Cerebral palsy doesn’t stop St. Ambrose student from winning Miss Iowa USA crown

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By David Heitz | Tuesday, November 27, 2007 | No comments posted

Moments after donning the Miss Iowa USA crown, Abbey Curran couldn’t wait to serve a little crow.

Curran, a Kewanee, Ill., woman who attends St. Ambrose University, Davenport, recalled a teacher telling her in high school that she never would be able to enter the county fair pageant — a lifelong dream — because she had cerebral palsy.

Curran didn’t listen and entered the pageant anyway. Now, a few years later, she has been named one of Iowa’s top beauties.

After taking a victory lap on the stage of Bridge View Center in Ottumwa on Saturday, Curran picked up the phone and called that teacher. “I woke her out of bed and said, ‘Guess what!’ ” she said, still giddy Monday from the rush of winning the right to wear the tiara. “Saying it’s a dream come true sounds so cliché, but in third grade I had friends who wanted be a firefighter, or a doctor, and I always wanted to be Miss USA or Miss America.”

Curran will represent the state at the Miss USA pageant next year at a time and place to be determined. While she travels the state in the weeks ahead, she plans to visit children’s therapy centers, Easter Seal sites and other places where she can find other young people with special needs. Curran wants to tell them that they, too, can make their dreams come true despite their disabilities.

“I want to take it with me emotionally and mentally,” she said of her “can-do” attitude. “What we need to do is tear down walls in our minds. Accomplishments start with two words — ‘I’ll try.’ We need to step up to the plate and swing that bat.”

Curran founded the Miss You Can Do It pageant for people with special needs a few years ago. The pageant currently is held in Kewanee, but Curran hopes to use her new platform to expand the contest regionally.

In addition to winning the Miss Iowa USA title, Curran took home a $10,675 scholarship, a whole new wardrobe, iPod, digital camera, luggage and more. She majors in public relations at St. Ambrose and also hopes to become a pilot.

Curran called the pageant “the best personal experience I’ve ever had in my life” despite the fact that she had to rehearse and compete for two long days in high heels. “It’s hard to be poised and happy and pretty, and you look down and your feet are bleeding.”

What could have been one of the most challenging parts of the competition — which included interviews as well as swimsuit and evening gown modeling — turned out to be a high point, Curran said. For the opening number, the contestants all performed a dance, which is difficult for Curran because of balance problems.

“Normally, people would say, ‘Abbey, sit this out,’ ” Curran said, but with the help of a chaperone she pulled off the act. “It was kind of something the Rockettes would do, so I was able to hold on to someone the whole time.”

Melissa Young, an actress who formerly appeared on the daytime soap “The Young and the Restless,” served as a judge at the pageant. She predicted Curran will “blow everyone out of the water” during her reign.

“Abbey was amazing in her personal interview,” Young said. “She totally blew me away. We interviewed 40-some women and when Abbey walked in, instead of looking down or past you, she looked straight in my eyes and I could see her soul.”

In the interview, Curran said she entered the pageant to be an ambassador for people with special needs all over America. “I’m just so excited for her,” Young said. “It’s going to be an amazing experience for her.”

David Heitz can be contacted at (563) 383-2202 or dheitz@qctimes.com.