Cara Rudd, a well-traveled entertainer who has appeared on stages since she was 7 years old and has worked as a choreographer for the Tahoma School District, is the reigning Miss Auburn. That makes the 21-year-old a candidate for Miss Washington – the title she or another young woman will hold after the state pageant July 11-12 in Tacoma.

An honors student, Rudd graduated from Green River Community College and Seattle Pacific University with a dual degree in marketing and communications, is pursuing a masters in organizational psychology, and hopes to some day run her own event planning and management firm.

Rudd, who’s from Federal Way, recently did a question-and-answer session with Reporter Newspapers about her experiences as a pageant contestant and winner.

Q: What is the Miss Auburn experience like? Is it what you imagined it to be?

A: The experience is what you make it. For me, the unending dedication to my platform and interviewing skills is where I focused a majority of my time. Working an average of 20 hours per week in platform-related activities, while finishing my (college studies), helped teach me time-management skills. I dedicated a couple of hours per day to cardio and weightlifting in preparation for the fitness portion of competition. As Miss Auburn, the experience has changed. There are still the phases of competition I need to prepare for (the Miss Washington pageant) in July.

Q: What are the challenges of fulfilling the role?

A: The biggest challenges I find are meeting people’s expectations. Let’s be honest. Everyone has an idea of who Miss Auburn is supposed to be, what she’s supposed to do, and how she’s supposed to act. I’ve learned very quickly that Miss Auburn is me, Cara Rudd, not the expectations others place on me. I will, and have, brought who I envision Miss Auburn to be and that has been solely based on serving the community.

Q: You ran on a pageant platform of integrating the arts into academic learning. That platform stems from the fact you have a family member with a learning disability. How inspiring, how important has it been to work for this cause?

A: Working to integrate the arts into academic learning has been life changing for me. With my family member’s learning challenge, I have been able to advocate for her on her behalf, and educate others who may be struggling with similar situations. I believe a lot of times students, regardless of their age, struggle academically and think there’s something wrong with them. I get to be their voice. My platform has helped encourage several students to understand that they have artistic talents and interests within them that need to be explored and can be used to make academic material more engaging and personally enriching.

Q: Are there more stage roles for you in the future?

A: Absolutely. Although this will probably never be my full-time career, musical theater will always be a hobby.

Q: Who has been the most influential actor or actress in your career?

A: Kendra Kassebaum. She most recently toured as Glinda in the musical, “Wicked,” and continued in that role on Broadway. Kendra is my big theater sister. At the age of 13, Kendra and I were in “The Secret Garden” at The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. Sharing the stage with an all-Broadway cast, Kendra became my role model in musical theater. Like any mentor, they always see more potential than you see in yourself. Kendra saw my potential even before I understood what the word meant.

Q: You are used to playing good-girl roles. What other diverse roles would you like to play?

A: To be honest, I’m really comfortable with playing good-girl roles. Generally speaking, those types of roles fit well with my morals and religious convictions.

Q: What is the most important lessons you have learned from performing in pressure situations, and to be able to perform with style and confidence?

A: Know what you can and can’t control. If you can’t control it, let it go. If you can, do something about it. Knowing what you can and can’t do immediately puts me in a position to feel confident and maintain my demeanor.

Q: You are a licensed open-water diver. What waters have you explored, and are there other places you would like to see?

A: Let me start by saying, the only way I received my license was that I had to promise I would always dive with an instructor. I was petrified of open-water diving. I remember a group of four individuals and myself who were earning licenses. We did our training by the Mukilteo ferry dock. With an instructor intended for each of us, I ended up with one instructor on each arm and another behind me to grab my legs if I started headed upward at a rapid rate. For now, I think I’ll stick to snorkeling in warmer water.