OXFORD, Miss. – Before competing in the Miss Mississippi Scholarship Pageant later this month, Miss University Brooke Beard will showcase her wardrobe and talent in a public program Thursday (July 9) at the University of Mississippi.
Beard’s Trunk Show begins at 3:30 p.m. in Johnson Commons Ballroom. A reception and autograph session will follow.
“The Trunk Show is a way for me to be able to show the Oxford community and the Ole Miss campus how hard I’ve been working and that I’ve prepared to the best of my ability to represent Ole Miss in the Miss Mississippi pageant,” said Beard, who graduated from Ole Miss in May with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics.
Beard plans to model seven different outfits during the program. It will also feature a video of her pageant talent, a classical ballet en pointe performance.
Since being crowned Miss University and setting her goal to become Miss Mississippi, Beard has been working with Jennifer Taylor, director of campus programming and local director of the Miss University pageant. Beard is the eighth contestant that Taylor has helped to prepare for the state event.
“Brooke has been preparing for the Miss Mississippi pageant since the day she was crowned Miss University in February,” Taylor said. “From mock interviews to talent rehearsals, she works everyday toward her goal of becoming Miss Mississippi.”
Beard has also been working to promote her pageant platform, the Children’s Miracle Network and the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson. Along with volunteering at the children’s hospital, Beard organized a penny drive that raised money for the Children’s Miracle Network. She also planned and implemented a Band-Aid drive that raised over 35,000 Band-Aids for the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children.
“That was a huge success for me and a great way for me to promote my platform,” Beard said.Taylor said she has enjoyed working with Beard in preparation for the upcoming pageant.
“We are proud that Brooke is representing the university at the Miss Mississippi Pageant,” Taylor said. “Miss University has been very successful in receiving high recognition at the pageant for many years. Brooke is so very dedicated and passionate about raising awareness for her platform. It is such an honor to work with such an amazing young woman.”
Beard competed in the Miss Mississippi pageant the last two years, as Miss Madison and Miss Metro Jackson. She said she is excited to represent the university this year.
“It’s been such an honor and a blessing to be able to represent Ole Miss,” she said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about ever since I was a freshman, and finally, my senior year of college that dream came true. And it’s so neat to be able to go to Miss Mississippi and know that I am the sole representative for my university – the university that I’ve grown to love and care about.”
The 2009 Miss Mississippi Pageant is scheduled July 15-18 at the Vicksburg Convention Center.