NATCHITOCHES - It was a winning weekend for Carley McCord. On Saturday evening, she won the 51st Annual Miss Northwestern – Lady of the Bracelet Scholarship Pageant. On Sunday she watched her favorite team, the New Orleans Saints, win the Super Bowl.

     “It was a magical weekend, one I will never forget,” said McCord, who was wearing a Reggie Bush jersey Monday afternoon.

     McCord, a senior criminal justice/Spanish major from Baton Rouge, will represent Northwestern in the 2010 Miss Louisiana Pageant. She received more than $6,000 in scholarships and prizes. McCord was in the 2009 Miss Louisiana Pageant as Miss Holiday in Dixie.

     Whitney Mixon of Hammond was first runner up and Haley Warrick of Many was second runner up.

     “Everyone was so talented. We had a great group of girls. Any one of them would have been a wonderful representative of Northwestern,” said McCord. “Winning this pageant has been a goal of mine since high school. I hope I can use this title to promote Northwestern and encourage high school seniors to come here. I also want to use it to encourage our students to become more involved.”


     McCord is a Dean’s List student and has been a Presidential Ambassador and a student recruiter. She is a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority. Over the next year, she plans to promote her platform issues of paralysis research and education and the Children’s Miracle Network.

     McCord became interested in paralysis research and education about 18 months ago when she and her family attended a fundraiser for The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis in New York.

     “At the fundraiser, we heard a speech by a young girl who said she would do anything to be able to wiggle her toes. That was like someone grabbed my heart out of my chest,” said McCord. “It made me feel so selfish that I could do so many things.”

     Since that time, McCord has been learning about what is being done to cure paralysis.

     “We have the knowledge and the technology, but funding is needed,” she said. “I want to do what I can to promote this cause because they are close to finding a cure.”

     McCord has been active in assisting the Children’s Miracle Network, hosting a walkathon in Baton Rouge that raised $1,200 to fund a playground for children with paralysis at a Baton Rouge hospital.

     “I am passionate about this issue,” said McCord. “There are so many things we can learn from those who are paraplegic and quadriplegic. Many people are not aware of this issue, but it affects many people each day.”

     McCord has been a nationally ranked power lifter and took MMA classes for fitness. She sees majoring in criminal justice as a way to make an impact.

     “I want to explore areas and fields that are generally not associated with women in order to show that I can do that,” said McCord.

     McCord plans to graduate in May 2011 and will add a concentration in addiction studies. She plans to take the LSAT and will also consider going to graduate school along with starting a law enforcement career. But for the next 12 months, she will focus on the Miss Louisiana Pageant and representing NSU.

     “I want to be a Miss Northwestern – Lady of the Bracelet everyone will remember. I want to make a statement,” she said.