• Miss Nebraska Audrey Eckert was crowned the new Miss USA on October 24. • Eckert will fly to Thailand on Thursday to compete in the Miss Universe 2025 competition. • The 23-year-old pageant queen told Business Insider she's been training for this moment for years.

Audrey Eckert was just named the new Miss USA, but there will be little time to celebrate.

Eckert will board a plane to Thailand on Thursday — just six days after being crowned in Reno, Nevada — to compete in the Miss Universe 2025 pageant.

It's the biggest competition of Eckert's life, but the 23-year-old pageant queen told Business Insider that she feels ready. In fact, she's been training for years.

A lifetime in pageants

Eckert began competing in pageants when she was 9 years old. The Nebraska native got her start

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