Charley Ann Nix was crowned 2018’s Miss University last night at the Gertrude C. Ford Center. Nix, a junior biochemistry major from Batesville, will now move on to compete in the Miss Mississippi pageant, which is a preliminary pageant for the Miss America pageant.
Nix said she thought she did “horrible” in her Sunday morning private interview and did not expect to win. She said she was shocked to receive the best interview award and thought that was the only award she would win that night.
“When they called my name as Miss University, I could’ve hit the Ford Center stage,” Nix said. “I had to step up and pull it together very quickly.”
Nix is also a Luckyday scholar, a Provost scholar and a community assistant for on-campus housing, where she said she acts as a “mom” to 40 different freshman students on campus.
Nix said she plans to use her personal platform of bullying prevention to help the LOU community.
She also hopes to unite the student body and represent Ole Miss in the best way possible.
“The biggest thing I can do as Miss University is get behind the Landshark as our new official mascot and get other students together with me,” Nix said.
Student Activities Association and pageant coordinators touted the smooth night and success of the pageant.
“Last year, we had six or seven (contestants), and this year, we had 13,” Brady Ruffin, SAA president, said. “We had double the number this year, and everything went extremely well tonight.”
Landon Chapman, SAA pageant co-director and former intern for Miss America, said the months of hard work spent preparing for the pageant paid off.
“We had about 25-plus students working backstage, so that is what separates Miss University from any other local competition that you can compete in,” he said. “We offer that special student dynamic and a really comfortable and safe environment.”
Bradley Baker, Student Union director and SAA adviser, said it was a flawless night.
“The Student Activities Association, the pageants committee and their co-directors did a phenomenal job,” Baker said. “The students worked really hard.”
