Vegan vocalist and choir teacher Marisa Bucheit, was recently crowned Miss Illinois and is now a contender in the Miss America competition. Bucheit is a dynamic individual whose goal is to become a professional opera singer. According to The Chicago Tribune, she can sing in Italian, German, French, Czech, Chinese, Thai, and English, but she plans to use her newfound fame to advocate for children’s education with the STEM Education Coalition. Bucheit sites veganism as the source of her health and energy. “Becoming vegan has turned me into some kind of a superwoman,” she told animal-welfare group Mercy for Animals in an interview. “I do not get sick, I have consistent energy each and every day, and I am cheerful and pretty much always positive in life.” The newly crowned Miss Illinois also led the Veggie Pride Parade in Chicago in 2012.

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