What are your hobbies?
I enjoy traveling, meeting new people, scrap-booking, attending college baseball and football games, and spending time with my little sisters.

What makes you special and unique?
What makes me unique is that I'm the oldest of six children. With the youngest being twelve year old twins, there's NEVER a dull moment in my home. They're such a strong support system for me, and I always have my very own cheering section.

What is the best advice you have ever received?
My mom once sent me a quote that said, "Use what talents you posses: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang the best." This has been great advice and reminds me to appreciate the abilities that God has given me and to embrace the talents and traits that I have been blessed with.

Name one thing you cannot live without.
I absolutely cannot live without communication. My cell phone is always attached to my hip, and I can't imagine not having the availability of the internet at all times. If it weren't for these advances in technology, I couldn't keep in touch with my family and friends while shopping on eBay and checking the scores of the Giants game, all at once.

What is the most valuable lesson you ever learned?
The most valuable lesson I've learned is that laughter truly is the best medicine. Even the darkest of days can be brightened by a dose of big smiles and laughing 'til it hurts.

Who is your most valued role model and why?
My most valued role model is my grandmother, Jo. At 80 years old, she never misses a cheerleading competition, soccer game, baseball practice, or pageant. She can find the bright side in EVERY situation and is my biggest motivator. I hope that one day I can become the lady of integrity and grace that she is.

What was your most unexpected moment?
My most unexpected moment occurred in February of 2007. I went home for the weekend, and when I arrived back in Oxford, my wonderful friends were waiting with confetti, cake, and balloons to throw me a surprise birthday party. I'm very hard to surprise, so to have all of my friends keep the party a secret was AMAZING.

What is your workout routine?
My workout routine consists of weight training, cardio, and abdominal work. I also enjoy group fitness classes like yoga and kickboxing. I find that the best workout for me is an hour or so of gymnastics. Nothing works your entire body quite like flipping through the air.

What has been your biggest accomplishment to date?
My biggest accomplishment to date is getting accepted to the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy. Changing my major from business to pre-pharmacy in the middle of my sophomore year proved to be quite a challenging transition. In essence, I had to start over... trading in business cal for calculus and cramming in every possible science class. Getting my acceptance letter gave me such an amazing sense of accomplishment, and made all of the hard work worth it.

What is the best compliment you have ever received?
The best compliment I've ever received came from my best friend who gave me a good luck card that read: "You truly can do anything you put your mind to. You always do. I'm a Mary Brandon fan." It put the biggest smile on my face.

What is your secret wish?
My secret wish is to one day be able to buy my mom a red convertible. As a stay-at-home mom for seventeen years, she gave so much of herself to ensure my siblings and I had everything we needed and most of what we wanted. Never having owned a new car herself, she has driven a station wagon, a big blue 1985 Astrovan (lovingly nicknamed "the tank"), and my senior year she even adopted my first car so that I could get a new one for graduation. I would LOVE to one day be able to give her a beautiful new car that she can drive right off of the lot.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
My most embarrassing moment occurred several summers ago while eating dinner with my family. When the waiter came to take our orders, he brought me a kid's menu. ages: 12 and under. Being nineteen years old at the time, I didn't quite see the humor in it that everyone else did. Ha!

What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
I'm absolutely a sunshine fanatic. Whether it's pool volleyball or playing Frisbee in The Grove, I don't go to class if it's 80 degrees.... I'm out in it. :)

What is your favorite movie and why?
Disney movies are all a big hit with my family. We own them all and frequently quote lines from the films. My personal favorite is the Little Mermaid. On a recent trip to Florida with my family, we were all sitting outside to dinner at a beach front restaurant. I picked up my fork and held it up to my sister Brittany and asked her what it was. She immediately knew the right answer, (a line from the Little Mermaid) and replied, "A dinglehopper". My cousins, sisters, and I then proceeded to sing 'A Part of Your World'. When the people at the next table joined in, my brother was so embarrassed. He's a trooper to put up with 4 sisters and knows that in our family, there's never a dull moment.

What is your favorite color and why?
My favorite colors are the Crimson of Harvard and the Navy Blue of Yale... aka Ole Miss Red & Blue. On a football weekend in the Grove, the red and blue sea of tents and decorations evokes a sense of love and pride in my school. If I may, I must poke fun at our rivals and say that our Red & Blue are much nicer than purple & gold or maroon & white. haha Hotty Toddy!

What do you like to do for fun... relaxation... recreation?
Cheerleading is what I do for fun. Stunting is quite possibly my favorite thing in the world! To relax, I can sit down with a James Patterson or John Grisham book and get lost in the plot. The best recreation, to me, is being in right field at an Ole Miss baseball game with our student section, the "Swayze Crazies" yelling 'Throw it in the dirt... DIRT'.

