Laura Kaeppeler, Miss Wisconsin 2011. Photos courtesy of Jon Wenger, wengerphotography.com.

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Carthage alumna Laura Kaeppeler, '10, will represent Wisconsin in the 2012 Miss America pageant on Jan. 14.

Miss Kaeppeler was crowned Miss Wisconsin in June 2011. A Kenosha native, she graduated from Carthage with a degree in vocal performance. Her platform is Circles of Support, a mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents.

You can support Miss Kaeppeler in the national competition by casting your vote in an online video competition. Each contestant created a video explaining why she should be chosen as the next Miss America. The contestant who receives the highest number of eligible votes will be chosen to participate as a finalist in the national pageant. Cast your vote by Jan. 12 at http://www.missamerica.org/videocontest/.

Laura Kaeppeler,'10, won the preliminary talent competition on Night 1 of the Miss America national competition for her operatic vocal performance of "Il Bacio." Photo courtesy of the Miss America pageant.

On Jan. 10, Miss Kaeppeler was named the preliminary talent winner during the first night of competition for the 2012 Miss America pageant, for her operatic vocal performance of "Il Bacio." She will receive a $2,000 scholarship.

During her time at Carthage, Miss Kaeppeler was a member of the Carthage Choir, the Lincoln Chamber Singers, and the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus; and a Music Department Honor's Recital Participant. She currently runs a private music studio teaching voice and piano. In the future, she plans to pursue a master's degree in Speech and Language Pathology.

Her platform as Miss Wisconsin comes from her personal experience as the child of an incarcerated parent. She founded Circles of Support, a mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents. "Nationwide, more than 2 million children have a parent who is incarcerated in a state or federal prison, or local jail," she states in a description of her platform on the Miss Wisconsin website. "Children with imprisoned parents are almost six times more likely than their peers to become involved in crime and become incarcerated at some point in their lives."

The Miss America pageant event will be broadcast live from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 14, on ABC. The program is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. CST. Check your local listings for time and channel.