The Lone Star State has not won the Miss America crown since 1975 but DaNae Couch could change that.
As Miss Texas 2012, DaNae Couch will compete in the 2013 Miss America pageant. The last Miss Texas to win Miss America was Shirley Cothran in 1975. In the 2012 Miss America pageant, Miss Texas Kendall Morris finished in the Top 10, losing to Miss Wisconsin Laura Kaeppeler, but Morris did win the preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness competition.
Couch, however, is looking for the top prize.
The 24-year-old Coppell native is a graduate from Baylor University and hopes to obtain a Doctorate of jurisprudence from the Texas Tech School of Law. Couch's academic career include honors, such as, defending her Honors Thesis on Complete works of Oscar Wilde, 1L/Adv Mock Trial Champion & Best Advocate, and CALI Criminal Procedure & Jurisprudence Award Criminal Law.
Couch's focus on law is for the long run as her career ambition revolves around civil litigation or criminal prosecution.
He platform issue is Hope for Family Recovery: Life Beyond Addiction.
Prior to winning Miss Texas 2012, Couch was Miss Dallas. She will compete against 52 other contestants from the remaining 49 states as well as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C.
The 2013 Miss America pageant will be live on Saturday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. A "20/20" special is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. EST, showcasing the behind the scenes preparations leading up to the pageant.
The 53 Contestants for Miss America 2013:
Miss Alabama: Anna Laura Bryan
Miss Alaska: Debbe Jo Ebben
Miss Arizona: Piper Stoeckel
Miss Arkansas: Sloane Roberts
Miss California: Leah Cecil
Miss Colorado: Hannah Porter
Miss Connecticut: Emily Audibert
Miss Delaware: Alyssa Murray
Miss District of Columbia: Allyn Rose
Miss Florida: Laura McKeeman
Miss Georgia: Leighton Jordan
Miss Hawaii: Skyler Kamaka
Miss Idaho: Whitney Wood
Miss Illinois: Megan Ervin
Miss Indiana: Merrie Beth Cox
Miss Iowa: Mariah Cary
Miss Kansas: Sloane Lewis
Miss Kentucky: Jessica Casebolt
Miss Louisiana: Lauren Vizza
Miss Maine: Molly Bouchard
Miss Maryland: Joanna Guy
Miss Minnesota Siri Freeh
Miss Massachusetts: Taylor Kinzler
Miss Michigan: Angela Venditti
Miss Minnesota: Siri Freeh
Miss Mississippi: Marie Wicks
Miss Missouri: Tippe Emmott
Miss Montana: Alexis Wineman
Miss Nebraska: Mariah Cook
Miss Nevada: Randi Sundquist
Miss New Hampshire: Megan Lyman
Miss New Jersey: Lindsey Petrosh
Miss New Mexico: Candice Bennatt
Miss New York: Mallory Hagan
Miss North Carolina: Arlie Honeycutt
Miss North Dakota: Rosie Sauvageau
Miss Ohio: Elisa McCracken
Miss Oklahoma: Alicia Clifton
Miss Oregon: Nicole Mead
Miss Pennsylvania: Jordyn Colao
Miss Puerto Rico: Kiaraliz Media
Miss Rhode Island: Kelsey Fournier
Miss South Carolina: Ali Rogers
Miss South Dakota: Calista Kirby
Miss Tennessee: Chandler Lawson
Miss Texas: DaNae Couch
Miss Utah: Kara Arnold
Miss Vermont: Chelsea Ingram
Miss Virgin Islands: Aniska Tonge
Miss Virginia: Rosemary Willis
Miss Washington: Mandy Schendel
Miss West Virginia: Kaitlin Gates
Miss Wisconsin: Kate Gorman
Miss Wyoming: Lexie Madden