Grace Burgess addresses the crowd at the Miss America Pageant. She was the third U of M student to place in the finals of the pageant.
Memphis can now add its third Miss America finalist to its list of bragging rights. The university’s very own Grace Burgess placed in the top 10 in this year’s Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Burgess is a senior child development major from Bartlett, Tennessee.
“It was a really special moment,†Burgess said. “Not only am I walking away with scholarship money but also a career path.â€
Volunteering at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital has helped prepare her for a future career in child development. Her platform is “Ready, Set, Read!: Encouraging a Love for Readingâ€, and she has successfully started her own hashtag #ReadWith- MeTn where she challenges others to post a picture reading with a child.
Burgess is also planning to start a state-wide book drive in hopes to collect 50,000 books in the coming months.
The Tiger stood side-by-side with the nation’s top pageant contestants including newly crowned Miss America, Savvy Shields, of Arkansas.
“Honestly I wouldn’t want anyone else to win, but Savvy,†Burgess said. “I’m so grateful to call her my friend, she’s incredible and such an outstanding woman.â€
Shields was the first person Burgess met at the Miss America Orientation in Washington D.C., and said that they clicked instantly because of what she describes as a “southern thing.â€
However, before Burgess was making new friends through the pageant, she was making her mark on the people back home. Now an alumna Alpha Gamma Delta, Burgess remembers how she would have to leave competitions to make it back in time for retreats and recruitment weeks. Just like the Miss America Organization, Alpha Gamma Delta holds a special place in the 22-year-old’s life.
Through sorority traditions, Burgess became sisters with hundreds of girls at the university and was given Jonna White as her “gran-littleâ€. White says that Burgess is more than her sorority sister, she considers her more like her best friend.
“She’s the most driven and humble person I know,†White said. “Nobody deserves it more than Grace, she’s the winner in my heart.â€
Burgess competed for three years in the Miss Tennessee pageant before being crowned Miss Tennessee. In 2015 she placed as first runner up and admitted that it was discouraging. However, not being selected that year only added “fuel to the fire,†and helped prepare her for the next year when she secured her spot as Miss Tennessee in June 2016.
During the Miss America preliminary competition Burgess won her talent preliminary by singing “Desperado,†by the Eagles. Burgess’ win was the first talent win for a Miss Tennessee on the Miss America stage in 30 years. Kellye Cash won the title in 1986, when she was crowned Miss America.
Burgess said she has a “special connection†to “Desperado.†Her late uncle, a gospel music producer, introduced her to the ballad years ago. Burgess said that it isn’t your typical pageant song;she described “Desperado†as “edgy.â€
“I am grateful that I got to honor him through my performance,†Burgess said. “I wasn’t expecting to win by any means.â€
After dancing for 17 years, Burgess started taking vocal lessons two years ago. She added that another dream of hers would be to sing the national anthem at a Memphis Tigers game.
Burgess was also a finalist for the Quality of Life Award, and a recipient of The Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Burgess said it’s “odd not being at school,†and that she can’t wait to return to Memphis to attend a football game and to grab some barbecue nachos from Central BBQ. She will finish her senior year at the end of the 2017 fall semester.
“I am so thankful for all of the support from the university and Dr. Rudd,†Burgess said. “I couldn’t be prouder to be a tiger.â€
