Another UF student took the stage and the crown at the 2014 Miss Florida United States Pageant last month.
Tia McDonald, a 20-year-old UF public relations senior, will go on to represent Florida in the national Miss United States competition in Washington, D.C., from July 4 to 6.
“There’s so much that goes into (nationals),” McDonald said. “We’re going to be there a week ahead of time for appearances and practicing for the different categories of the competition.”
McDonald said she found local competition to be tough but used her public relations skills to win the title and go on to nationals.
“UF has really prepared me for nationals,” McDonald said. “(In earlier pageants) I didn’t go in with any kind of business or public relations plan, and I had no idea how to reach out on social media.”
Miss Florida is no stranger to pageants.
She estimates she has won 75 pageant titles and about 30 crowns since she started competing as a 6-month-old.
Tina Chisholm, Miss Florida United States pageant director, was one of the five judges to review McDonald’s application for this year’s pageant.
“The fact that she is so educated and such a go-getter made Tia stand out,” Chisholm said.
McDonald said she plans to use her degree to work with nonprofits.
Her passion for community service and beauty pageants began at age 10, when her mother, a nurse, had a patient with Down syndrome visit their house.
“She kept on saying ‘I want to be in pageants. I want to be in pageants.’ But there weren’t any special needs pageants available,” McDonald said.
So McDonald created one.
Our Shining S.T.A.R.S. has grown from an informal living-room event into a full-blown pageant that has crowned more than 500 kings and queens at the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center.
Former Miss Florida United States winners who received degrees from UF
- Melissa Witek – 2005 winner
- Kristen Berset – 2004 winner
- Carrie Ann Mewha – 2003 winner
- Julie Donaldson– 2001 winner
- Kristin Ludecke – 2000 winner
[A version of this story ran on page 18 on 4/23/2014 under the headline "UF public relations student to represent Florida in Miss United States competition"]
Tia McDonald, a 20-year-old UF public relations senior, took the crown at the Miss Florida United States 2014 Pageant.
