Congrats Miss Nevada

We've been following Christina Keegan's career since she played the clever sister Camellia in the Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School presentation of "The Flower Sisters" in 2000.

The reigning Miss Nevada played tennis at Douglas High School and graduated in 2004.

She graduated in 2008 from Rosemont Women's College in Pennsylvania where she received a bachelor of science degree in biology. While attending college, in 2006, she was named Miss Berks County, Pa. She participated in the Miss Pennsylvania Pageant in 2007.

She won a president's scholarship to attend Rosemont, where she was on the dean's list for every year she was there.

She graduated from Rosemont in 2008.

She came home and was named Miss Carson Valley last year. She competed in the Miss Nevada contest, but came in second to Miss Carson City.

This year was her turn, though. After being named Miss North Counties, she returned to Reno and bested 11 other opponents to take the crown.

During the interim, she completed her first year of medical school at the University of Utah School of Medicine, but will take a year off to compete in the Miss America contest in January.

We can think of no better example of Keegan's persistance in pursuit of a goal and are proud to have been here to chronicle her life from middle school to the present day.

We offer our congratulations to Keegan and you can be assured we'll be rooting for her at the Miss America Pageant in January.