A North Carolina Central University student achieved her wildest dreams, being crowned Miss North Carolina, and then competing on the Miss America stage.
Carrie Everett, Miss North Carolina 2024, wrapped up her year of service this summer, and now the community is coming together to support her for a different reason.
Other WRAL Top Stories
WRAL first interviewed Everett as she was beginning a new semester at NCCU last August.
From there, she embarked on a journey of a lifetime, traveling the state for appearances and community service as a state title holder. When she competed at Miss America, she even received a preliminary talent award at the national competition for her singing.
Throughout her year of service, she touched countless lives across the state with her strength, grace and heart for others.
Shortly after crowning her successor this June, she flew home to visit family and began a different journey she never saw coming.
“I visited my parents, and I started to experience intense bloating. It was every night. I couldn't really sleep. Then I was experiencing a lot of coughing,” said Everett.
She went to a doctor's visit at the end of July. After multiple visits to the doctor, she was initially told she had pneumonia. On July 2, scans found masses in her abdomen, a thickened stomach lining and enlarged lymph nodes. Blood work showed markers for cancer.
“I was told initially that it wasn't really anything severe, but then I went back a week later, because I just knew something wasn't right,” Everett said in an interview from her parents' Seattle, Wash., living room.
Within a few days, she started coughing up blood, was rushed to the hospital and was admitted. A biopsy was done, and she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive gastric cancer, metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma.
“Initially, it was a lot of fear," Everett said
"You never think that something like this could happen, especially at the age of 21, coming off of such an incredible year of serving the state of North Carolina."
She is now undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments. Her family has stuck beside her, shaving their heads and being there every step of the way.
“Well, I give glory and honor to God. I feel great. You know, through it all, I always want to keep a positive attitude,” said Everett.
Her mother, Mary Everett, added, "We are beyond grateful for just the young woman that she's become, growing into. We tell her this is not the end. We know it's a setback for a greater comeback, and she's going to break even more glass ceilings.
“After all of this journey, we know God put her in this position to be a blessing to her generation,” she added.
The former Miss North Carolina has had to make drastic changes to her lifestyle. Her mother said the past three weeks have been extremely difficult.
“It’s out of gratitude that she's even sitting here. She's walking by herself. We had a lot of challenges when we came home and she's here,” Mary Everett added.
After Carrie Everett served the state, those she supported in North Carolina are rallying behind her. A GoFundMe page raised more than $24,000 in the first 24 hours it was created to help pay for her medical treatments, food, travel, medication and care.
“I'm so blessed to have so many people who felt touched and inspired by my journey and my story, to want to give back to me," she said.
She thanks "students who I know they don't have the funds, because I was a student who didn't have the funds, just strangers that felt the need to give.
"I'm so blessed to have this amazing support system,” Carrie Everette said.
She said she is going to embrace this moment of stillness and keep her faith alive.
After finding success in a beauty pageant, she is also seeing herself in a different way
“I spent a year in hair and makeup constantly, always dressed up, ready to go, presenting myself a certain way, but now I get to show up and see beauty in myself without the hair and makeup, without the pageant crown or the title, I'm just experiencing me for who I am,” she said.
Everett still plans to go back to college and has dreams of becoming a gospel singer. In the meantime, she wants to continue inspiring other young people in her generation to just keep going.
“I would say to anyone who's going through this right now, you got to be strong, keep the faith. I'm so lucky to have this amazing support system. But you know, if they're looking for a support system, they could possibly even reach out to me, and I'd be willing to offer up a prayer for them. You know, seek God,“ Everett said.
Carrie has completed three rounds of chemotherapy.
To help support her during this time, visit this link.
Diagnosis: Young, The New Face of Cancer in NC
A WRAL documentary, "Diagnosis: Young, The New Face of Cancer in NC" explores the alarming trend of cancer striking younger adults in North Carolina and across the nation. The documentary follows three North Carolinians in their 20s and 30s who never expected a cancer diagnosis so early in life. Behind every personal story is the big question: Why is this happening?