1. Where is your hometown? Vesper, WI
2. What is your name? Christa Brehm
3. What are some nicknames you go by?
The only person who doesn’t call me by my first name is my dad and he calls me “shorts” for how tiny I was growing up.
4. When is your birthday? August 11, 1993
5. What year are you currently in school at UW-La Crosse? Currently a senior.
6. What is/was your major and minor? What would you say to young girls to encourage them to pursue a degree in STEM?
Majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Psychology. Young girls need to know that they can still be princesses and love pink and be good at science, technology, engineering, and math. They’re not only pretty but they’re pretty brilliant too.
7. What do you enjoy most about UW-La Crosse and the La Crosse Community?
The beautiful scenery. I grew up in the middle of nowhere so I definitely appreciate the outdoors. I couldn’t live somewhere that didn’t have a lot of green space.
8. What is your dream job? What did you want to be when you were little?
My absolute dream job would be to work with brain based technology to develop technologies to restore the independence of people with neurologic disease, injury, or limb loss. The brain and the way humans work has always fascinated me.
I love animals so growing up I wanted to be a Veterinarian but I soon learned I didn’t have the stomach or the heart to poke and prod at animals.
9. What are your future plans?
I will be starting a new internship as a software engineer soon and will be competing for the title of Miss Wisconsin in June. Now that my college career will be coming to an end in a year it’s exciting to start bridging that gap between school and the real world. I look forward to continuing my year of service as Miss River City and look forward to the myriad of opportunities my future has in store for me.
10. What inspired you to get involved with the Miss America Organization?
My initial draw to the Miss America Organization was the opportunity to perform. As a young girl I was extremely shy but loved everything about being on stage; it had a way of pulling me out of my shell. I grew up watching my cousin and brother’s girlfriends compete at the Miss Wisconsin Rapids Area pageant and I loved the idea of being able to perform my talent in front of hundreds of people and earn scholarship money at the same time.
11. What would you say to someone who questioned the relevancy of pageantry in today’s society?
One reason why the Miss America Organization is still relevant today is that it is the number one provider of scholarship assistance for young women in the world. In a day and age where college tuition becomes increasingly more expensive, having the opportunity to better yourself, give back to your community, and pay for your college education at the same time could not be more relevant.
12. What is your personal platform that you promote and why did you choose this platform? How do you spread awareness of this issue?
My platform is called “Promoting young women in STEM education – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.” Being a woman in a STEM related field I have a passion for all things geeky and that’s something I think all little girls should embrace. I chose my platform because of the toy GoldieBlox, an engineering toy geared towards grade school aged girls. In a world where men largely outnumber women in STEM young girls lose interest in these areas by the age of 8. Construction toys help develop an early interest in these subjects, but for over a hundred years, they have been considered “boy’s toys.” GoldieBlox aims to disrupt the pink aisle and inspireyoung girls in a way my generation and older didn’t have the opportunity to. There are a million girls out there who are engineers, mathematicians, and scientists. They just might not know it yet.
13. What titles have you held and what have you learned from your involvement in the Miss America Organization?
I held the title of Miss La Crosse/Oktoberfest 2013 and just recently earned the title of Miss River City 2014. Growing up as an introvert and putting myself out there as a title holder within the Miss America Organization has taught me that sometimes you have to go outside your comfort zone to succeed. I’ve learned to conquer my fears and push myself to take those leaps of faith. After all, if you don’t take a chance you’ll never know what you’re truly capable of.