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The next contestant featured in our series, “The Road to Miss America,” is Miss Virginia, Michaela Gabriella Sigmon.

Age: 21

Hometown: Chesapeake, Virginia

Platform Issue: Making It Matter

Talent: Tap Dance

Education: Old Dominion University – Rising Junior

Scholastic Ambition: Obtain a Bachelor’s in Communications with a Minor in Dance & Performance Arts

Scholastic Honors: Phi Theta Kappa; Presidential Honor Roll; Dean’s List; Honors College

My Defining Moment: Mia Michaels, an award winning choreographer, once told me to make sure of whom I was before I ventured out into the world.  Those wise words incited the development of my integrity and sense of self.

What I’ve learned from the Miss America Program: Not only has this program enabled me to continue my education, it has given me a platform as a professional speaker to share a message that I have shaped and defined throughout my life.

We have reached a tipping point in American culture wherein violence – both physical and emotional – have distanced us from each other and contributed to a sense of despair. My message, “”I may not know you, but I see you, and I value you,” reminds us as a body politic that we are each valuable individuals who deserve love, kindness, and respect. Miss America is a Superhero who lives as a manifestation of the idea that all are to be valued. I have lived my life according to the adage “The greatest blessing is to be a blessing,” by sharing this message. The Miss America Organization enables me to spread this message on a national scale.