Get to know Miss North Carolina Beth Stovall

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Beth Stovall, a 20 year old student at UNC-Wilmington was crowned Miss North Carolina 2014 on Saturday. Her life immediately changed. "I was so shocked and surprised and extremely humbled, and just so happy and excited, all at once," Stovall said.

She says it is now game time. Stovall has just three months to get ready for Miss America, and preparation is already under way. The newly crowned queen told us that the past few days have been busy. "I have tried on so many dresses just to get ready for competition, because I have a lot of different things to wear, like my evening gown, my talent gown, my on stage competition dress, and interview, and so we really had to launch head first into deciding what it is I'm going to wear."

Each contestant competes in interview, evening gown, on stage question, swimsuit and talent, which is the category that sets the Miss America Pageant apart from the Miss USA pageant.

Stovall wasn't shy to share which aspect she is most nervous about. "It might be a tie between swimsuit and interview, just because no matter how many times you compete in swimsuit, it's just not natural to be in a swimsuit on stage, so I'm going to really have to work on boosting my confidence and just getting ready to strut my stuff on the Miss America stage."

That task should not be hard for this swimsuit preliminary winner. She also won talent at the state level.

All the glitz and glamour aside, she's most passionate about her platform, "Inspiration Art." Stovall is planning to launch a new campaign to encourage school aged children to get involved in the arts. Miss North Carolina will also be a goodwill ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network. As an ambassador she will raise money for the organization and visit children and families in the hospital.

It will be a year of community service and exceptional opportunity. Stovall will need your help to secure a spot in the top 10. Miss America will once again have a "People's Choice" portion of the competition, where you can vote Stovall in. And, she's asking for your help. "Make sure to vote for me and watch my video as many times as you can, and do everything that you can to help me get to the Miss America stage and bring that crown to North Carolina." Videos will be released in a few months.

The Miss America Pageant will air live on ABC-11 on Sunday, September 14.