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Kristi Glakas

Kristi Lauren Glakas Ingram (born March 16, 1981 in Centreville, Virginia) is an American beauty pageant contestant.

Personal life

She attended George Mason University and majored in 20th Century English with a Pre-Medicine Concentration. She was on George Mason University Dean's List Scholar and recipient of the Hoya Crystal Scholarship. Her future plans were to continue her education and become a medical doctor and continue advocacy for children and to act on their behalf as a community and public leader.

She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with a Concentration in Social Sciences at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she is a representative on the Honor Committee and a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society. She is a chairperson on the Presidential Debate Initiative and the Managing Editor for University of Virginia's pre-law magazine. She maintains an A average and is a member of the Alpha Lambda Sigma Honor Society. She is a member of The Virginia Themis Society. She served two terms on the Honor Committee.

She has studied in Africa, and is continuing her research with Rotary International. She was sent to Athens, Greece, to lobby the President, and is an active member of the American Hellenic Institute. She met President Bush and Secretary of State Rice during her year of service as Miss Virginia, as well as lobbied the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and was sent to speak at the largest youth conference in the world by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. She is an active spokesperson for LifeSkills Training, and a professional public speaker. She sings the national anthem at The Patriot Center for boxing matches with Jimmy Lange of The Contender. She owns a company called The Glakas Group and teaches interview and communication skills. At the Miss Virginia 2006 pageant, she raised money for a $1500 scholarship named after her mother, given to the woman with the most work for children. Erin Hildreth of Roanoke, Virginia was the recipient. Glakas maintains that scholarship through The Glakas Group.

She graduated in May 2008 from the University of Virginia with degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies and Social Sciences and earned another degree in Nursing in 2010. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from University of Massachusetts Amherst.

She wed Andrew Ingram on June 4, 2010 in Washington, D.C..[1]
2008 US presidential race

After Nancy Pfotenhauer, a senior adviser to John McCain's campaign, alluded to the growing population of registered Democrats in Northern Virginia and went on to characterize "the rest of the state" as "'real Virginia'", Glakas responded:

"What offended me and made me sad about those comments is that I've been to every county, every part of this state. What's best about Virginia is its diversity. The people, the geography. We have every class, every race, an amazing immigrant population... Virginia is the birthplace of America. To say that part of Virginia is not part of the real America is just offensive."

[2][3]
Pageants

Her first major title was Miss Virginia Teen USA 1999, and she won the Miss Virginia USA crown in 2004. Not long after giving up her Miss USA state title she won Miss Apple Blossom Festival 2005, going on to win Miss Virginia 2005.

Glakas won the Miss Virginia Teen USA 1999 title in late 1998 and competed in the Miss Teen USA 1999 pageant held in Shreveport, Louisiana in August 1999. She placed in the top ten in the nationally televised pageant, which was won by Ashley Coleman of Delaware. Glakas won the only scholarship given by Miss Universe for writing an essay, $5,000.

Glakas competed in the Miss Virginia USA pageant, placing twice as first runner-up. She won the 2004 title. She represented Virginia in the Miss USA 2004 pageant broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California in April 2004.

Less than a year after giving up her title Glakas competed for and won the Miss Apple Blossom Festival and Miss Virginia titles. In the Miss America 2006 pageant she made it to the top five finalists, ultimately placing third runner-up. She also was one of the three preliminary swimsuit winners along with Shannon Schambeau, Miss District of Columbia and Miss Utah, Julia Marie Bachison. Glakas' platform as Miss Virginia in the Miss America pageant was "Life Skills: Enabling America's Youth to Achieve Excellence." During her involvement with the Miss America Organization, she won over $35,000 in academic scholarship. She won the Community Service Award at Miss Virginia (a $1,000 scholarship), and won the swimsuit competition at the local, state, and national level.

She is a "Triple Crown" pageantry winner, one of only seven contestants to hold state titles for Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and Miss America.

Glakas has been involved in numerous organizations that advocate for disadvantaged children. As a spokesperson for Locks of Love, which provides hairpieces for sick kids with hair loss, she cut off 18 inches of her hair and donated to Richard Simmons' TV show DreamMaker. She has said that the Miss America 2006 pageant was her last, and is the competition of which she is the most proud.
External links

Official Miss Virginia Site

Notes

^ "KRISTI LAUREN GLAKAS and ANDREW INGRAM Wedding". Wedding Channel. Retrieved December 1, 2010.