[2] In August 1995 she was crowned Miss Teen USA in the national pageant televised live from Wichita, in her home state of Kansas.
[3] As Miss Kansas Teen USA, Sanders was part of the Vanbros organization, and she would retain links with that group after she gave up her crown.
She graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design, and started her first post-college job as a personal shopper at Nordstrom.
She made the decision to put her degree to work and began designing custom evening wear with her mentor, the late Stephen Yearick.
She moved to Los Angeles, California in 2002 with her then-husband and her career took a shift when an agent talked her into giving the entertainment world a go.