• Audrey Eckert, 23, is competing at Miss Universe after winning Miss USA in October. • The Nebraska native has been competing in pageants since she was 9 years old. • Eckert told Business Insider she wants to break the "Toddlers and Tiaras" stereotype of pageant queens.

Just a week after winning Miss USA, Audrey Eckert hopped on a plane to Thailand to begin competing at Miss Universe 2025.

It's been a lifelong goal for the 23-year-old, who began competing in pageants when she was a child.

"The moment Nebraska was called as Miss USA 2025, that's when I said to myself, 'Here we go, my life has changed,'" Eckert told Business Insider after she was crowned on October 24. "I knew I was going to be ready to hit the ground running."

Eckert will find out if her dream has come true at the

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