Q) How did you stand out in casting during your Orlando audition?

A) I said, 'I'm 5'10, I am a size ten and I love it!' I was excited that I was bigger rather than being like, 'Oh, I'm so sad about my body.' I was like, 'My body rocks!" I think that they really liked that and it's true. That's how I feel.

Q) What was going through your mind at the final judging panel?

A) I thought logically, it's not going to happen. I'm going home. Anya's a great friend of mine, she'll be a great model. It just would have been a huge disappointment if I did get sent home because I feel like I have such a great message that I'm trying to get out there.

Q) What were you thinking when you saw your photo on the screen?

A) It's absolutely so exciting. I was incredibly surprised and Anya was happen for me too, which was so great. Having somebody who's that close to you, you definitely don't want them to be sad at that moment. She was genuinely so happy that I won, which was incredible. I don't ever want to bring her down.

Q) Why do you think you were chosen as the winner of "America's Next Top Model?"

A) I love Anya to death. I think that a big chunk of it had to do with presentation and personality. Her personality looks a little too light-hearted sometimes, not serious enough. She's so sweet, but does she have the drive? I think that the judges could see how badly I wanted it and how hard I worked. I just think that the judges saw my work ethic and saw how hard I was working and that's probably something that had a lot to do with it.

Q) You had more of an optimistic attitude then the plus-sized models on the show in the past. How did you maintain your optimism?

A) I forced myself to stay super optimistic on the show. The thing that makes me different from the other plus-size models is I'm not just going in saying, 'I'm really pretty and I don't want to diet so I'm going to be a plus-size model.' That's not my mentality at all. I'm saying I'm here to change things so that little girls have someone to look up to. I'm hereto fight the eating disorder battle that millions of people are having and I'm standing up and saying that's not okay. Frankly, I can't fail. I will not fail.

Q) How do you feel about having the label of "full-figured" model?

A) To the average woman, I'm not "plus." I'm not bigger than the average woman. I'm actually considered smaller. I think the average size is fourteen, but in the modeling industry I'm far bigger and I actually have a figure. If you look at a regular model, they're size two - size four maximum. I am not. I'm a size ten and I don't ever plan on being a four. I never have been and I never will be. So, in that sense, when you put me next to a model who's a size two and I'm five times bigger than her, that's when you're considered full-figured.

Q) What is your response to photos that have been circulating showing you significantly thinner?

A) I've seen them. They're pictures of me in a bikini in tenth grade. Even then, I'm like a size six, but that was four years ago. I've been pretty curvy since I hit puberty and all that.

Q) What is your response to rumors that you've undergone plastic surgery to be more instep with the rest of the modeling industry?

A) Of course people are going to nay say like, 'She'll never be a real model. She'll never make it in the fashion world.' To that, there's nothing I can do, but work - work my butt off and make it in the fashion world. That's what I'm doing. I've already booked things with Elite and I haven't even signed with them yet!

Q) Have you always wanted to be a model?

A) No, I wanted to be a pediatric surgeon until I was on the beach with my thirteen year old cousin last summer. She turns to me and says, 'Oh my God! I'm so fat!' I immediately said, 'No, you're not. You look great.' Why is my thirteen year old cousin calling herself fat? I began thinking, 'Why isn't anyone doing anything about this?' One of my favorite quotes is, 'You must be the change you wish to see in the world.' So, I decided to audition for that purpose. I don't want to my cousins growing up with no role model and it worries me that he generation may be a lost one because all of her role models are either in rehab or recovering from eating disorders. I just thought someone should change that. No one else has taken it upon themselves to change the negative connotation people have about curvy women. I'm just absolutely not okay with that. I wanted to come out and say, 'Hey, I'm plus sized. I look good and I'm proud of that.' It's amazing the reaction I've gotten from people.

Q) How did you feel when Paulina referred to you as being fake?

A) Frankly, the judges only see you ten minutes once a week. So, the judges don't ever really get a feel for your personality and it's so difficult to prove to someone that you're not fake. If they say you're not dressing well, you can change that. If they say they think you're fake, what do you do? There was really nothing I could do, but just be myself. I think if the viewers just watch the episodes they see that I am - because if I was fake, people probably would have liked me more. I'm pretty raw and realistic so I hope the viewers get a sense of that. I'm absolutely not fake.

Q) Paulina also felt you were a "ham" at some points and also felt you weren't taking the competition seriously.

A) I don't necessarily agree with that. I have a very outgoing personality. I understand that Tyra says I have a 'presence.' Paulina sees that as showing off. If you're in a runway show wearing a $100,000 Versaci gown, I feel, personally, like you should look confident in it. It does seem like Paulina does have something against me. I don't know what that is. I don't know why. I thought she was a really great person, but apparently she doesn't think the same thing about me.

Q) How do you respond to Fatima's comments that she didn't think you deserved to win and that you "didn't look like a plus-sized model?"

A) Fatima doesn't know a lot about plus-size modeling. She's not a plus-size model. In fact, she's a little too skinny to be a regular-size model and that's saying something. Being a plus-size model does not mean that you're fat. It means that you're regular. The big girls are not big by any terms. If they were walking down the street you'd say, 'That girl is hot!' If she's walking down a runway, she's "fatty-fatty-eats-a lot.' It's a completely different perception. So many people don't understand that and I think it's so important we ask why is a size eight and up a plus size? Why are we setting that example for the young girls in this country whose bodies aren't even developed yet?

Q) What is next for you?

A) I've completely -mentally and physically- prepared myself to do everything I have to do to get out there. I am the only plus-size girl that Elite has at their agency. They don't even represent plus-size girls, which is so exciting and great because they're already booking me for things and I'm going to get booked for things that are editorial and high-fashion. I love it. I'm trying to do everything.

Q) Do you think the show changed you?

A) I definitely think the show has changed me. I think I've done a lot of growing up. I'm twenty years old so I am not that old. I think being out on my own and not having anyone else to depend on, but myself really kind of forced me to grow up and figure some things out in myself. It's a greater independence that I have. I'm really confident I'm going to have a successful career in the modeling world.

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A) I've already received emails from boys and girls all over the world saying, 'I've sought help for an eating disorder because of you.' I think that's really the best reward that I've received.