When the curtain opens tonight on the final phase of competition in the Miss Mississippi pageant, the Golden Triangle will be well-represented. Lee Armstrong, Presly Forrester and Caitlyn Smith, all of Columbus, and Jessica Terrill of Starkville are among 45 young women vying for the title and scholarships to be awarded at the Vicksburg Convention Center.
Armstrong, Miss Southern Magnolia, is a 2007 graduate of New Hope High School and a 2011 graduate at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she majored in exercise science. The 21-year-old”s platform is Health C.A.R.E. — cardiac health awareness and education.
Forrester, 19, graduated from Heritage Academy in 2010. The current Miss Itawamba Community College is majoring in nursing there and plans to study at the University Medical Center in Jackson. Her platform is Helping Hands: Fighting Community Hunger.
Smith, Miss Coastal Waters, selected as her platform “O.W.L.S.” — Offer with Loving Service, a volunteer initiative. The 22-year-old, who aspires to be a lawyer, is a 2007 alumnae of Heritage Academy and a 2011 graduate of the University of Alabama, where she majored in English.
Terrill, 20, reigns as Miss Mississippi State University. The Itawamba Agricultural High School valedictorian is majoring in communications and chose the children”s literacy program First Book as her platform.
Preliminary competition began Wednesday in Vicksburg. Read more about the contestants at missmississippipageant.org.
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