Ten Competitors for Miss Arkansas Have U of A Connections

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Ashton Campbell, Miss Arkansas 2014

When the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Pageant begins on Sunday, the University of Arkansas will be well represented. Not only is the reigning Miss Arkansas, Ashton Campbell, a University of Arkansas student, but there are ten University of Arkansas students and alumnae competing for the crown. This is the most of any college in Arkansas!

These young women will compete in Private Interview, Artistic Expression, Lifestyle and Fitness as well as Presence and Poise. Each is hoping to bring home the $20,000 scholarship and over $75,000 in prizes plus the chance to represent the state of Arkansas in the Miss America pageant this September in Atlantic City!

Ashton Campbell, the reigning Miss Arkansas, is a native of Hindsville. She took the year off of school to travel the state promoting the Children's Miracle Network, Aim Higher: Setting our Sights on Higher Education (her personal platform) and the Miss Arkansas / Miss America Organization.  When she returns to campus this fall she will be a Senior majoring in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resource Management. She is a member of Chi Omega Fraternity.

During the 2015 Miss America Pageant, which was held in Atlantic City, Ashton represented the University of Arkansas and the entire state of Arkansas very well.  After a culmination of 2 weeks' worth of events, interviews, rehearsals and competitions she competed live on ABC in front of over 7.6 million viewers.  Ashton finished as 2nd Runner Up to Miss America and won a $20,000 scholarship.

The Miss America Organization is the largest scholarship provider for young women in the world, awarding over $45 million dollars each year on the local, state and national level.

The University of Arkansas has 22 Miss Arkansas', including six women who captured the state title as Miss University of Arkansas:

• Miss Arkansas 1957 Suzanne Scudder
• Miss Arkansas 1959 Suzanne Jackson
• Miss Arkansas 1964 Karen Carlson (1st Runner Up to Miss America)
• Miss Arkansas 1965 Rhonda Oglesby
• Miss Arkansas 1979 Janet Holman
• Miss Arkansas 1987 Carole Lawson

The 2015 Miss Arkansas Pageant begins at 2 p.m. this Sunday, July 5, with the Official Arrival Ceremonies. Contestants will compete in Private Interviews on Monday and Tuesday. Preliminary competition will be July 5-10 in Hot Springs. And the 78th Miss Arkansas will be crowned Saturday July 11. For tickets visit ticketmaster.com.

Those contestants with ties to the University of Arkansas who are competing for Miss Arkansas 2015 are:

• Miss Arkansas Valley Jacey Winn, whose platform is Stand Tall, Stand Proud! The Freedom to Achieve. Her talent is tap dance, and she is a sophomore majoring in political science. She's from Wynne.
• Miss Dogwood Leslie Benford, whose platform is Media Literacy Education. Her talent is baton twirling, and she is a graduate who studied communication and journalism. She is from Springdale.
• Miss Greater Jacksonville Elise Jones, whose platform is ABLE. Her talent is jazz dance, and she is a sophomore majoring in marketing. She is from Little Rock.
• Miss Heart of the Ozarks Maggie Benton, whose platform is Giving Is a Gift:  It is Better to Give Than to Receive. Her talent is vocal, and she is a junior majoring in communication and journalism. She is from Jonesboro.
• Miss Lake Dardanelle Jennifer Nottenkamper, whose platform is What Lies Beneath. Her talent is baton twirling, and she is a 2013 graduate, majoring in health education. She is from Fayetteville.
• Miss Lakes of the Northwest Mason Magouyrk, whose platform is Armed with Awareness: Aware That Guns Are There. Her talent is vocal, and she is a senior in apparel merchandising and product development. She is from Batesville.
• Miss Madison County Katie Crow, whose platform is We Bleed Green: Getting Back to the Heart of America. Her talent is vocal, and she is a senior in the pre-optometry program. She is from Huntsville.
• Miss North Little Rock Laura Russell, whos platform is Empowering Women Today and Tomorrow. Her talent is ballet en pointe, and she is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism and political science. She is from Little Rock.
• Miss Northwest Arkansas Loren McDaniel, whose platform is Confidently You. Her talent is vocal, and she is a 2015 graduate who majored in theatre. She is from Van Buren.
• Miss University of Arkansas Brejamin Perkins, whose platform is Don't Lessen Expression: Keeping the Arts in Education. Her talent is tap dance, and she is a 2015 graduate who majored in broadcast journalism. She is from North Little Rock.