Elizabeth Fechtel was crowned Miss Floridanonly to have the crown removed because of a tabulation error. Though duly disappointed, Fetchel sees big things ahead for her future.

Elizabeth Fechtel Admits Losing Crown Was 'Devastating'

"Initially, it was completely devastating," Fechtel told People magazine of her de-crowning moment. "It took a good 24 hours for me to process what this would mean for my future. I had already planned out what the next year was going to be like, and now things had changed. I also wondered how I was going to explain this to my friends and family. But then I realized, I'm going to be fine. This isn't the end."

Fechtel claims that she and the new Miss Florida, Victoria Cowen, were friends prior to the controversy and remain friends now. In fact, Fechtel feels badly that Cowen didn’t get her “crowning moment” up on the pageant stage."I'm sorry she didn't get her crowning moment, because that was a wonderful moment," she said. "She deserved to have that."

In preparation for the pageant, Fechtel claims she spent the majority of her time on her communication skills and defining her platform. Though she no longer has the microphone of being Miss Florida, Fechtel still believes she’ll get the chance to make her platform – “empowering young leaders and giving them the tools they would need for success" – a reality.

"I love the idea of social entrepreneurship," Fechtel told People. "How can I help someone through business ownership? How can I make a difference? All of that is very important to me. My goal is to walk into a classroom and talk to the students about having a purpose-driven life."

"In some ways," Fechtel continued, "my platform has become larger, at least for the moment, because of what happened. I could use these moments to promote myself, or I could promote the importance of learning life skills at a young age. I would prefer to promote my platform. I really do want to do a lot of good with my life."

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