Omaha native and Elkhorn South High School senior Savannah Rave has a lot more on her plate this spring than just graduation.

Rave was recently crowned Miss Nebraska Teen USA, and will be spending the rest of the semester, and into the summer, preparing for the national pageant.

“It’s been a crazy year so far and it’s only been a couple months,” Rave says.

Rave competed in this pageant last year as well, finishing in the top ten.

Beyond the pageant world, Rave has numerous other interests, including broadcast journalism, which she intends to study in the fall at University of Nebraska—Lincoln.

“I wasn’t interested in journalism until last year,” Rave says. “My [Advanced Placement] U.S. history teacher hosts [mock] presidential elections, so we had debates over presidents, and after, he pulled me in the hallway and asked if I had ever considered broadcast journalism.”

Rave says that she then learned that journalism was also the major of her good friend Amanda Soltero, former Miss Nebraska Teen USA and winner of this year’s Miss Nebraska USA. It was Soltero who got Rave started in the pageant a year ago.

“So [my teacher] put that idea in my head,” she says. “And when I got to know Amanda a little more, that was her major, and she absolutely loved it.”

In addition to her intended field of study, Rave enjoys being on stage. In March, she headlined as Sandy in her high school production of Grease. She also sings in Elkhorn South’s varsity show choir, and, when she finds the time, enjoys running. Rave was on the track team, but now uses running as part of her training for the national pageant. She also models and has made multiple appearances in Omaha Magazine, most recently as our November/December 2013 cover model.

Rave’s various interests and areas of focus support the platform she will carry to young audiences over the next year.

“My main focus is telling them to be themselves because that was my motto when I competed for the pageant this year,” Rave says. “So I hope to convey that to others.”