Beauty Contest Winner Is a Howard 3L

A Howard University law student who is representing the District of Columbia in the Miss USA competition says pageant techniques can be helpful even in law classes.

Chelsey Rodgers told BLT: The Blog of Legal Times that she relied on her pageant knowledge when she bungled a professor’s question about arraignments.

“My answer was obviously wrong, and the professor looked at me,” she recounted. “I paused and said, ‘And world peace.’ My classmates gave me a standing ovation. ...You never know when a pageant technique might come in handy.”

Rodgers said she still hasn’t figured out how to balance law school and pageant competition, but she believes the answer “involves a lot of iced coffees.” She has a job waiting for her after graduation at McKee Nelson, where she will be involved in corporate securities and business litigation.