Posted 4:54 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, 2012
[caption id="attachment_1830" align="alignleft" width="311" caption="Sue (Manderfeld) Kaeppeler, left, poses with her daughter, Laura Kaeppeler, a.k.a. Miss America."]
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UW-La Crosse alumna Sue (Manderfeld) Kaeppeler is not Miss America, but sometimes the attention she draws makes it seem that way.
“For awhile I couldn’t go into a grocery store without getting mobbed by people,” she jokes. “I would go to buy toilet paper and come out of the store two hours later.”
So what’s all the fuss? Sue is the mother of Miss America, Laura Kaeppeler, who was crowned in January 2012.
“Still to this day, it seems so surreal,” says Sue, ’80, of Kenosha, Wis. “You see your daughter on TV and read about her in the paper. It has been a fabulous opportunity for her considering the people she has met and the people she has been able to reach out to.”
Laura was Miss Kenosha, Miss Southern Wisconsin and Miss Wisconsin before becoming Miss America. As Miss Wisconsin, Laura consulted with her parents about using a more personal platform that would drudge up some painful family memories. Laura wanted to pursue the platform “supporting and mentoring children of incarcerated parents” because her father had served 12 months in federal prison for mail fraud during her sophomore year in college. She wanted children with parents in jail to see they were not alone.
“We had to be supportive and OK with it because it was going to be very public,” says Sue. “It brought up a lot of pain, but also helped her to work through it.”
Today Laura is traveling the country supporting causes above and beyond serving as a mentor for youth with parents in jail. She wants her time as Miss America to focus on providing service to others and looking to the future just as she has.
“She has come so far. This experience has given her so much opportunity to open doors and do great things,” says Sue. “I hope she has been a positive role model to kids. The way you impact someone’s life — you may not know until years later.”
Sue knows about mentoring as she teaches 4th graders at St. Joseph Catholic Academy in Kenosha. She says her students always ask about Miss America and, together, they have had fun watching Laura’s journey.
“I will never worry about her interviewing for a job,” explains Sue. “The poise and confidence she has developed is a life lesson that she will use forever.”
After Sue finishes out the school year, she plans to visit her daughter at various events this summer. And Laura will be making some return trips to Wisconsin — even serving as the grand marshal in the Kenosha parade in July.
“It has been the most memorable year that we could imagine. I think what I’ve learned is that the pageant is not about the external beauty the girls have or the crown,” says Sue. “Laura would rather not focus on what is on her head, but the words that are coming from her heart. That is far more important.”
UW-L friends may contact Sue at skaeppeler@yahoo.com
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UW-La Crosse alumna Sue (Manderfeld) Kaeppeler is not Miss America, but sometimes the attention she draws makes it seem that way.
“For awhile I couldn’t go into a grocery store without getting mobbed by people,” she jokes. “I would go to buy toilet paper and come out of the store two hours later.”
So what’s all the fuss? Sue is the mother of Miss America, Laura Kaeppeler, who was crowned in January 2012.
“Still to this day, it seems so surreal,” says Sue, ’80, of Kenosha, Wis. “You see your daughter on TV and read about her in the paper. It has been a fabulous opportunity for her considering the people she has met and the people she has been able to reach out to.”
Laura was Miss Kenosha, Miss Southern Wisconsin and Miss Wisconsin before becoming Miss America. As Miss Wisconsin, Laura consulted with her parents about using a more personal platform that would drudge up some painful family memories. Laura wanted to pursue the platform “supporting and mentoring children of incarcerated parents” because her father had served 12 months in federal prison for mail fraud during her sophomore year in college. She wanted children with parents in jail to see they were not alone.
“We had to be supportive and OK with it because it was going to be very public,” says Sue. “It brought up a lot of pain, but also helped her to work through it.”
Today Laura is traveling the country supporting causes above and beyond serving as a mentor for youth with parents in jail. She wants her time as Miss America to focus on providing service to others and looking to the future just as she has.
“She has come so far. This experience has given her so much opportunity to open doors and do great things,” says Sue. “I hope she has been a positive role model to kids. The way you impact someone’s life — you may not know until years later.”
Sue knows about mentoring as she teaches 4th graders at St. Joseph Catholic Academy in Kenosha. She says her students always ask about Miss America and, together, they have had fun watching Laura’s journey.
“I will never worry about her interviewing for a job,” explains Sue. “The poise and confidence she has developed is a life lesson that she will use forever.”
After Sue finishes out the school year, she plans to visit her daughter at various events this summer. And Laura will be making some return trips to Wisconsin — even serving as the grand marshal in the Kenosha parade in July.
“It has been the most memorable year that we could imagine. I think what I’ve learned is that the pageant is not about the external beauty the girls have or the crown,” says Sue. “Laura would rather not focus on what is on her head, but the words that are coming from her heart. That is far more important.”
UW-L friends may contact Sue at skaeppeler@yahoo.com