As Marquette junior Meghan Coffey stood on stage at the Miss Milwaukee pageant, a million thoughts ran through her head. However, the one and only thought she didn't think of was the one that came true.

On Jan. 8, the New Berlin native was crowned Miss Milwaukee — a title she will hold for a year.

"Going into the competition, I knew I was prepared, but I certainly didn't expect to win," said Coffey, a College of Engineering student. "To win was just a shock. I was so excited, and it was just amazing. I was really proud of the hard work that I put into it."

In fact, Meghan has been working for this her entire life, according to her mother, Carla Coffey.

At the age of five, she began to compete in baton-twirling competitions, which Meghan said eventually led to her interest in pageants.

Shortly after she became involved with baton-twirling, Meghan took up dance, including jazz, hip-hop, tap and ballet. Today, she performs on the Marquette Dance Team, teaches lessons at Anita's Dance Center in Muskego and is part of the Daily Debutantes Baton and Drum Corps in Wauwatosa.

Growing up, Meghan spent hours preparing for competitions, Carla Coffey said. Each day, she spent a total of three hours practicing, often year-round.

"I've been a dancer, performer and competition baton-twirler all my life," she said. "I didn't have a normal childhood, but I've always enjoyed what I did."

Through competition, Meghan has learned to "give it her all," Carla Coffey said.

"Watching her perform has often been a roller coaster. There have been some very nerve-racking performances," she said. "There have been a lot of victories, but there have also been losses."

Meghan has won many state championships and was once in the top six baton twirlers in the nation, said Sherry Daley Jung, one of three corps directors of the Daley Debutantes.

One of the most important gifts competing has given her is the chance to serve as a role model.

"I have been able to lead a lot of people," she said. "It makes me proud to serve as a role model and to encourage others to be good role models."

Meghan has always been good at baton twirling and dancing, "the things you think of as being very feminine," said Patrick Coffey, Meghan's father.

Yet Meghan is majoring in engineering, a field often thought to be dominated by men, he said.

After graduation, Meghan hopes to attend law school, where she will study patent law.

"Engineering doesn't give me the opportunity to work with people as much," she said. "With law, I'll have the chance to work with people while at the same time work in engineering, which is what I really love."

Winning the Miss Milwaukee pageant has given Meghan the opportunity to help save lives, literally.

Her platform, "Start a Heart," will focus on educating the community on the importance of CPR and automated external defibrillators. As part of this platform, she hopes to teach classes at Marquette as well as other local schools.

In addition to working on her platform and making appearances around Milwaukee, Meghan will be preparing to compete in the "Miss Wisconsin" pageant, to be held June 19 to 25 in Oshkosh.

"The 'Miss Milwaukee' pageant is a preliminary to the 'Miss America,'" she said. "It's a scholarship pageant, which means it helps me earn money for school."

Throughout the "Miss Milwaukee" pageant, Meghan was "truly overwhelmed by the support of the Marquette community," Carla Coffey said. She was introduced at the men's basketball game Saturday, and the athletic department sent her flowers.

Despite all of her accomplishments, Meghan has remained an extraordinarily humble person, Carla Coffey said.

She "puts her heart into everything she does" and is a "wonderful young lady who gets along with others," Daley Jung said.

"The best part of her is that she's just Meghan," Patrick Coffey said. "She hasn't let any of this go to her head."

In fact, Meghan attributes much of her success to the support of her family.

"They always encourage me to do what I want to do, but never pressure me," she said. "I have the most supportive family there is."

What's in store for Meghan's future? Whatever she does, she wants to make a difference in the lives of others.

It's "important to live a meaningful life, always thinking of others first," she said.

"Whether it be through my career or through my involvement with the 'Miss America' program, I really hope to do something important, be it saving lives through my platform or with other things," she said.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 20 2005.