By Susannah Waite, Editor-in-Chief
Kelsey Griswold, acting senior, will take the stage at the 2014 Miss America Competition representing the state as Miss Oklahoma.
Griswold has been preparing for the competition since she was crowned Miss Oklahoma on June 9.
“I’ve been mentally, physically and spiritually preparing,” Griswold said. “It’s a mental game and you have to overcome yourself.”
The competition is schedueled to air live at 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 on ABC.
“I hope to take home the crown, but the biggest thing is to keep it in perspective,” Griswold said. “It is a big moment and a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
The competition will be hosted Sept. 10-15 in Atlantic City, N.J. this year; it has previously been hosted in Las Vegas.
Before the televised contest, Griswold is participating in other events in Atlantic City.
“There are three preliminary nights of competition including talent, onstage question, and swimsuit and evening gowns,” she said.
Griswold and Kathleen Pettigrove, Griswold’s travel companion, will leave Sept. 2 for Atlantic City.
“Kelsey would be lucky No. 7,” Pettigrove said. “We’ve had six Miss Americas from Oklahoma crowned.”
Griswold said she looks forward to the upcoming competition.
“Being at Miss America is an honor and privilege, just being able to say one day that I was there,” she said.
Griswold said this event is something she one day hopes to tell her children and grandchildren about.
Her time at OCU also prepared her for the competition, Griswold said.
“I wouldn’t be Miss Oklahoma without the support and the knowledge of this school and the people here,” she said.
Brenda Holleman, professor of voice in the Wanda L. Bass School of Music, has been teaching Griswold since her freshman year.
“She’s got a beautiful voice and is an immensely determined hard worker,” Holleman said.
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