Friday, July 12, 2002 | 9:09 a.m.
A Green Valley High School special education teacher will travel to Hawaii in September to compete in the Mrs. America Pageant.
Currently Mrs. Nevada, Andrea Rowan-Dorst is using her title to promote her work in teaching teens with special needs. She wants to show her students that they can get a high school diploma, a job and "go out into the real world and become productive adults."
A pageant competitor since age 3, Rowan thought her competitive days were over when she married Jeffrey Dorst May 2001. Instead, she found a new forum with the Mrs. America Pageant, which she says models the all-American woman -- the ideal of having marriage, family and career all at once.
Rowan-Dorst said competing gives her an adrenaline rush and brings her out of her shell.
"Every time you go you learn something new about yourself as an individual," she said.
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