The reigning Miss North Carolina 2017, Victoria Huggins is a contestant in the Miss America 2018 pageant. She’s already a local celebrity back home and being in the spotlight is something she’s familiar with.
North Carolina is hoping that their gorgeous representative, the beautiful Victoria Huggins, will win the Miss America 2018 crown on Sunday night. She is a familiar face in North Carolina and has a lot of people rooting for as she takes her cause to the Miss America platform. It looks like she has what it takes to win the crown! Here’s everything you need to know about the potential Miss America 2018 in Victoria Huggins’ wiki.
#1. Road to Miss America
Victoria Huggins has been in the pageant circuit of St. Pauls in Robeson County, North Carolina for years. In 2013, shortly after her biggest supporter, her grandfather, passed away, she won Miss Fayetteville. From then on, she competed in his memory as he saw her as Miss America even before she made it that far.
She won Miss Central California the following year where she credited the scholarship program for her individual growth. In 2015, she was crowned Miss Greater Southeastern, representing her county. After winning Miss Wilmington, she tried for Miss Greater Sampson County. It was the first preliminary for Miss America but it took her four years to win to finally win. She made it to Miss North Carolina in her final year of eligibility.
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She called her entire journey to the Miss North Carolina crown a “humbling” experience. It made winning the state’s biggest title even more worthwhile. “On the way to be Miss North Carolina, every year that I received a ‘no,’ I learned from it,” said Huggins. “Looking back now, I would never have been able to fully appreciate this moment had it happened earlier in my life.”
#2. She’s a Journalist
At only 23 years old, Huggins is a professional motivational speaker and worked in news stations. She represented her community on many TV shows like It’s Showtime at the Apollo, Star Search, The American Bible Challenge. Huggins currently works at WECT as a producer and reporter on Carolina in the Morning.
She gradated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in mass communication and a double minor in religion and music from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She mentions in her Miss America bio that her greatest accomplishment is being listed among the 20 Prestigious Alumni of UNC Pembroke. Her portrait is displayed in the Mass Communication Department to celebrate her academic and career achievements.
#3. Pageants Paid for Her Tuition
Huggins is currently a graduate student at John Hopkins University where she’s pursuing her Masters in Government with an emphasis in political communication. She will be graduating debt-free thanks to the Miss North Carolina scholarship program. She used the scholarship winnings from the titles she won to pay off her college tuition and student loans. The $20,000 she won as Miss North Carolina will put her through the rest of graduate school.
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Since winning Miss North Carolina, she took a year off school and reporting. She moved into the Miss NC apartment to fulfill the duties that come with the crown, but hasn’t given up on her career goals. “I want to grow in my role as a reporter with hopes of being a political analyst with a national news network,” Huggins said, further elaborating her love of discussing politics and seeing a mentor in Barbara Walters. Maybe she’s an early frontrunner for the question stage!
#4. She Tried out for American Idol
Before competing in her first pageant, Huggins aspired for a different spotlight and auditioned for American Idol in 2011. The then 16-year-old waited years until she was eligible for the show, and finally got the chance to sing in front of Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler.
She auditioned from New Jersey where Randy Jackson immediately noticed her pageant girl confidence and she impressed at the audition with “Midnight Train to Georgia.” She made it to the Top 100 before being eliminated. But she’s back in New Jersey competing for the Miss America crown in Atlantic City. This time, as she sings Whitney Houston’s classic, “I Will Always Love You,” she hopes her vocals take her far.
#5. Her Goal in Miss America
Huggins is an active campaigner for The ALZ Project on Alzheimer’s. As an ambassador for Alzheimer’s awareness, she is a strong advocate for music therapy. In the past five years she was attached to the Miss NC organization, she raised over $50,000 for The Alzheimer’s Association, CMN Hospitals, and the Miss North Carolina Scholarship Fund.
Part of her plans during her reign as Miss North Carolina is getting Gov. Roy Cooper’s support in Alzheimer therapy efforts and getting Fortune 500 companies on board to help the Miss NC organization’s platform, the Children’s Miracle Network. She wants to serve her home state the same way her father served in North Carolina’s national guard for almost 40 years.
Her other goal is to bring the Miss America crown to North Carolina for the first time since 1962. Victoria Huggins will be seen competing for the title of Miss America when it airs live on Sunday, September 10 at 9:00 p.m. EST on ABC.