ORLANDO — Mandi Genord, Miss Wisconsin 2024, finished as a top 11 semi-finalist in the 2025 Miss America Competition on Sunday night.
The top 11 consisted of the top ten scoring contestants and one “People’s Choice” contestant chosen through an online vote.
Genord was also chosen one of three Preliminary Fitness award winners and a regional recipient of the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women Leadership Award. She is leaving the Miss America Competition with $3,000 in scholarships.
Genord, a 22-year-old Beaver Dam resident, will graduate from the University of Alabama in 2024. Genord graduated summa cum laude, with two Bachelor’s degrees in dance, political science, and communication studies. She intends to acquire her Juris.
To that end, Genord used her 30 seconds to react to the random question prompt “healthcare” by presenting her community service program Connecting Lives:
Adoption Resources & Advocacy (CLARA), which aims to provide support and resources to families considering adoption.
The program was named after Genord’s adopted niece Clara; in an op-ed for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last month, Genord stated that the typical cost of a domestic newborn adoption is between $20,000 and $45,000.
“I want to pursue my life-long advocacy as a family law attorney specializing in the adoption process, so that I can advocate for those like my niece to ensure that they are receiving the resources that they need,” Genord explained on Sunday.
Genord will be returning to Wisconsin later this week.
Miss Alabama Abbie Stockard won Miss America 2025.