2023 CONTESTANTS
Kirby Helms
Hometown: Pacolet, SC
Major: Criminal Justice
Talent: Clogging
Platform: Give back to those who Give to you
Adriana Diaz
Hometown: Spartanburg, SC
Majors: Biological Sciences
Talent: Singing
Platform: A Cause for Today, A Cure for Tomorrow
Mary Bean
Hometown: Omaha, NE
Major: 20th Century American Literature, Ph.D.
Talent: Baking + Videography
Platform: Stand with Ukraine
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Megan Bunkley
Hometown: Mableton, GA
Major: Dance Performance & Choreography
Talent: Ballet Variation
Platform: Bags of Hope
Bailey Barefoot
Hometown: Florence, SC
Majors: Vocal Performance
Talent: Vocal Selection
Platform: The Teal Campaign: Advocating for Food Allergy Awareness
Constance Mixon
Hometown: Florence, SC
Major: Dance Education
Talent: Dance
Platform: Full STEAM Ahead!
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Marisa Brown
Hometown: Spartanburg, SC
Major: Dance Education
Talent: Lyrical Dance
Platform: Movement for Young Minds
Olivia Riddle
Hometown: Powdersville, SC
Majors: Public Health
Talent: American Sign Language
Platform: Every Child Deserves a Voice
Ambria Gilliard
Hometown: Abbeville, SC
Major: Public Relations with a Sports Media concentration
Talent: Monologue
Platform: Away with Alzheimer's
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Carleigh Jackson
Hometown: York, SC
Major: Exercise Science
Talent: Tap Dance
Platform: Remember the Joy
Ella Burroughs
Hometown: York, SC
Majors: Criminology & Criminal Justice
Talent: Contemporary Dance
Platform: Safety First
Jordyn Lewis
Hometown: Blythewood, SC
Major: Retail with a concentration in Fashion Merchandising & Digital Innovation
Talent: Contemporary Dance
Platform: No Child Hungry
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Kathryn Liberstein
Hometown: Summerville, SC
Major: Biology
Talent: Piano
Platform: Choose me, Adopted is the Best Breed
Emma Connelly
Hometown: Gaffney, SC
Majors: Broadcast Journalism
Talent: Tap Dance
Platform: #CommunityOpportunity
2019 CONTESTANTS
Callie Cox
Hometown: Lexington, South Carolina
Major: Mass Communications
Minor: Social Sciences
Talent: Vocal Performance
Platform: Callie’s Open Book
Veronica Dishart
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Majors: Mass Communications and Experimental Psychology
Minors: General Education and Criminal Justice
Talent: Dance Performance
Platform: Sexual Trauma Awareness
Francie Evans
Hometown: Myrtle Beach, SC
Major: Early Childhood Education
Minor: Special Education
Talent: Dance Performance
Platform: Breast Cancer Awareness
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Christina Harding
Hometown: Columbia, SC
Majors: Music and Political Science
Minor: N/A
Talent: Vocal Performance
Platform: Teaching Children Music
Sara Sears
Meagen Sigmon
Hometown: Due West, SC
Major: Pharmacy
Minor: None
Talent: Sign Language Performance
Platform: Children’s Miracle Network
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Hometown: Greenville, SC
Major: Visual Communications
Minor: Business
Talent: Piano Performance
Platform: I Believe You
Alexis Stritt
Hometown: Chapin, SC
Major: Public Health
Minor: Linguistics
Talent: “Pass on Plastic” Monologue
Platform: Pass on Plastic
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Skyler Yakes
Hometown: Rushville, OH
Major: Anthropology
Minors: Islamic Studies and Criminal Justice
Talent: Dance Performance
Platform: Pediatric Hip Dysplasia
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2018 CONTESTANTS
Meera Rutuparna Bhonslé
Meera Rutuparna Bhonslé
Hometown: Lexington, South Carolina
Majors: Journalism, Retail Marketing
Minor: German
Talent: Piano
Platform: Reading is Leading: Raising SC Literacy Rates for Brighter Futures
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Callie Cox
Hometown: Lexington, South Carolina
Major: Mass Communications
Minor: Social Sciences
Talent: Violin
Platform: Callie’s Open Book—Promoting a Love and
Understanding of Literacy in Children
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Hanna Davis
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
Major: Biology
Minor: Chemistry
Talent: Vocal
Platform: There is Hope Foundation
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Sarah Dyer
Hometown: Monroe, NC
Major: Retailing
Minor: Business
Talent: Banjo
Platform: Inspiring Girls to be Joyful, Healthy and Confident.
