(CNN) -- Winning a pageant title is life-changing, especially during the year of your reign. 

If it's a big crown, like a state title, it can be like a full-time gig as you prepare for the national event and make appearances. 

Elizabeth Fechtel set right to work after getting her tiara on June 21, when she was named Miss Florida. She reportedly had even dropped out of the University of Florida so she could prepare for the Miss America contest in September. 

But now, she won't be going to the premier beauty contest. 

Pageant officials announced Friday there had been a mistake in tabulating what must have been very close final scores. 

And days after getting her crown, Fechtel was giving it back, so the Miss Florida organization could give it to Victoria Cowen, originally announced as first runner-up. 

The executive director of the pageant said on Facebook that the organization had to make things right. 

"Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances. It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be," Mary Sullivan wrote. 

Fechtel's mother, Dixie, told the Orlando Sentinel she was told that one judge changed his mind in the last 15 seconds and tried to indicate it on his ballot. 

"It was a human error," Sullivan told the paper. "We have two auditors ... but they unfortunately missed one of the markings on the ballot." 

Cowen, a student at Florida State, said on her Facebook page that she had bonded with Fechtel during their week at the competition. 
Is it a 40 hour a week job?
 it can be like a full-time gig