Contact:
Leah Seupersad, 404-413-1354
University Relations
ATLANTA— Miss Georgia State University, Brittany Parks, will be competing in the Miss Georgia Pageant on June 20-23 in Columbus, Ga.
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| Miss GSU Brittany Parks |
The 23-year-old senior nursing major, gained the opportunity to compete in the program after winning the Miss GSU crown in February. Parks won the talent, evening gown and swimsuit categories.
“Winning pageants and saving the money has helped fund my education,” Parks said. “Competing in pageants helped bring out my self confidence, my personality and it has helped shape me into who I am now.”
Each contestant in the Miss Georgia Pageant had to win a local competition for the opportunity to represent her city, university or region. The winner of the Miss Georgia 2012 title will represent the state at the Miss America Competition in 2013.
“I felt humbled because by those judges picking me means they felt that I would be a really good representative for Georgia State,” Parks said. “My number one goal is to become Miss Georgia America, to represent the school and get them the title, because we haven’t had a Miss GSU to date to bring home the Miss Georgia America title.”
Parks’ pageant career started after she passed a mall booth for the Little Miss DeKalb County Pageant nearly 12 years ago. Since then, she has competed in various pageants, including the Georgia Teen U.S.A. Pageant. She is currently the title holder for the Sunburst International System.
“Sometimes pageants get a bad rap, but you really do have to be smart and well rounded,” she said. “You also have to be able to speak well because when you take on the title you become a public figure. You’re not just wearing the crown to be pretty.”
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| Brittany Parks will be the first-ever contender in the Miss America organization to perform aerial silks when she takes to the rafters during the talent portion of the Miss Georgia contest. |
To prepare for the Miss Georgia Pageant, Parks has been perfecting her aerial silks routine for the talent portion of the competition, which she says is the category that counts the most in Miss America pageants. Parks holds the record for being the first contender in the Miss America organization to perform aerial silks in the talent portion of the contest.
“I love to dance. I fell in love with aerial silks because it really incorporates traditional classical dance to the air on fabric. It’s also a really good workout,” she said. “I think it’s scary for the people watching it because it incorporates drops and different poses and there is the anticipation of how is she going to stay up in the air in those fabrics.”
As Miss Georgia State, Parks has been attending lots of campus events to get to know her classmates and to promote her platform, which focuses on increasing physical activity in youngsters to help reduce obesity.
“I’ve always loved health care and I have been volunteering in the hospital since I was 11,” Parks said. “My focus is on elementary and middle school students because of the obesity rates in the schools.”
Outside of her pageant life, Parks loves to do make-up. She is also a member of GSU’s Dancers on Pointe.
“I really love Georgia State. I love the diversity here and learning about different cultural backgrounds and people,” she said. “It helps us to be more well rounded individuals because in the real world you are going to meet people of all nationalities and from different countries.”
Georgia State has a record number of students and alumni competing in this year’s Miss Georgia Pageant. Besides Parks, also competing are Pearl Hu, Miss Southern Rivers; Jazmine Scroggins, Miss Fulton County; and Annie Wilson, Miss Gwinnett County.
June 19, 2012