Taylor Townsend Wins 2012 Miss Mississippi College Pageant

Taylor Townsend

Call it a second generation triumph as Taylor Townsend begins her reign as the winner of the 2012 Miss Mississippi College Pageant.

A freshman from Flowood, Townsend was the top vote getter among five contestants during Thursday evening’s competition at Swor Auditorium.

A biology major with plans to become a pediatrician, the Jackson Prep graduate is the daughter of Bill and Cindy Townsend. Her father is vice president for advancement at Mississippi College. Her mother is a Jackson Prep educator and a former Miss MC.

“Taylor represents the ideals of Mississippi College and will make us proud at the Miss Mississippi Scholarship Pageant this summer,” said Jim Turcotte, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs. “Taylor was chosen for her talents and who she is as a person.”

Turcotte noted he’s very proud of all five contestants bidding to succeed 2011 Miss MC Ashley Cockerham of Pineville, La.

Robert Gatewood, who teamed with Dannie Woods, as the pageant’s staff directors, praised the university’s 2012 winner.

“Taylor is a well-rounded, intelligent young woman who the judges felt would excel in the Miss Mississippi Scholarship Pageant,” Gatewood said. “She’s a good representative of Mississippi College.”

Townsend will receive a $2,000 scholarship from the Student Government Association and Office of Student Activities. Her sponsor was the Swannanoa Social Tribe. Her pageant platform dealt with the critical worldwide issue of human trafficking.

Cindy Townsend was delighted with her daughter’s success at the pageant and in life.

“Taylor is very passionate about her platform,” and will continue to remind people of the “modern day slavery that exists” in the nation and world today, she said. “Her heart is focused on others and I am confident she will work diligently to have her body, mind, talent and spirit” ready for Miss Mississippi. She proudly calls her a “Taylor-made by God girl” who aims to make a significant difference in the world.

The former Miss MC says she will help Taylor get ready for the 2012 Miss Mississippi Pageant in Vicksburg.

The pageant contestants were from Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana.

Others competing for the title included Nikki Rhea, an 18-year-old freshman from La Porte, Texas and member of the Lady Choctaws soccer team. At the two-hour pageant, MC junior Mary Alice Boswell, 20, of Memphis, a member of the MC equestrian team, addressed the platform of children’s cancer. Also taking part were senior Jordan McKneely of Amite, La., who focused on the need for ministry in impoverished nations, and sophomore Kristina Manning of Leland, Miss., who spotlighted the March of Dimes.

Taylor Townsend has been active in pageants before, including the 2011 Distinguished Young Women of Mississippi contest at the Temple Theatre in Meridian. It was formerly the Mississippi Junior Miss pageant.