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Catherine Kirkland
Hanna Lamm
Hometown: Lexington, South Carolina
Major: Mass Communications
Minor: Theater
Talent: Vocal
Platform: Ending Child Hunger
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Hometown: Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Major: Global Supply Chain & Operations Management
Minor: Arabic
Talent: Mix of Languages Monologue
Platform: Adopt Don't Shop
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Julie Rowland
Hometown: Hanahan, South Carolina
Major: Accounting
Minor: Political Science
Talent: Jazz Dance
Platform: Mentoring Matters
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Alexis Stritt
Hometown: Chapin, South Carolina
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Minor: Aerospace Engineering
Talent: Lyrical Dance
Platform: Animal Welfare
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2017 CONTESTANTS
Meera Rutuparna Bhonslé
Hometown: Lexington, South Carolina
Majors: Journalism, Retail Marketing
Minor: German
Talent: Vocal
Charitable Organization: Children’s Miracle Network
Black History Quote: “Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.” ~ Zora Neale Hurston
Davia Ester Bunch
Hometown: Spartanburg, South Carolina
Majors: Political Science, Marketing
Talent: Dance
Charitable Organization: Kids Konnected
Black History Quote: “Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in other people’s lives.” ~ Michelle Obama
Emily Elizabeth Doyle
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
Major: History
Minor: Sociology
Talent: Baton Twirling
Charitable Organization: Children’s Miracle Network
Black History Quote: “I can always look through muddy water and see dry ground ahead.” ~ Modjeska Simkins
Caroline Blaire Gibson
Hometown: Fountain Inn, South Carolina
Major: Nursing
Talent: Vocal
Charitable Organization: Heather French Foundation for Veterans
Black History Quote: “It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem.” ~ Coretta Scott King
Armani Latimer
Hometown: Anderson, South Carolina
Major: Exercise Science
Talent: Dance
Charitable Organization: Our Military Kids
Black History Quote: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and convince, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
2016 CONTESTANTS
Olivia Kathleen Albanese
Hometown: Mercerville, New Jersey
Major: Public Health
Minor: Medical Humanities
Talent: Jump Rope
Charitable Organization: National Eating Disorders Association
Favorite Quote: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Perry "Louisa" Aldrich
Hometown: Sumter, South Carolina
Major: Fashion Merchandising
Talent: Dramatic Monologue
Charitable Organization: Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
Favorite Quote: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
~ Philippians 4:6
Ariel Ashley Black
Hometown: Westminster, South Carolina
Major: Public Relations
Minor: Law
Talent: Dramatic Monologue
Charitable Organization: American Cancer Society
Favorite Quote: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
~ Dr. Seuss
Jasmine Nykia Briaunna Caruthers
Hometown: Greenville, South Carolina
Major: Business Management
Minor: Political Science
Talent: Singing
Charitable Organization: Still researching, trying to find one associated with Limb Girdle Myasthenia Gravis Disease
Favorite Quote: "Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Kaylee Elizabeth King
Hometown: Summerville, South Carolina
Major: Exercise Science
Minor: Health Promotion Education and Behavior
Talent: Lyrical Color Guard with Saber
Charitable Organization: Families Helping Families
Favorite Quote: "Why work so hard to fit in when you were called to be set apart?"
~ 2 Corinthians 6:17
Awa N. Dia
Hometown: New Rochelle, New York
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Talent: Poetry Out-Loud
Charitable Organization: Autism Speaks
Favorite Quote: “Don’t work toward being successful, but work toward being significant and the success will naturally follow.”
~ Oprah Winfrey
Rebekah Ann Parris
Annsley Lynn Judy
Hometown: Reevesville, South Carolina
Major: Elementary Education
Talent: Vocal
Charitable Organization: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Favorite Quote: “So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”
~ Marilyn Monroe
Heather Nicole Pusey
Hometown: Pelzer, South Carolina
Major: Chemistry with Emphasis in Pre-Med
Talent: Piano
Charitable Organization: Cure International
Favorite Quote: “‘For I know the plans I have for you’, says the LORD, ‘plans for good, and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”
~ Jeremiah 29:11
Hometown: Blythewood, South Carolina
Majors: Enterprise Risk Management and Insurance, Finance, Economics
Minor: Spanish
Talent: Dance
Charitable Organization: Ronald McDonald House of Columbia
Favorite Quote: “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
~ Albert Einstein
Sarah Adair Roof
Hometown: Chapin, South Carolina
Major: Exercise Science
Talent: Tap Dancing
Charitable Organization: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Favorite Quote: "No grit, no pearl"
~ Anonymous
Cortnie Michelle Stuppard
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
Major: Public Relations
Minor: Social Work
Talent: Singing
Charitable Organization: Girls on the Run of Columbia
Favorite Quote: “For with God Nothing shall be impossible.”
~ Luke 1:37
Arrington Elisabeth Taylor
Hometown: Newberry, South Carolina
Major: Early Childhood Education
Minor: Sociology
Talent: Clogging
Charitable Organization: Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital
Favorite Quote: “Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positive.”
~ Matt Cameron
Katherine Elizabeth Turner
Hometown: Blythewood, South Carolina
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Talent: Flute
Charitable Organization: Children’s Chance
Favorite Quote: “She is clothed with strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future.”
~ Proverbs 31:25
Meribeth Lindsey Turpin
Hometown: Anderson, South Carolina
Major: Sports & Entertainment Management
Talent: Singing
Charitable Organization: A21 Campaign
Favorite Quote: "Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
~ Mother Teresa