Tarpey, 21, was crowned Miss Connecticut in June and now goes for the national title. She is a graduate of Loomis Chaffee School and now attends Pace University Honor's College.
If Tarpey wins, it would be the first time two women from the state take the Miss America and Miss USA crowns in the same year. Erin Brady, of Glastonbury, is the current Miss USA.
She was born in France, where her family lived while her father played professional basketball there. They moved to Long Island when she was 5, staying for a year and a half before moving to Stamford, where they have been since.
The red-haired and freckled young woman is performing an Irish Step Dance as her talent. Her platform issue is "Our Time To Serve: Hiring and Housing Our Veterans." Tarpey's scholastic ambition is to attend graduate school for human communications and become a human resources manager of a global corporation.
The Miss America competition will be televised live on ABC-TV at 9 p.m. Sunday. A "20/20" news special called "Pageant Confidential: The Road To Miss America" will air at 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC-TV.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.