Kelsey Schmidt, 26, is leaving later this month to compete for the title of Miss USA. The competition will be at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, televised on FOX at 7 p.m. Pacific Time.
Schmidt received a B.A. in biology from Scripps College. The Bellevue resident is currently a pre-doctoral fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and the University of Washington. Schmidt is a member of Dr. Mario Kratz’s lab in the Public Health Sciences division of FHCRC, where her research focuses on investigating the relationship between lifestyle factors and chronic disease. Upon completion of her Ph.D. RD., she plans to open a nutritional consulting firm and continue her research in chronic disease prevention.
Science is something that Schmidt has been interested in almost all her life thanks to a middle school teacher. Bill Lewis was Schmidt’s 7th through 8th grade science teacher at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bellevue.
“He found creative ways to present the coursework by turning science into a forensic challenge or exploring new planets,” Schmidt said. “Science became a new way to think about the world and to solve real problems.”
Schmidt is also passionate about helping young women embrace a healthy body image and lifestyle. After having been teased for being “chubby,” Schmidt started a website to show people exactly what she is eating and how she is preparing to have a healthy body for Miss USA.
To get the behind-the-scenes look at Schmidt’s Miss USA journey, you can follow her at the Miss Washington USA Facebook page, @realMissWAusa on Twitter, and MissWAUSA on Instagram.
