TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - A record crowd turned out on Thursday as former U.S. Army officer and Miss USA Deshauna Barber-Echols spoke at the United Way of the Big Bend’s Women’s Leadership Breakfast.

During the event, she challenged attendees to see the potential in people all around them.

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She shared her story of a Target associate turned Miss USA, and a mix of setbacks and successes along the way.

Barber-Echols earned the Miss USA title in 2016 on her sixth try.

“Honestly, life can be very hard, and without resilience, without tenacity, without perseverance, I’m just really unsure how you can survive the ups and downs of life without those characteristics,” she said. “So I’ve kind of gotten used to pushing through when life gets hard, and I think it’s really truly he

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