MOSES LAKE - Karol Scott-Tracy, a 2006 Moses Lake High School graduate, has made it to the final 24 in a nationwide search for Nuestra Belleza Latina (Our Latin Beauty).

NBL is a project of the Univisión Television Network. The winner will take home $250,000 and land a one-year news reporting contract with Univisión.

Grant County residents who are so disposed may help Scott-Tracy by calling 1-866-918-8803 to place a vote for her.

The American Idol-like selection process started at numerous auditions across the country in January. Scott-Tracy, who lives in New Jersey and is studying international business in New York, entered at New York City.

The audition attracted more than 100 young women, said Scott-Tracy's mother, Emilia Scott. Scott-Tracy was one of two selected to go on to the big show in Miami, Fla.

"They liked her dance (to samba music) and her speaking ability," Scott said.

They also liked Scott-Tracy's history in the U.S. Army, including a one-year deployment to Iraq. It was her U.S. Navy Seal boyfriend who pointed her toward NBL and encouraged her to enter.

"She saw death up close in Iraq," Scott said. "It affected her, but she's doing well now."

Scott-Tracy, born in Venezuela and a Moses Lake resident from the age of 11, was a 5-6, 140-pound soldier in Iraq. She is now a sleek 5-6, 125-pound beauty competing for Our Latin Beauty.

"One of the comments from a judge was how someone so beautiful stood up for her country," Scott said.

Scott lost contact with her daughter the day after she arrived in Miami. If Scott-Tracy makes it to the end of the competition in June, it will be that long before mother and daughter communicate again.

All of the contestants had to relinquish their phones and agree not to speak about their activities with the general public. Scott knows only that the 60 contestants are hard at work trying to impress the judges.

Sunday evening, March 11, during the first round of the televised portions of the competition, Scott learned her daughter is succeeding. Of the 30 contestants to appear, she was among the 12 selected to advance.

The process involves three judges - two men, one woman - who are selecting teams of eight contestants each. After they have their eight, they are responsible for helping each of them the rest of the way.

Scott-Tracy was presented in a group of seven wearing orange gala gowns. One of the men selected first, and he chose Scott-Tracy. That disappointed the second man, who commented, "She's the best of them all."

To compete for the NBL title, the contestants had to be Latina, speak Spanish and be citizens or legal residents of the U.S. Scott-Tracy was born in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. She moved to Moses Lake after her mother married a Moses Lake man. She enrolled at Frontier Middle School and later played soccer for MLHS.

After graduation, Scott-Tracy surprised her mother by joining the U.S. Army. She served three years, rising to the rank of sergeant. Although mom worried, she was proud of her daughter's service.

Exiting the Army, Scott-Tracy decided to move to New Jersey and study in New York. She has about a quarter of work left for her degree.

 Scott moved to New Jersey last November to be closer to Scott-Tracy, but she's expecting to return to Moses Lake. As for Scott-Tracy's future, Scott has no idea.

If Scott-Tracy wins, she'll likely move to Miami. If not, she has international business plans.

Scott-Tracy's next appearance on television will be on Sunday, March 25. That's when Univisión plans to start paring down the final 24.