Elizabeth Fechel,  who was crowned Miss Florida last weekend, only to have her crown taken due to a tabulation error, is standing on her belief in God and in herself despite her loss. The 20-year old University of Florida student says she is not defined by a title.

A resident of Leesberg, Florida, Miss Fechel said she was “devastated” to lose the crown, but believes that “God has a plan.”

“There is one big idea that I would like to emphasize: I was Miss Florida for a glimpse, but more importantly, I have been Elizabeth Fechtel since day one,” she said. “A title does not define me. It opens doors, but it does not dictate who I am and where I am going,” wrote Miss Fechtel.

Miss Victoria Cowen of Panama City, the former runner-up, is the newly announced winner of the Miss Florida pageant. Miss Cowen “will be a great titleholder and I hope you will all show her the recognition she deserves,” said Fechel in her post.

Losing the crown means Fechel cannot compete in the Miss America contest in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sep. 14, 2014. Any scholarships associated with preliminary competitions that Fechel won will be awarded to her, said Mary Sullivan, executive director of the pageant.

The Miss Florida Scholarship Organization, which hosted the beauty pageant on June 17-21 in St. Petersburg, said that an independent review and audit of the scores the judges awarded revealed that Miss Cowen had the top overall score. “It was a human error,” said Sullivan on Friday. “We have two auditors…but they unfortunately missed one of the markings on the ballot.”

In an unrelated incident earlier this week, Miss Amanda Longacre lost her crown as Miss Delaware because contestants cannot turn 25 before the end of the year. Longacre’s 25th birthday is Oct. 22.