by: Julie Robinson
Staff Reporter
Olivia Sanguinetti was crowned Miss Spirit of the South Outstanding Teen on February 11th. Along with the title, she received first place in interview, fitness, and evening gown. She will receive a $2,000 scholarship to William Carey University for winning Miss Spirit of the South Outstanding Teen if she chooses to go there. On February 26th she spoke at Hattiesburg’s cotillion about her title. She focused on the importance of self-esteem and how to express it. She talked to the coming of age sixth graders about ways to be different. Sanguinetti also talked about ways to get involved in the community and shared about the many opportunities she has had to better the community through her platform.
Sanguinetti’s platform is “creating a normalcy for special needs students and adults.” She is contributing to her platform by participating in Summer Adventures at Thames elementary school. Summer Adventures is a five week day camp for children with mental and physical disabilities. She is also an active member of the Junior Civitan club, participating in many projects. She has participated in the newly launched campaign “Spread the Word to End the Word”, collected cleaning supplies for the Abbie Rogers Civitan Camp and money to help send children to that camp, and was a student mentor in the play, Snow White.
This summer Sanguinetti will compete at the state competition in Vicksburg at a chance for Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen on May 31st – June 2nd. She will be judged on talent, evening gown, fitness, on-stage question, and interview. To prepare, Sanguinetti is working out daily, taking weekly voice lessons from Josephine D’Arp, a retired professor of music at William Carey, and keeping up with current events to prepare for her interview. The director of Miss Spirit ofthe South Outstanding Teen, Darlene Lee, has spent many months helping Sanguinetti prepare for the state competition by hosting a mock interview, helping with time-consuming paperwork, and finalizing Sanguinetti’s wardrobe for the state competition.
