Cara McCollum (February 6, 1992 – February 22, 2016) was an American journalist and lead news anchor for ''SNJ Today'' (which she joined in July 2015). She was

Miss New Jersey The Miss New Jersey competition is an annual pageant held to select the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant. Two Miss New Jersey winners have gone on to hold the title of Miss America: Bette Cooper who won i ...

2013 and competed for the

Miss America 2014 Miss America 2014 was the 87th Miss America pageant, held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 15, 2013. Mallory Hagan of New York crowned Nina Davuluri of New York as her successor at the end of the event. Overvie ...

title.

Background and education

The daughter of Rick and Maureen (née Buckingham) McCollum, both of

Forrest City, Arkansas Forrest City is a city in and the county seat of St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a notable Confederate war hero who later became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Shortly ...

, McCollum attended

Forrest City High School Forrest City High School is a comprehensive public high school in Forrest City, Arkansas, United States. It is the sole high school administered by the Forrest City School District and its main feeder school is Forrest City Junior High School. ...

, where she was named valedictorian. She was also named an

Arkansas Times ''Arkansas Times'', a weekly alternative newspaper based in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, is a publication that has circulated more than 40 years, originally as a magazine. Founded as a small magazine on newsprint in 1977 by publisher A ...

Academic All-Star in 2010. McCollum entered

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 2010, and was on the cheerleading squad during her freshman year. She was a journalism student under

John McPhee John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American author. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the fourt ...

(in his “Creative Nonfiction” course),

Evan Thomas Evan Welling Thomas III (born April 25, 1951) is an American journalist, historian, lawyer, and author. He is the author of 11 books, including two ''New York Times'' bestsellers. Early life and career Thomas was born in Huntington, New York, ...

, and

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, and was also a member of the sorority

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), commonly referred to simply as Theta, is an international Fraternities and sororities, sorority founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established ...

and

University Cottage Club The University Cottage Club or simply Cottage Club is one of eleven current eating clubs at Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is one of the six bicker clubs, along with The Ivy Club, Tiger Inn, Cap and Gown Club, ...

. McCollum received her B.A. in English (with a concentration in journalism) in June 2015, after taking time off to complete her year as Miss New Jersey (2013-2014).

Miss New Jersey 2013

In early 2013, McCollum won the Miss Island Resort pageant, which allowed her to participate in the

2013 competition. In June 2013, she won the title of ''Miss New Jersey'' with the platform, "Giving the Gift of Reading." This platform promoted youth literacy through her

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

"The Birthday Book Project," an organization which gives gift-wrapped books to underprivileged children grades K-5th for their birthdays. McCollum also had a musical talent, as seen in her advanced piano skills (despite a rare bone growth that made one of her fingers immobile), and she went on to perform Calvin Jones’s rendition of "Whitewater Chopped Sticks." In September 2013, McCollum participated in the

pageant as Miss New Jersey. For the "Show Us Your Shoes" parade along the Atlantic City Boardwalk, McCollum wore a mermaid costume with flippers and a net banner that read "Washed Ashore and Stronger than the Storm" to honor those affected by

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...

. During her year-long reign as Miss New Jersey, McCollum was named New Jersey Library Association Champion of the Year, as well as a Daily

Points of Light Points of Light is an international nonprofit, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Georgia, United States dedicated to engaging more people and resources in solving serious social problems through voluntary service. Each year, Points ...

Winner for her advocacy of youth literacy. Tracey Hoover, CEO of Points of Light, also highlighted McCollum's non-profit, ''The Birthday Book Project'', in an article that she wrote for ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

''.

Death

On February 15, 2016, McCollum was involved in a car accident. She was taken to

Cooper University Hospital Cooper University Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility located in Camden, New Jersey. The hospital formerly served as a clinical campus of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the University of Medicine and Dentist ...

in Camden, where she died on February 22, 2016, sixteen days after her 24th birthday. A funeral was held in her hometown of

and a memorial service was held in

Ocean City, New Jersey Ocean City is a City (New Jersey), city in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the principal city of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Cape May County, and is ...

. McCollum's longtime boyfriend, News Anchor Keith Jones, delivered the eulogy at both occasions. Jones called their two-year courtship an "encyclopedia of memories." Jones said the pair constantly wrote each other letters. He said, "Thank you for the two of the best years of my life ... may God bless you Cara." McCollum's family said Cara had made the decision to donate her organs.

References

External links

(Has Been) Royals - Lorde Cover
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCollum, Cara 1992 births 2016 deaths People from Forrest City, Arkansas Journalists from Arkansas Miss America 2014 delegates Princeton University alumni American women television journalists Road incident deaths in New Jersey