What would be your dream vacation or destination?
My dream vacation would be to a tropical climate. I absolutely LOVE the ocean breeze, fresh seafood, and the sunshine. I would want my dream vacation to include mornings of lying in a hammock on the beach and afternoons of massages, manicures, and pedicures.

What do you like best about your hometown?
What I like best about my hometown are its Mayberry-like attributes. Up until I graduated high school, Sumrall had no billboards, only one restaurant, and the closest thing to a traffic light was the blinking red light at "The Four Way Stop". Any and all driving directions are given from 'the four way' and are not given in miles, but in minutes.

The school is the focus of the town, and local businesses all decorate their windows in blue and gold supporting the high school sports teams. The biggest events of the year are the Fourth of July parade and the Homecoming football game.

Everyone knows everyone and all communicate on a first name basis. True story-- I was once late for school because I got caught in "traffic". This traffic... a TRACTOR.

That's what I liked best about growing up in Sumrall. Everything there moves at a little bit slower, and that's comforting in such a fast-paced world. The small town atmosphere shaped me into the person I am today, and I cannot imagine having grown up anywhere else. Go Bobcats! :)

What do you like best about the state of Mississippi, besides our food & hospitality?
There are so many things about the state of Mississippi that I love. The people, the weather, and the generosity just to name a few. The poem, I Am Mississippi, by Paul Ott talks about some of these features. While most are considered Mississippi cliches, I find it a neat way to highlight some of the things about our state that make it feel like home.

What's in your CD player or on your iPod right now?
My car CD player is full of the most random assortment of music. I enjoy making CD music compilations with all different genres and artists. At any given time, you're likely to hear Dave Matthews Band, followed by Vanilla Ice, then Carrie Underwood, maybe the Ole Miss Band, and finally Hannah Montana. :)

My iPod is full of acoustic music from Sister Hazel, Matchbox Twenty, and Goo Goo Dolls to listen to while I'm studying. Lately, my talent song has stayed on 'repeat' over and over for me to practice.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In ten years, I see myself owning and operating my own pharmacy here in Mississippi. I plan on starting a big family and being the ultimate cheerleading/football/piano/soccer mom. My youngest sisters are ten years younger than I; so perhaps in 2018 I'll be back here in Vicksburg watching Brooke and Bailee walk across the Miss Mississippi stage. :)

Who am I?
I absolutely love to travel. In my opinion, seeing the world is one of the greatest things a person can do. I have been truly blessed to have had the opportunity to visit 5 foreign countries and many of the states across America so far in my life. This has made me more well-rounded and has given me many fond memories.

I am one of the only girls in the world who doesn't like desserts or chocolate, and I'm possibly the only southerner who doesn't drink sweet tea. I guess this makes me one of the most unusual southern girls around. ha!

I'm a person who thrives on having something to do all the time. Multi-tasking is a hidden talent of mine, and I get more done when I have a lot of things to do in a short time frame. I'm an overachiever, and strive to do my best in every endeavor. Being my own toughest critic has helped me become a self-motivator and accomplish my dreams. I wouldn't be able to do anything, though, without my phenomenal family. They truly are my rock and have helped shape me into the person I am today.

Tell us about your occupational experience.
I've had a part-time job since I was fifteen years old, and I feel that my employment taught me responsibility, time management, and money management.

In high school, I waited tables at the 589 Family Fishhouse. As my first job, it was great I've also taught gymnastics at Tumbletown and Laura's Dance Tumble and Cheer Center. Teaching gymnastics was the job that I found the most rewarding because I got to experience first hand the joy it gives children to learn something new.

I'm currently employed at The Lily Pad on the historic square in Oxford. The Lily Pad carries many unique gifts and is the primary greek merchandise provider. The store has a lot of charm and personality, and the people I work with are amazing. Their friendliness is only outshined by their patience in teaching me the tricks of the trade in the art of gift wrapping... something I need MUCH help with! ha

Tell us about your platform.
My platform, the March of Dimes, is an amazing organization that raises awareness and money for premature births. My interest in this worthy cause was started with the premature birth of my little cousin, Brodie, who weighed only one pound, twelve ounces. His father's wedding ring would slide all the way up his tiny arm. Brodie's continued story of survival and perseverance is one that amazes me each and every day. As the March of Dimes poster child, his story has been shared with many people and has helped to raise awareness of the growing need for medical attention of premature births. Most of the money raised goes towards research for surfactant therapies that help speed the development of the lungs in premature infants. These and other therapies work to ensure that more babies are born healthy, and I am honored to have the chance to help the March of Dimes in this worthwhile endeavor.