Sarah HendersonBlair Wortsmith was crowned Miss University during the 2018 pageant on Sunday night.
Wortsmith, a senior managerial finance major, said she had a long journey to the title of Miss University. She began competing in the Miss America Organization when she was 15 and said she knew immediately that she identified deeply with the mission of Miss America.
While in college, Wortsmith continued participating in pageants. She won Most Beautiful at the Ole Miss Parade of Beauties during her sophomore year, which eventually led her to the Miss Mississippi pageant.
Last night, Wortsmith’s eight-year dream finally came true as Charley Ann Nix, Miss University 2017, placed the crown on Wortsmith’s head. She had won a Miss America Sponsored Pageant.
“The moment was just so surreal,” Wortsmith said of her win. “It still hasn’t sunk in yet. I am so excited and so humbled by all of this.”
Wortsmith is a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and is the Associated Student Body Director of Promotions.
Wortsmith said it was her experiences in the classroom as a managerial finance major that inspired her platform for the Miss University pageant.
“My platform is guiding youth to financial freedom,” Wortsmith said. “The focus is on implementing and empowering youth with money management skills so they can be successful when they leave college and head to the workforce.”
Wortsmith will now head to Vicksburg, where she will have the opportunity to compete against women from all across the state for the title of Miss Mississippi. The winner of Miss Mississippi will then go on to compete in the Miss America competition.
The Student Activities Association works to ensure that “contestants are comfortable and excited … whether it is their first year or their third,” according to Rosa Salas Gonzales, president of the Student Activities Association.
“The role of SAA in this event is to promote ticket sales, recruit contestants, select judges, and execute all tasks the day of the event such as tally points,” she said.
These tasks are undertaken by 30 committee members under the instruction of student directors Landon Chapman, Kelsea White and Eliza Williams.
Director of the Student Union Bradley Baker said he focusses on many of the larger aspects of running the pageant such as securing funding and following official protocol of Miss America preliminary pageants. He said the university tries to learn from the previous year’s pageants and make improvements.
“Falling under the umbrella of Miss America and Miss Mississippi means there are certain guidelines we have to abide by and procedures we have to follow,” Baker said. “There’s a lot of scholarship money at stake in these pageants and the organization keeps us accountable to that.”
Wortsmith was awarded a $4,000 scholarship as a part of the Miss America Organization’s scholarship program.
