
You know what you're doing.
It's been amazing.
We're also reaching the end.
So, in reflection, were theremoments that you felt lonely and

(48:59):
misunderstood and burnt out, orthe imposter syndrome that
sometimes goes along with atitle like this.

Raechel Warren (49:06):
I've been thinking about this a lot
because of your questions butalso, as I like, work to write
my farewell letter and I writemy letter to the next girl.
To be totally transparent withyou, I have to say I'm very
grateful.
I do not feel like I had thelonely year that I've heard some
girls have, and I can attributethat to just the community I've
built around myself.
I have a really amazing boardof directors.

(49:29):
I have a lovely community inNorth Platte with a host mom
that whenever I travel, I'vegotten to stay with some great
families and I love to drive,and so that has made my year, I
think, better than maybe forsomeone who does not like to
travel alone or is maybe a lotyounger and is not used to being
by themselves that often, likethat's so real.

(49:49):
So surround yourself again withthe community that can lift you
up.
But I think it can be hard toprioritize yourself and find
that balance in your friendships.
And that is what was reallyhard for me, because I am
sometimes a people pleaser and Ilove to be involved in
everything and, as many of youmay or may not know, I am

(50:13):
engaged and so my fiance assupportive.
He's a great Mr Nebraska, buthe, especially toward the end,
as we get closer to the weddingtoo, he's like I, you've done
such a great job, but you know,at the end of the day, he's like
man, I'm really ready for youto be done in like the most
positive way, because it's likeI'm gone all the time, or if I'm
with him, I might be on myphone, like doing social media,
because that's my job, and likehe's ready for us to be able to

(50:35):
go on a date where, like, it'sjust us and not me and a phone.
He called this our like other,our third wheel, and I'm like,
yes, reprioritize, in fulltransparency, my fitness,
because it was such a part of mylifestyle.
I love working out, but now thatI've like gone back to my

(50:55):
full-time job, a little bit moreso, and now I'm getting ready
for the year end and I've beentraveling a little more, like
I've had a really hard timefinding my new normal, and it's
May, and like Miss America wasin January, and I've also had to
allow myself grace to go.
That's okay too, becausefitness, for instance, can be a
part of your lifestyle and bedifferent than what it's like

(51:19):
when you're prepping right, likeI love being active, but that
activity may look a little bitdifferent than when I'm prepping
for Miss America, and that'stotally okay, and I've had to
give myself grace for that too.
And so just knowing that it's aseason and that your
relationships will lookdifferent, and again
over-communicate and ask forhelp, and don't try to do it

(51:41):
alone, because even if you'renot lonely, you're not.
Even if you are lonely, you'renot alone, I guess is what I'm
trying to say and don't beafraid to ask for help in any
area that you need it duringyour year.

Raeanna Johnson (51:56):
Kaylee and I were talking about this too,
like how difficult it can be toknow what you need help with
sometimes too.
Did you ever experience that?

Raechel Warren (52:05):
Honestly, right now I feel like this is the this
month, like April, ish, end ofMarch, april.
I've started to actually feeltired and I feel guilty about it
because I am so grateful and,like we just talked about, like
every day is such a gift andI've really been trying to do
that.
When I put that crown on go.
I'm so excited to speak today,cause, like I am genuinely, but

(52:28):
I have had a lot of days whereI'm like I just want to like lay
on the couch and do nothing andI don't want to go, go, go, go,
go.
Or I want to do something elseand I felt kind of guilty about
it and I really like I wastalking to my director about it
and I was like I feel bad, thatI feel tired because I want to
like finish out my year strong.
And she kind of looked at melike are you kidding, rachel?

(52:49):
Like you've done so much, likeit's okay to take to like take a
step back, like.
Or our premarital counselorswere like their daughters were
Miss Nebraska and they were likeRachel, you have done the job,
like you've done the job andit's okay to start like focusing
on life after the job.
It's okay, and I didn'tnecessarily know how to ask.

(53:10):
It was just more like I justfeel guilty about this.
What, what do I?
Is this okay that I feel thisway?
That's kind of what I've beenstruggling with, to be honest.

Raeanna Johnson (53:21):
So, now that the year is almost over, what do
you hope that people rememberabout your year?

Raechel Warren (53:30):
what do you hope that people remember about your
year?
Um, that I was authenticallymyself every day and that they
have learned something amazingabout miss nebraska and that
maybe they took away.
Just their interaction wasreally positive.
My goal was to leave everyyoung person or every adult with
the feeling that what they hadto say really mattered and that
they were uniquely made.
That was my message to everyassembly.

(53:52):
Every classroom was you wereuniquely, beautifully and
wonderfully made.
And if that is the only thingthat stuck with them, or for the
young boys, if all theyremembered was Stella the
Mustang that I drove around formy first six months as Miss
Nebraska, but I got to signtheir hat or their shoe or their
autograph card, and that was apositive experience and I did my
job and I can confidently tellyou I was authentically Rachel

(54:15):
every single day.
Um, and I had a blast, and so Ijust hope that people remember
the wonderful things that MissNebraska is from my year.

Raeanna Johnson (54:25):
Are you experiencing any kind of
struggle with like thebittersweetness that comes with
moving on from this and into thenext, really beautiful chapter
of your life getting married andbuilding your career and all
the things that come with that?

