Miss University 2014 Anna Beth Higginbotham. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications
OXFORD, Miss. – This week, Miss University 2014 will compete in the Miss Mississippi Pageant. The pageant will take place July 9 at 8 p.m. at the Vicksburg Convention Center.
Anna Beth Higginbotham, who was crowned Miss University at the University of Mississippi last November, will take her classical vocal skills and her platform, “Power Up and Play Hard!,” which promotes healthy lifestyles for kids, to compete against 16 other women at the state pageant.
Higginbotham, a Hattiesburg native and UM senior broadcast journalism major, has been trying to achieve this ambition since she arrived at Ole Miss.
“I’ve always wanted to compete for Miss Mississippi, so I started my freshman year,” said Higginbotham. “Since then, it has always been a goal to go to Vicksburg.”
After she was crowned Miss University, her next step was to showcase her attire and talent for the Miss Mississippi competition at a trunk show at the Farrington Gallery.
Higginbotham said she would not be where she is today without the support of the university.
“I know that my university has helped me tremendously this year,” she said. “People have volunteered to help me with mock interviews and my talent rehearsals, and I would not be nearly as prepared if it wasn’t for Ole Miss.”
For Higginbotham, the opportunity to win a state pageant is more than just about looking beautiful in a dress, she said. It is about representing her university and her state as well as helping others, such as when she led a team of 391 people to raise $113,093 for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
“I believe I am the girl next door,” she said. “I’m the all-American girl. I’m someone who has been involved [in] my community.”
Higginbotham said she’s excited to represent the Ole Miss community at Miss Mississippi 2014, but she does not limit herself to pageant preparation; she plays a role in many facets of the university. She is the Associated Student Body director of health promotions and a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority, where she has served as philanthropy chairman and public relations chairman. She is also a NewsWatch 99 anchor and a Meek School of Journalism and New Media recruiter.
“I don’t put everything into pageants,” Higginbotham said. “I enjoy many things. I am a student who tries to be involved in a lot of different areas and not just focus on one aspect.”
This experience has laid the groundwork for her to have success when she graduates and begins her career in broadcast journalism. She encourages any student interested in pageant competitions to do them mainly for personal development.
If she is crowned Miss Mississippi, then she will move on to the Miss America competition.
The Miss Mississippi pageant will be broadcast on television statewide in Mississippi. Check local listings. For tickets and other information about the event, go to missmississippipageant.com.
To find out how Higginbotham and other UM students did in the competition, check Ole Miss News next week.