MISS MORRIS AREA
Natalie Demos
Class of 2025
Class of 2025
Talent: Vocal Performance
Community Service Initiative: Let's Talk About It: Normalizing the Discussion of Mental Health Director: Dawn Kosbab Email: [email protected] Pageant Date: TBA Combined competition with Miss Midwest and Miss West Central - Closed |
Natalie Demos is a nursing student at Rasmussen University Mankato, pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). She is on track to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and achieve her goal of becoming a Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP), providing care at the provider level. Currently, she works as a Lead Care Advocate for Humankind, a mental health organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
For the past seven years, Natalie has been a dedicated advocate for mental health awareness, working to break the stigma surrounding mental health. Having lived most of her life undiagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder, she understands firsthand the silence and misunderstanding often associated with mental health struggles. At 19, she was hospitalized for mental health concerns and during treatment she was told by a friend that she should “not talk about it” once she returned home and not share her experience. Intended or not, this implied that her journey with a mental illness was a subject better left unspoken. This only amplified the stigma around mental health that already existed and Natalie knew all too well. In that moment, she knew that she wanted to be a part of the solution and has been ever since. She created her Community Service Initiative, Let’s Talk About It: Normalizing the Discussion of Mental Health, transforming the phrase “you should not talk about it” into a message of hope. By openly sharing her story, she aims to inspire, encourage, and create meaningful change. Her advocacy has gained statewide recognition through partnerships with leading mental health organizations, collaborations with Minnesota legislators, and efforts to bring mental health education into schools across the state through her statewide school tour. Natalie leads by example and is an advocate with an unwavering passion for service. From a young age, Natalie was captivated by the Miss America Opportunity, watching the competition every year alongside her sister, Chelsea, in their childhood home. The two would transform blankets into elegant evening gowns, parading up and down their makeshift runway, dreaming of one day stepping onto the national stage themselves. By participating in the organization years later, Natalie has been able to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. After moving out on her own at 18, she prioritized financial independence, temporarily putting her academic goals on hold. The scholarships she has earned through the program have made it possible for her to attend nursing school while working full-time and continuing her advocacy efforts. As a competitor, she continues to advocate for the organization’s mission to continue to change the lives of women - just as it has done for her. Now, Natalie is a jack of all trades! You can find her volunteering for organizations such as GiGi’s Playhouse and Special Olympics Minnesota, or at the Crimson Pointe Senior Living Facility performing for the residents with her ukulele. When she’s not working, studying, or serving her community, she enjoys spending time with her big Greek family, playing with her basset hound, Asher Mountain, and her kittens, Theo Furbottom and Lucy goose, and expanding her ever-growing Crocs™ collection! |