What are your hobbies?
I enjoy singing, giving make-overs, traveling, watching movies, and collecting "Wizard of Oz" memorabilia.

What makes you special and unique?
One thing that makes me unique is that I can yodel. I discovered I had this unusual talent whenever I was thirteen years old. I was so determined to sing LeAnn Rimes' hit song "Blue" that I practiced yodeling daily. Little did I know that less than a year later I would be awarded "Most Professional" in New York City at Talent America for a performance that included yodeling!

What is the best advice you have ever received?
The best advice I think I have ever received came from a professor's lecture. He said that "a knowledgeable, successful person is one who is in the world, not of the world." These are excellent words of advice and it is something that I will always carry with me throughout life.

Name one thing you cannot live without.
Having Jesus Christ as my Heavenly Father is one thing I absolutely cannot live without. Knowing that He is always there watching and guiding me through every walk of life is such a tremendously humbling feeling.

What is the most valuable lesson you ever learned?
A very dear friend of mine passed away shortly after high school. Just a few hours later, his parents asked me to sing at the funeral. They later told me that he had always said he wanted to marry me when we got older so I could sing to him every day. I thought he must have metioned this to them once jokingly because I never knew he felt that way about me until that very moment. People never know what kind of impact they are making on others, so it is important to act as if someone is always watching.

Who is your most valued role model and why?
Helen Keller is one of my most valued role models. I learned of her in the 5th grade and have written several research papers about her since. She was faced with so many obstacles, but was such an astonishing, accomplished woman. My favorite quote is by her: "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart."

What was your most unexpected moment?
My most unexpected moment came three days after September 11, 2001 when the principal of my high school personally asked me to sing the National Anthem at that weekends' school football game. I was so touched by this request. That night everyone on the field and in the stands was given a candle to light during the Anthem. I sang as my eyes filled with tears thinking about the many lives lost just a few days earlier. This is truly a moment I will never forget.

What is your workout routine?
I do various stretches and exercises at home before ever going to the gym. Once at the gym I focus on cardio and taking advantage of the many different free-weight machines. I generally do this four times a week. Unless I sneak in a Mountain Dew or southern fried cooking. Then, needless to say, I add a day...or two.

What has been your biggest accomplishment to date?
I consider my biggest accomplishment to date to me being the first and so far only junior representative for the Farm Bureau Federation not just from my hometown, but from my home county of Monroe.

What is the best compliment you have ever received?
Being a performer for most of my life, I have had multiple opportunities to travel and sing. Many times after my performance is over I find myself in extensive conversations with members of the audience. One time a gentleman came up to me and started talking about his daughters' dreams of being a performer too. As the conversation was ending the man said to me, "I hope that my daughter will grow up to be an independent young woman just like you." What better compliment could anyone ask for?

What is your secret wish?
My secret wish is to meet and have a conversation with living legend Aretha Franklin. I have always been a huge fan of her music. Her voice is so powerful and unique that she is an absolute pleasure to listen to. I wouldn't mind performing with her either. Hey, if I'm going to dream, I might as well dream big!

What was your most embarrassing moment?
My most embarrassing moment was DEFINITELY during my senior year of high school. On my way to school one morning I hit a rooster. It wasn't until I stopped to get gas that I realized the rooster was stuck in the grill of my car! The story quickly traveled throughout the campus and my car became eternally known as the "Rooster Mobile".

What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
My guilty pleasure is curling up on the couch with a Snickers bar, Mountain Dew, and a good movie featuring Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, or Nicolas Cage. It's ok to have carbs, sugar, AND be lazy for a day every once in a while!

What is your favorite movie and why?
Since I was three years old, "The Wizard of Oz" has been my favorite movie. There was something about the ruby slippers, yellow-bricked road, and fairy-tale land of Oz that was fascinating to me. Now that I am older, it is the message of determination and perseverance hidden in this movie that keeps it number one on my list.

What is your favorite color and why?
My favorite color has always been red. It is defined as being a symbol of passion, love, strength, and determination. However, my mother and grandmother say it's because I was a "Valentine baby" and red was all around me the day that I was born.

