Jane Granberry, a junior at Oak Grove High School, is still reeling from hearing her named called as Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen during competition finals Sunday afternoon at the Vicksburg Convention Center.
Granberry said upon hearing her named called, she immediately broke down into tears.
“It felt so surreal, and I was overcome with happiness because everything that I’ve been working for was worth it,” she said.
Thirty-five young women from across the state competed in the pageant, with preliminary winners named nightly. The pageant is the teen equivalent of the Miss Mississippi Pageant.
The daughter of Bill and Hermine Granberry of Hattiesburg, Jane, the reigning Miss Hattiesburg, tied for the talent phase of the competition with Miss Fairpark Madison Grace McCarter. For her talent, Granberry, who has participated in competitive dance since she was 7 years old, performed a jazz dance number to Celine Dion’s “River Deep, Mountain High.” She trains with On Your Toes in Petal.
She tied with Miss Modern South’s Outstanding Teen Tori Johnson for the evening gown and on-stage question phase of the competition during the final round of the preliminary competitions that were held Saturday night.
Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen, in its 11th year, gives teens an opportunity to experience the excitement of participating in pageant competition and to pursue their goals by preparing them to compete in the Miss Mississippi pageant. Granberry follows in the footsteps of Oak Grove graduate Christina Bostick, who won the competition in 2010.
Other than taking part in the Beauty and Beau competition at Oak Grove High School, where she was named Most Beautiful her sophomore year, Granberry had never competed in another pageant.
In addition to winning the crown, Granberry was also the recipient of an $8,000 scholarship.
As part of her official duties, Granberry said she will make appearances throughout her reign, which includes this year’s Miss Mississippi Pageant in June. “From there, the newly-crowned Miss Mississippi and I will make appearances together and separately,” she said.
In her spare time, she’ll be preparing for the national competition, Miss America’s Outstanding Teen, held during June in Orlando, Florida.
“I’ll continue working on all areas of competition up until the pageant,” Granberry said. “I’ll be working with my pageant officials to decide my talent, wardrobe and new fitness routine for the national pageant.”
Granberry’s platform is “Learn to Look It Up!” which involves helping children build a strong vocabulary which she feels is a vital component to strong reading skills. Her vision is to provide children with pocket-sized dictionaries to own and use to build their vocabularies.
The Outstanding Teen experience is one that Granberry will never forget.
“The friendships I’ve made through this program are so special to me,” she said, as she prepared to rush off for dance practice. “This whole pageant would not have been the same if I did not experience it with the most sweet and amazing girls from across the state.”
Granberry also had a pretty awesome fan club in Vicksburg cheering her on. “The support I had at the pageant was unreal!” she said. “Many of my friends and family came the whole weekend, and then more came on Sunday for finals. I want to thank my family, friends, directors, coaches, and everyone in between for being the best support system throughout this whole process. I couldn’t have done it without any of them, and I love them all so very much. Now, let’s go to Miss America’s Outstanding Teen!”
A Homecoming Celebration for the newly-crowned winner is scheduled for early July in the Hub City. Information on the event will be released on Granberry’s official social media pages. You can follow her on Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen Facebook page.
