“Dairy has been a big part of my life all of my life,” Thompson told The Associated Press on Sunday. “Always at the dairy shows, I showed dairy cattle growing up. It’s something I’ve always been around.

“I’ll be focusing on teaching students the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices at an early age,” she said. “Habits are formed at a young age, so we want to focus on them drinking milk instead of Cokes or sweet tea.”

She’s been promoting dairy products and fitness initiatives during the past few years while participating in pageants. Last month, she appeared at an event in Cashion along with Chris Chamberlain, a Bethany native who plays for the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, encouraging youngsters to exercise at least an hour every day.

Thompson, a 22-year-old from Davenport – population 881 – is a senior elementary education major at Oklahoma State University. She was crowned as Miss Oklahoma in Tulsa on Saturday night, capping her third run at the pageant title.

Thompson competed as Miss Oklahoma State in 2009 and was Miss Northwest Passage last year, when she finished as the runner-up to outgoing Miss Oklahoma Emoly West. Thompson again competed in this year’s Miss Oklahoma pageant as Miss Oklahoma State.

During the talent portion of the pageant, Thompson performed an Irish step dance to the song “A Dangerous Game.” She said she fell in love with Irish dancing after watching a performance of “Riverdance” in Chicago as a child.

Thompson needs only to complete her student teaching to finish her degree at Oklahoma State, but she’ll take the next year off from school to focus on her duties as Miss Oklahoma. She’ll eventually take the $15,000 in scholarship money to finish her degree at OSU and work on another degree in secondary education at Oklahoma City University.