Miss Wisconsin competes at the Miss America pageant
Beaver Dam native Mandi Genord placed among the top 11 semi-finalists in the country
WE’RE BACK NOW AT 1124. MISS WISCONSIN. MANDY JAN WADE IS BACK HOME AFTER COMPETING LAST WEEK AT THE MISS AMERICA PAGEANT. AND SHE JOINS US NOW IN STUDIO. I FEEL LIKE SURROUNDED BY ROYALTY. OH MY GOODNESS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN. I’M SO EXCITED TO BE HERE. YES OF COURSE. SO THIS IS PRETTY EXCITING. YOU WERE JUST SAYING THAT YOU’RE A LITTLE COLD RIGHT NOW BECAUSE YOU JUST SPENT TWO WEEKS IN FLORIDA COMPETING IN THE MISS AMERICA COMPETITION. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE, NOT ONLY BEING A PART OF THAT NATIONAL COMPETITION, BUT REALLY REPRESENTING WISCONSIN? OH, IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I GREW UP WATCHING THE MISS AMERICA COMPETITION ON TELEVISION EVERY SINGLE YEAR WHEN I WAS GROWING UP. AND SO TO BE ONE OF THE WOMEN ACTUALLY ON THE STAGE TO REPRESENT WISCONSIN, IT WAS SO SURREAL. BUT I WILL SAY AFTER THE COMPETITIONS, MY FRIENDS AND MY FAMILIES, THEY WOULD SEND ME VIDEOS OF MYSELF ON SCREEN AND ON TV AND I WAS LIKE, THERE’S NO WAY THAT WAS ME. LIKE, NO WAY I DID THAT. BUT IT WAS VERY COOL. YEAH. SO WERE YOU IMPRESSED BY YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE? IS THAT IT? YEAH, HONESTLY, I WAS AND I THINK A LOT OF TIMES WE’RE OUR TOUGHEST CRITICS. AND SO WE ALWAYS MAYBE DON’T GIVE OURSELVES THE CREDIT THAT WE DESERVE. BUT IT WAS NICE TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK AND WATCH MY PERFORMANCE AND BE LIKE, YEAH, I DID DO A GOOD JOB. I DID DO GOOD WITH THAT. SO FANTASTIC. HAPPY WITH HOW IT ALL WENT. AND THE JUDGES FELT THAT YOU DID REALLY WELL AS WELL. I MEAN, YOU PLACED IN THE TOP 11, I DID, YES. TELL ME ABOUT THAT. YEAH. SO I WAS IN THE TOP 11. I ACTUALLY ALSO WON A HEALTH AND FITNESS PRELIMINARY AWARD. SO WITH THAT, I GOT A $3,000 SCHOLARSHIP THAT I WILL BE USING TOWARDS MY LAW SCHOOL EDUCATION. AND THEN I ALSO WAS AN AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION REGIONAL LEADERSHIP FUNDRAISER WINNER. SO I BROUGHT BACK THREE BIG AWARDS FOR THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. VERY PROUD TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. I DEFINITELY DIDN’T DO IT ALONE. I HAD A LOT OF SUPPORT THAT HELPED ME ON THE WAY, BUT IT WAS INCREDIBLE. YEAH, WHAT I REALLY LOVED ABOUT BEING ABLE TO TO TALK WITH SOME OF THE YOUNG WOMEN WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THESE COMPETITIONS IS REALLY THE PASSION THAT YOU GUYS HAVE FOR GIVING BACK TO THE TO THE COMMUNITY. AND SO TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PLATFORM. I KNOW IT’S ALL ABOUT GIVING BACK TO THOSE GOING THROUGH ADOPTION. YES. SO MY NIECE CLARA WAS ADOPTED TWO YEARS AGO. AND SO MY INITIATIVE IS CALLED CONNECTING LIVES ADOPTION RESOURCES AND ADVOCACY. WHEN YOU TAKE THE FIRST LETTER OF EACH ONE OF THOSE WORDS, YOU END UP WITH THE NAME CLARA BECAUSE SHE IS MY MOTIVATION, MY INSPIRATION. TRULY THE REASON WHY I ADVOCATE FOR WHAT I ADVOCATE FOR, AND ALSO WHY I WANT TO BE A FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY AND SPECIALIZE IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS. SO THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE LIFE, SHE’S REALLY JUST BEEN AN INSPIRATION FOR ME. AND WATCHING HER ADOPTION WAS REALLY ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS I’VE EVER SEEN. BY NO MEANS IS IT ALWAYS A BEAUTIFUL AND EASY PROCESS, BUT THE END RESULT IN THIS CASE WAS FANTASTIC. YOU WILL KEEP THIS CROWN UNTIL JUNE, BUT WE HAVE SOME PICTURES OF YOU THERE AT THE COMPETITION. I MEAN, YOU WERE DANCING. YOU MAJORED IN DANCE, POLITICAL SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AS WELL. WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU? SO LAW SCHOOL. I WAS ACCEPTED INTO MARQUETTE TWO WEEKS BEFORE MISS AMERICA. AND I KNOW I JUST TOLD YOU THE STORY, BUT IT WAS RIGHT BEFORE I WAS LEAVING FOR A MISS WISCONSIN APPEARANCE. AND MY MOM COMES IN AND SHE’S LIKE, LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL. AND I WAS LIKE, DO I OPEN IT OR NOT? BECAUSE IF IT’S GOOD NEWS, THAT’S GREAT. IF IT’S NOT, THEN I HAVE TO GO SMILE AND GO TO THIS APPEARANCE OF MISS WISCONSIN. BUT IT WAS GOOD NEWS. SO LAW SCHOOL IS THE NEXT STEP FOR ME. WELL, CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS FOR REPRESENTING WISCONSIN ON THAT NATIONAL STAGE. A FANTASTIC, FANTASTIC APPEARANCE AT MISS AMERICA. AND I’M SURE YOU’LL DO SOME GREAT THINGS THE NEXT SIX MONTHS OF YOUR REIGN AS WELL. THANK YOU. TH
Miss Wisconsin competes at the Miss America pageant
Beaver Dam native Mandi Genord placed among the top 11 semi-finalists in the country
Updated: 1:53 PM CST Jan 14, 2025
Miss Wisconsin returned to the Badger State after competing in the Miss America pageant in early January 2025. Mandi Genord is a Beaver Dam native. She became Miss Wisconsin in June 2024, and her reign will last through June 2025. She graduated from the University of Alabama in 2024, and she was recently accepted into Marquette University Law School. Genord’s passion is adoption. Her niece, Clara, was adopted, and it sparked an immediate life passion for Genord. Her platform is called “Connecting Lives: Adoption Resources and Advocacy.” If you take the first letter of each of those words, you spell out her niece’s name. Genord wants to become a family law attorney and specialize in the adoption process.
Miss Wisconsin returned to the Badger State after competing in the Miss America pageant in early January 2025.
Mandi Genord is a Beaver Dam native. She became Miss Wisconsin in June 2024, and her reign will last through June 2025. She graduated from the University of Alabama in 2024, and she was recently accepted into Marquette University Law School.
Genord’s passion is adoption. Her niece, Clara, was adopted, and it sparked an immediate life passion for Genord. Her platform is called “Connecting Lives: Adoption Resources and Advocacy.” If you take the first letter of each of those words, you spell out her niece’s name.
Genord wants to become a family law attorney and specialize in the adoption process.