Raechel Warren (54:39):
Yeah, you know I am struggling with it because,
as we've kind of already talkedabout right, when you prep for
state, like it's all your thing,and when you do it for so many
years, that's part of yourroutine, and so it's going to be
very odd because the only yearI didn't do that was COVID and
that was kind of forced right Ihad a summer for because I had
to kind of, I guess, and so it'sgoing to be weird to like not

(55:02):
be doing that and I'm going tomiss it because I love it, I
love the sisterhood, I love thepeople.
Meeting the people is like myfavorite part of being a title
holder, and so I'm going to missall that.
But I'm trying to focus that onlike okay, how can I keep doing
?
How can I build off the thingsthat I did this year?
How can I like I'm alreadyworking on an organization I

(55:23):
might be involved with after thecrown of like still
philanthropically giving back tothe community and like using my
public speaking skills MaybeI'll be civically engaged one
day.
But not letting again, notletting the crown be the end,
all be all.
But it's still bittersweet,because who doesn't love to like
wear sparkly dresses all thetime and a crown on their head,
Like that's really fun.
But I'm also 29 and like maybewe should put that, maybe we

(55:44):
should put that away and likethat's okay to have that balance
.
A former title holder also toldme who's older.
She's like late, early fiftiesand she said your next, your
next goal, is to be a great wifeand that's okay for that to be
your goal.
And so, knowing that, like Ilove that Madison Marsh was
engaged during her year becauseshe showed that like we have a

(56:05):
life outside of the crown and Ithink that's really cool to show
young ladies that, yes, thiscan be a goal and this can be a
huge launching pad, but it'sokay for that not to be your
whole everything, becausethere's so much life after it we
have a new Miss Nebraska that'sgoing to be crowned soon.

Raeanna Johnson (56:22):
You have given so much advice already, but what
is something that you wouldtell Ms Nebraska on her very
first day?

Raechel Warren (56:32):
This is so hard because I have so many things
that I've like written down inher letter.
I want her to just be goconfidently into her first day,
knowing that she is Ms Nebraskaand that whoever she is is
exactly what Miss Nebraska needsthat year.
And it's exactly what Nebraskaneeds her to be that year.
It's exactly what that next kidshe's going to see in the

(56:54):
classroom needs that year.
She's the perfect girl for thatyear and she doesn't need to be
like me.
She doesn't need to be likeTeresa Scanlon, who became Miss
America.
She doesn't need to be like thegirl five years before her.
She's her and she is whatNebraska needs that year.
And be so confident in that andhave the best year of your life

(57:15):
.

Raeanna Johnson (57:17):
What will you, or would you remind her after
300 days on the job?

Raechel Warren (57:24):
To look back at that, firstly, and to remember
that she was chosen for a reasonand that, even on the days
where it gets really hard, knowthat she is also beautifully and
wonderfully made.
And I would also just encourageher to take a day off, that
it's okay to lounge in yoursweatpants and watch TV and
maybe not answer an email, butto not feel like she has

(57:46):
anything.
Remember that she has nothingto pretend, nothing to defend.
She is perfect the way that sheis.

Raeanna Johnson (57:52):
And even on the days where maybe someone didn't
appreciate her or she got toldno, that that's okay and that
doesn't disenfranchise her ormake her any less than my last
question on the list that I'mreally excited to just like ask
every one of you is when youlook back on this season of your

(58:13):
life, five, 10 years from now,what do you, what do you think
you're going to remember themost about this?

Raechel Warren (58:23):
The people.
I was just telling someone elsethat the people like I have
loved every conversation I'vegotten to have with, whether it
be a teacher or a student, orthe host people or the host
families I get to stay with.
It's the people Like.
It's if you can truly beengaged in every moment and ask
questions and really not just bethere to be pretty and do

(58:45):
whatever you're asked to do thatday, but like really engage
with those around, do whateveryou're asked to do that day, but
like really engage with thosearound you, you're going to
learn a ton, you're going to seea ton.
You're just going to leavefeeling like your world just got
a little bit bigger.
And I think that that's whatI'll take away this year and
there's so many connections thatI will have now for the rest of
my life because I chose to dothat and I hope that I can look

(59:09):
back in five to 10 years andshare that with my future kids
and share that with wherever I'mat in my career and be able to
tell those stories and see thefruits of that intentionality
still be fruitful.

Raeanna Johnson (59:20):
Amazing.
I love that.
What a beautiful way to endthis conversation.
Rachel, thank you so much foryour time today and for, just
again, like your, your passion,your character, your insights
are really, really beautiful andaspirational, and I'm excited
to see what what comes next foryou in your life or I'm excited

(59:44):
to see your wedding gown andphotos from that all over social
media and the civic or, youknow, service opportunities that
you're going to be engaged in.
You're going to do incrediblethings and you're a great
example to what thisorganization is all about.
So thank you.

Raechel Warren (59:59):
I just encourage .
One last thing is that thisprogram changed your life, if
you let it.
Use this, use this program ofthe launching pad for yourself
and take in every opportunity.
I cannot wait to give back.
I can't wait to volunteer insome other way, um, but just
participating is a game changer,and so kudos to you for
participating in a local orstate, and if you never walk

(01:00:21):
away with the crown like you won, like Maddie Marsh said, win
the experience.
Go give so much of yourselfinto it that you win the
experience, regardless of whathappens, because if you let it,
it will totally change your lifein the best way.

Raeanna Johnson (01:00:34):
Absolutely, totally agree.
Oh, thank you again, appreciateyou.
I will have all the links sothat you can follow Rachel on
her Miss Nebraska page and herpersonal page so that you can
see all the cool things thatshe's going to be doing in the
future, and I'm sure she'd beopen to a DM or two if you had
more questions for her as well.
So, all right, you guys, I willbe back with you again next

(01:00:57):
week with another episode ofSash and Soul and the Crown and
Candid series, with more amazingguests from across the country
talking about their experiencesas title holders this year.
I will talk with you then.
Bye.