The new Miss America said her dad sent her daily questions about current events to prepare for the pageant

For Regan Hutsell, preparing for the Miss America pageant was a family matter — and it paid off.

The erstwhile Radio City Rockette took location the crown connected September 6, becoming the first Miss Texas to triumph the title successful 51 years and the first female of colour to triumph while wearing her earthy hair.

Hutsell sat down pinch Business Insider to stock much astir her pageant prep, revealing that her dada played a important domiciled arsenic she studied for the competition's question and reply round.

"My dada is my toughest question and reply coach," she said. "Every day, he would nonstop maine questions based connected existent events, and past he ended up putting them successful a binder."

Hutsell's begetter was inspired by erstwhile Miss America Abbie Stockard, who revealed to Business Insider successful January 2025 that she had made a binder pinch 150 governmental and current-event topics that she studied regular for months.

"I would beryllium like, 'OK, I'm going to screen topics 1 done 20 today, and I'm going to look astatine statistic and formulate immoderate talking points,'" Stockard said astatine the time. "I looked astatine it for illustration I was studying for a test. That's the nursing student successful me."

Hutsell said her dada had stumbled connected the article and instantly sent it to her.

"He's like, 'I publication this point astir Abbie Stockard, you person to perceive it,'" she said. "That article inspired my prep."

When she wasn't practicing her dad's questions, Hutsell was besides keeping up pinch existent events by watching cablegram news while stepping connected a treadmill astatine her section Planet Fitness.

"I did a batch of prep while walking," she added. "It conscionable helped maine clear my brain."

Hutsell said that preparing for Miss America, her third-ever pageant, was a family affair. Her sister, a erstwhile dancer pinch the New York City Ballet, coached Hutsell's solo for the talent information of the competition.

"When I won, it really felt for illustration the full family had won," Hutsell said.

A puerility dream travel true

The 25-year-old said competing successful pageants had been a puerility dream, but 1 that she had to put connected clasp while pursuing dancing.

"I retrieve going to a photography workplace erstwhile I was a small girl, stepping wrong and seeing a bunch of pageant shots connected the wall," Hutsell recalled. "I thought, 'One day, I want to beryllium conscionable for illustration 1 of those women.' It's truthful crazy, those small puerility memories that instrumentality pinch you for a lifetime."

After dancing pinch the Radio City Rockettes and spending astir 4 years successful the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Hutsell was fresh to return a break. She had worked done 2 knee injuries and realized it was clip "to conscionable drawback my breath."

As she helped her mother and grandma return attraction of her grandfather, who has late-stage dementia, Hutsell realized she wanted her adjacent section to attraction connected giving backmost to the community. The Miss America pageant felt for illustration a cleanable fit.

"At the clip I retrieve thinking, I person the chance to situation myself and do thing new, to turn to caller heights," Hutsell said. "It's ever been thing I wanted to do, truthful why not do it now?"

Hutsell, who besides won 2 preliminary awards during Miss America, has earned astir $90,000 successful scholarships from the pageant.

She is readying to prosecute a grade successful wellness sciences and go a beingness therapist pursuing her yearlong reign.