Jill Stevens: Afghanistan, Miss Utah and Sargeant-The Many Faces of Jill Stevens

Jill Stevens: Sargeant, Utah Guard member, marathon runner and--Miss Utah?
Read on to see the many faces of Jill Stevens, jack of all trades.

Jill Stevens can look like a tough and gritty soldier one day and a beauty queen the next.

As a sergeant in the Utah National Guard, she's a combat medic who spent a year in Afghanistan patching up injured troops back in 2004 and 2005.

This past Friday, the 24-year-old self-described "electric" person, nicknamed "Smiles," was crowned Miss Utah.

"It's still settling in," Stevens said on the phone Monday.

Last year Stevens competed as Miss Southern Utah University in the Miss Utah Scholarship Pageant, finishing as second runner-up. In May she graduated from SUU with a degree in nursing. Last February the Kaysville resident was crowned Miss Davis County before being named Miss Utah last week.

Stevens said she plans to use the $10,000 scholarship prize for her master's degree toward a career as a nurse practitioner in the emergency medicine field."I love challenges," she said. "I love trying new things."

One challenge last week was having to don a swimsuit for the pageant when her normal uniform is camouflage fatigues.

"Everyone knows that in a pageant that's part of it," she said, with one caveat: "I think there's better ways to showcase fitness."

A nine-time marathon finisher, Stevens said she'd rather compete in a triathlon as part of the fitness portion of the pageant. The swimsuit competition reminded her how she's more muscular than skinny as a result of lugging around rucksacks that weigh as much as 70 pounds while training with the Guard.

Oh, and being attractive in the Army has meant Stevens gets attention from some of the male soldiers. She used the words "hit on."

"It teaches you to stand your ground," Stevens said. "You have to be blunt with soldiers."

With her chutzpah and others looking out for her, Stevens said she has had "no troubles."

Spc. Jill Stevens of Utah is the first woman to finish Afghanistan's first marathon.

--Source: ESPN - It's Not Hawaii, but 200 Conquer Desert

Jill Stevens, a sergeant in the Utah National Guard and the reigning Miss Utah, has announced several new goals she plans to accomplish soon. Stevens announced to the Davis County Commissioners that she wants to get Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training into every high school in the United States.

“I want to bring substance to the title. These girls really do make a difference,” said Miss Utah to commissioners. “I want to get Teen CERT in every high school in Utah, then across the nation. Preparing the youth is how to prepare the nation.”

Source:

Mist Utah is Medic for Guard
Sgt. Jill Stevens, Miss Utah, Announces New Goals

Compiled by Mondoreb
[images: abc; espn;deseret]



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.