Geneva resident Alexandra Plotz, crowned Miss Illinois USA 2019 title in the fall, will be vying for another crown this week: that of Miss USA.

She is one of 51 contestants set to compete in the Miss USA pageant Thursday, at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nev., according to a news release. The pageant will broadcast at 7 p.m. on WFLD-TV Channel 32.

A graduate of Rosary High School, an all-girls college preparatory school in Aurora, Plotz attended the University of Missouri, where she received a bachelor’s degree in media communications and a certificate in multicultural studies.

Throughout her reign, Plotz, 24, has been an advocate for heart health awareness, which is the No. 1 killer of women, according to the news release. Both heart disease and heart-related illness run on the maternal side of her family and she hopes to prevent the deaths of women in other families, the release said.

As an ambassador for the American Heart Association, Plotz has a goal to implement CPR and lifesaving classes in every high school and to have heart rate monitor testing in physical education classes on a monthly basis, according to her bio page on missuniverse.com/missusa. In her spare time, she likes going to the gym, preparing meals, blogging and running in 5K races to raise money for local charities, her bio said.

Plotz also has bragging rights as the 2012 Miss Illinois Teen USA and as a semifinalist at Miss Teen USA.

Her Miss USA bio includes a shout-out to her hometown .

“While she loves Chicago and all it has to offer, her heart remains true to her hometown, Geneva,” the website said. “Geneva is a small town located on the Fox River, famous for its forest preserves, parks, bike patches, historic buildings and hometown events and festivals. All of which provided for an idealic place for Alexandra to grow up.”

According to her LinkedIn page, Plotz has worked in sales for Apex3 Systems in Streamwood since November 2018. Prior to that, she was employed for more than two years as a small group interval training manager for XSport Fitness in St. Charles and as a model for Paige Model and Talent in Naperville from 2012 to 2017.

The winner of Thursday night’s pageant moves on to compete in the Miss Universe contest.

Erin Sauder is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.