At the time of Miss America, she was a 19-year-old student at Wagner College studying Arts Administration.
Her platform was breast cancer awareness, which she chose because her grandmother died from the disease.
[2] A bit of controversy occurred when she was asked if she thought that the show The Sopranos was a disservice to the state of New Jersey during the preliminary competition of the Miss America 2003 pageant.
Critics thought that it was in bad taste due to her Italian heritage.
[4] She was fourth runner-up to Miss New Jersey USA 2007, though the original winner eventually resigned.