Hannah Leflore is hoping third time’s the charm.
This week, the Greenwood resident is in Vicksburg to compete at the 2017 Miss Mississippi Pageant. This is her third trip to the state competition.
“I’m really excited to be here and to be on stage again, and hopefully I can bring back the crown,” said Leflore.
The 21-year-old is the reigning Miss Delta State University, which is a qualifying pageant for the state contest.
In 2016, she competed as Miss Clinton, a qualifying pageant open to contestants statewide, and she competed as Miss Mississippi Delta Community College in 2015.
“I have grown so much throughout this process of being a contestant,” Leflore said. “I’ve learned so much. It’s an experience like no other, and I plan on continuing to compete for as long as I can.”
Leflore, who is one of 44 contestants from across the state vying for the title of Miss Mississippi, said she feels more prepared this year.
“I feel so much more mature and so much more ready,” she said. “I have an interview (this morning), and I’ve never been this excited about it. ... I feel like this year I have had more time to grow as a person.”
Leflore is the daughter of Stan and Jan Leflore of Greenwood.
She is a graduate of MDCC, where she received an Associate of Arts degree. Leflore just wrapped up her junior year at Delta State University, where she is pursuing a double major in music and speech language pathology.
Leflore is an active student at Delta State, where she is a member of the choir, serves as an officer of the Speech and Hearing Club, is a President’s List scholar and is a member of Phi Mu Sorority.
Leflore said she has been preparing for this competition all year. She’s been in the gym, taken voice lessons to prepare for her talent and worked on her platform, “Using Music to Teach.”
Leflore said her platform has evolved over the past three years, and it is what inspired her career choice.
“Music is a powerful teaching tool,” said Leflore. “Because of how your brain reacts to music, it makes it easier to learn. Music gives you cues to learn, and the brain is able to pick up on those cues and use that to learn information that you will know for the rest of your life.”
Leflore said her platform developed out of her love for music and her desire to help others.
After receiving bachelor’s degrees, Leflore plans to attain a master’s degree in speech and hearing sciences. She also would like to pursue a bachelor’s degree in music therapy.
For Leflore, one of the best aspects about competing in the Miss Mississippi Pageant is the many scholarship opportunities.
Each year she has competed, Leflore has received a scholarship at the state pageant. She also received scholarships for competing in and winning the qualifying pageants.
The state pageant is a part of the Miss America Corp., which prides itself in being the leading scholarship provider for women in the country.
“The Miss America organization is not just about beauty pageants, it’s a scholarship program. This is paying for my school,” said Leflore. “It’s amazing the opportunities it creates.”
The Miss Mississippi contestants arrived in Vicksburg on Sunday. They were welcomed on Monday evening as they each participated in the Miss Mississippi Parade through downtown Vicksburg.
The competition kicks off on Wednesday when the contestants will be divided into three groups. Through Friday, they will participate in preliminary competitions in talent, swimwear, evening wear and an on-stage question.
The Top 10 contestants will be announced Saturday evening. They will then compete in the four competition categories again before the crowning of the 2017 winner.
The new Miss Mississippi will go on to represent her state in the Miss America Pageant on Sept. 10 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Although the Miss Mississippi Pageant is being broadcast around much of the state, it will not be carried in the Delta. The Miss Mississippi Pageant is providing a live video stream for the Saturday night broadcast from 8 to 10 p.m. at www.missmisslive.com.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