What do you like to do for fun... relaxation... recreation?
For fun I like to go bowling, play putt-putt golf, or go to MSU sporting events. When I need to relax I sing, watch a romantic comedy, or take a drive. I don't get too do this as often as I'd like, but for recreation I LOVE going to amusement parks! Six Flags is my favorite.

What would be your dream vacation or destination?
I might be one of the few people that have already been on a dream vacation. A few summers ago I went on a two-week trip; one week in Australia and one week in Hawaii. The week in Australia was filled with sight-seeing and activities. I visited the Sydney Opera House, watched Aborigines perform in the Outback ,swam in the Olympic Pool and held a koala at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary just to name a few. While in Hawaii, I went to a luau, walked along the beautiful beaches, and just relaxed. It's hard to imagine any other vacation topping that one!

What do you like best about your hometown?
Growing up in a sparsely populated area with only a volunteer fire deparment, a service station, and only five stop signs, it has always been the bigger picture of Wren that makes it special. The famous landmarks, nationally known Lake Monroe, Indian Mounds, and overall beautiful countryside scenery are just a few of my favorite things about my hometown.

What do you like best about the state of Mississippi, besides our food & hospitality?
Not only is Mississippi the birthplace to celebrities like Elvis Presley, Faith Hill, Sela Ward, and William Faulkner, but our state has many things it was first in. The world's first human lung transplant was accomplished in Jackson, the first female federal judge in the United States is from Hazelhurst, and the first person in the United States to air music television is from Brookhaven. These few things along with many others make me proud to call Mississippi home.

What's in your CD player or on your iPod right now?
I have many legendary groups and performers on my iPod. Just a few are Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, Etta James, The Beatles, Linda Eder, and The Rolling Stones. Aretha Franklin's "Greatest Hits" is always in my CD player.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In ten years, I envision myself well into my career. Hopefully, I will have personally signed some of the most well-known artists of that decade to a contract. I am also hopeful that I will have an official position at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation which would greatly enable to reach out to even more children suffering with diabetes. On top of all of that, I would love to be married and starting a family. Life is too short to dream small.

Who am I?
From birth until today my life has been a little different from anyone else's. Being born to a photographer I have been photographed doing everything from rolling over for the first time to posing in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. I have assumed the role of a pioneer musician by playing the dulcimer and singing songs from that period. I have also performed as a cheerleader for a professional arena football team.

Always being musically motivated, I have aspirations of working in the entertainment industry to discover and promote new talent. Volunteering for a scholarship program called "Stars Over Mississippi" not only allowed me to meet celebrities, but also sparked my interest in the world of entertainment.

Through it all I have developed the flexibility to mold myself into any role that I desire. Because of that, there is no limit to the goals that I set for myself and no dream too big for me to attain.

Tell us about your occupational experience.
Being an assistant marketing director for a local restaurant gave me the opportunity to be creative and innovative. I was responsible for planning and organizing events, booking and confirming the appearances of special guests, and creating a theme and overseeing the completion of the project. Working my way through college was a very rewarding experience. It was never anything that I had to do, but something that I wanted to do for myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do anything I set my mind to. I also wanted to get a head start on gaining independence, a sense of responsibility, and proper budgeting habits before I graduated and moved out into the "real world". It taught me the importance of teamwork, self-discipline, and patience.

Tell us about your platform.
Diabetes is a very common disease in my family. There are more than 20 million people in America and 246 million people worldwide that have been diagnosed with this disease. Just this year it was recorded that diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death by disease in the United States. Some complications a diabetic may face are heart disease, nerve damage, blindness, depression, and even death. The last of these complications is one that I am all too familiar with. I have lost so many loved ones because of the toll diabetes had on them and even more struggle with it every day.

When my grandfather passed away a few years ago, I made it my personal life-long goal to do any and everything I possibly can to help make people aware of the symptoms and effects of diabetes. I think it is extremely important to instill into the minds of children the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.

Not only can diabetes be a struggle physically and emotionally, but for many it is also a financial challenge. My goal is to minimize the financial burden for as many college-bound high school seniors with diabetes as possible. By initiating a scholarship program dedicated to the memory of my grandfather who lost his struggle with diabetes, I am hopeful that this endeavor will alleviate some of their financial worries.