The 24-year-old Plymouth woman is currently the reigning Miss Minnesota USA. Now, though, she is preparing to compete in the Miss USA pageant, which will be held in Las Vegas on April 19.
Nego won the state title on Nov. 30, 2008, and has been serving Minnesota since then by volunteering with organizations like Toys for Tots, the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Second Harvest.
For Nego, entering the pageant system was a long-held goal.
"My father passed away when I was 11, so I learned early on the importance of living without fear," she said.
After his death, Nego said, "I made a list of 150 things I wanted to accomplish in my life. Being in a pageant was one of them."
Other items on the list include attending an opera, spending a month by herself in a cabin in the woods of Vermont, and skydiving. "I think I've changed my mind on the skydiving," she laughed. "It's been crossed off."
However, being in a pageant was something she figured she could easily do. She started researching the process in June of 2008 but didn't actually send in her application for the Miss Minnesota USA competition until just a week before the early-November deadline.
She didn't expect to win, but perhaps she should have. Not only does she possess beauty and poise, she also exudes independence and confidence.
While she might have her parents to thank for the beauty, she has a modeling career to thank for the independence.
Nego has been modeling (another item on the list) since she turned 13. She has appeared in Target and JC Penny catalogues, among many others.
Nego grew up in Deephaven. She attended Minnetonka High School as a freshman and sophomore, but because of the demands of her growing modeling career, she eventually transferred to a smaller, private institution called Bryce Academy, where she found the flexibility she needed to both work and earn her diploma.
It's only been in the past year that Nego started calling Plymouth home. The youngest of five siblings, she helped her mother downsize and relocate from a large, family home to a smaller, more manageable one.
Nego is currently taking a sabbatical from her college coursework to fulfill her duties as Miss Minnesota USA. Should she win the national crown, she would extend her leave.
Education, however, remains at the top of her to-do list. Her ultimate goal is to earn a PhD in research psychology. She hopes to complete that degree at the University of Minnesota.
Until then, however, Nego is confident she'll be able to master any situation that comes her way. That's because modeling, Nego said, has been strong teacher.
"I definitely had to learn how to adapt quickly, how to be flexible," she said. Since her career has taken her across the United States and into Europe, she learned to maneuver airports, customs, cultures and languages on her own.
"And I also think being involved in modeling at an early age helped divert me from drug use and toward healthy habits and good decisions. I learned that my body was my business and that in order to stay in business I needed to take care of it," she said.
Because she started modeling young, she was in a position of juggling her school work with her photo shoots. "When you're little and you're in school, there's always a teacher there, and I think a lot of kids get the idea that in order to learn, you have to have a teacher," Nego said.
"I learned that I can teach myself. I've gotten really good at self-educating. I can pick up a book at any time about anything and be my own teacher," she said.
Lately, Nego has been reading up on current events in preparation for the interview portion of the Miss USA pageant. Just as in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, Nego will compete in an evening gown, swim suit and interview portion.
The national pageant will include a two-tier interviewing process; contestants will face two separate questioning panels.
Family and friends hosted a send-off party for Nego on Saturday. While they wished her well and on her way, Nego hadn't yet finished packing.
"I'm going to be in Vegas for three weeks," she said. "I leave on the first, but the pageant isn't until the 19th." Those in between days will be filled with pageant activities, she explained.
"I haven't fully packed," she admitted. "I'm usually a light packer. Normally, for a three-week trip I roll everything up and try to shove it all into a carry on. I don't think I can do that for this. I'm going to need really great clothes and shoes."
She estimated she would end up checking three large suitcases, but said she'd heard rumors that some contestants show up to the pageant with seven or eight.
Her ball gown, of course, will require special attention. Nego flew to Puerto Rico in order to secure her gown for the national pageant. It was created by Carlos Alberto, a Puerto Rican designer.
"The gown I wore at the state pageant was pretty exotic looking. I figured if a pageant was just going to be something I did once in my life, I'd go ahead and have fun with it," she said.
After winning the Miss Minnesota title, however, she changed her tune. This time, she said, "I wanted something that was going to portray elegance. This dress is very red carpet. It's very glam, but it's also soft."
"It has gold beading on the bodice and a very flowy skirt of white chiffon and silk. It's very goddess-y feeling," she explained.
Nego is eager to meeting her pageant roommate. She's been paired to share a room with Miss Delaware, she said.
However, Nego is most excited to just arrive and start living in the moment. "I've heard all these stories about the pageant," she said.
"They say you get up early and stay up late, that you only get two or three hours of sleep. I want to know whether that's reality or an exaggeration. If it's true, I'm curious to see how I'll handle the situation," she said.
Either way, she said, the coming three weeks are guaranteed to be "unique."
"I'm most looking forward to just experiencing it all, to seeing how all of it unfolds and learning how that's going to manifest in me," she said.
