text: She moved to Birmingham at age sixteen, following her parents' divorce. She attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts for a year and graduated from Berry High School (Now Hoover High School) in 1991. Her passion was ballet, and she had spent most of her time developing her ballet skills, especially after hearing loss. She then went on to study at Jacksonville State University.
  Pageant record
  Whitestone first participated in the Shelby County Junior Miss program. While not actually a beauty pageant, the experience gave her the confidence to begin entering pageants. Her first year in the Miss America system, she won the Miss Jacksonville State University title, and went on to be Miss Alabama. She stood next to Miss Virginia (Cullen Johnson) in the finals of the Miss America 1995 pageant. When the first runner-up was announced, she could not hear the host Regis Philbin but could read his lips. Surprised, she looked to her fellow contestant for confirmation that she had won.
  As Miss America, she showcased her S.T.A.R.S. program around the country. S.T.A.R.S. stands for "Success Through Action and Realization of your dreams." It has five points: positive attitude, belief in a dream, the willingness to work hard, facing obstacles, and building a strong support team.