Richard D. Salyer/Miss Universe OrganizationYou know that whole beauty-pageant spiel about the first runner-up being an important position should the winner go AWOL? Turns out, it comes in handy!
Case in point: 2012 Miss USA Olivia Culpo just scored a sweet new gig after winning the Miss Universe crown on Wednesday. And so now, the Stateside pageant's first runner-up, Miss Maryland Nana Meriwether, is stepping in assume the Miss USA role.
E! News scored a chat with the 27-year-old UCLA grad and NCAA volleyball star, who filled us in on five things worth knowing about the statuesque stunner.
1. Her School Is Cool: Meriwether graduated from prestigious Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., which has educated the scions of America's political elite: President Barack Obama's daughters, Malia and Sasha, are currently students, and Chelsea Clinton is an alum. Meriwether says that Al Gore's son was is in her older sister's class. So, does the pageant winner have a future in politics? "Yeah, we'll see—hey! I'm in the public eye, I've gotten experience with Miss USA. Maybe…"
2. She's a Winner on the Stage…and on the Field: Meriwether is one dogged athlete, having competed in track and field in high school. In college at UCLA, she was both a high jumper and a volleyball player. No surprise, then, that she totally killed it at Miss USA's swimsuit competition!
5. She Could Be a Dr. Meriwether Herself Soon: The regal beauty has her sights set on some big goals. "I've taken the MCAT and LSAT," she tells us. "I almost went to law school, and I'm probably gonna pursue a career in medicine at some point." This, of course, is in addition to a nonprofit she set up, called The Meriwether Foundation, which supports AIDS/HIV orphanages, clinics and schools, and which operates in five African countries. Talk about a real winner, this gal!