Miss USA contestant heads for Las Vegas

Jamie Hill

Jamie Hill is looking forward to her flight to Las Vegas to compete in the Miss USA pageant soon. It's not like climbing the Great Wall of China or going into Mongolia, but nonetheless it is an adventure for this Dutch Fork High School (Class of 2001) and USC graduate.

"I'm looking forward to the two and a half weeks we'll be there preparing for the competition," she says. "We spend that time in rehearsals and interviews and will attend several extra events. The competition will be telecast live by NBC from 9 to 11 pm, April 11, 2008, from the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood."

The Miss USA competition does not include a talent presentation, but relies on swimsuit and evening gown appearances, along with preliminary interviews and on- stage ad lib for the crown. The winner, who will be crowned Miss USA, will go on to compete in Vietnam in the Miss Universe show July 14.

Hill has been involved in sports and cheerleading throughout her school career. She competed for Miss South Carolina Teen twice, winning first runner- up and second runner- up. Along with her Miss South Carolina award this year, she received a number of gifts, including certificates for clothing and accessories to prepare for the Miss USA competition.

She'll have an attention- getting résumé to recite for the judges and audience. Last year, Hill and her best friend, Kellie Patterson, were chosen to

compete as a team on The

 

 

Amazing Race TV show. The victims of false directions that sent them driving off in the wrong direction at a crucial time, Patterson and Hill were the last team to reach The Amazing Race 10's second Pit Stop, causing them to be eliminated from the CBS reality show.

"We didn't last as long as we had hoped," she says now. "We were the third team to be bumped from the group. But it was truly an amazing experience. I had never been out of the country, and China? Mongolia? Wow!"

As a result of the contacts made during that experience, this Columbian now works in the field of casting for TV and films.

"I work with a number of different producers," she explains. "Sometimes they have very specific requirements for the applicants they want to interview. When they are in the market for a Southern accent, they think of me and I search for the right applicant. Sometimes, when I am at a mall or on the street, I just look around me. I might see an interesting face or someone with a lively personality. I ask them if they would be interested in trying out for some of the Reality TV shows, and then I help them plan a demo tape for an audition."

Growing up in a theater- casting environment certainly didn't hurt Hill's chances for this life- style. Her mother is Tona Dahlquist, a casting director who is often involved in the movies shot in S.C. Hill has two brothers, Ryan and Nat, and a sister, Lauren.