JBU alum Mitchell reflects on Miss America pageant
For Ebony Mitchell, an Arkansas native and John Brown University alum, December was a busy month, as it was her chance to receive the title of Miss America 2023.
Mitchell, who has held the Miss Arkansas crown since June 2022, participated in the annual Miss America competition last month in Connecticut.
While the experienced beauty queen did not get first place, she said that the experience was still incredible.
“I am overjoyed with my Miss America experience,” said Mitchell. “The women there made it special. To even make it to the Miss America stage and perform while representing the state of Arkansas is something I’ll cherish and remember forever. It was a dream come true!”
Mitchell spent close to a week in New England getting to know the candidates and preparing for the pageant.
“I arrived in New York City on December 8th and spent the day with the candidates in New York on the 9th,” said Mitchell. “We rang the NASDAQ bell and were featured on their billboard in Times Square.”
From there, the candidates headed to Connecticut to start the week of the pageant.
“We had rehearsals for the first few days. On December 12th I competed in talent and on December 13th I competed in the private interview, Social Impact Pitch, and Red Carpet. Finals were December 15th.”
The win eventually went to Grace Stanke, Miss Wisconsin.
Mitchell says that the trip was full of memorable experiences.
“My favorite memory in Connecticut was seeing my friends and family each night after competition. They’ve always supported me, and it was incredible to see how happy they were to be there with me,” she said.
Mitchell also said that she enjoyed spending time with her opponents.
“I loved spending time with the candidates,” she said. “They really made my experience special. They’re all so unique and intelligent, beautiful women. Spending time and forming friendships is what I loved the most.”
Mitchell said that Miss Idaho was the best roommate, and that she also enjoyed becoming best friends with Miss South Carolina and Miss Texas.
To train for the pageant, Mitchell went through dance rehearsals and mock interviews.
“The job of Miss Arkansas kept me extremely busy, which was helpful going into the interview room. During this process, I kept reminding myself that this was exactly what I used to dream about,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell noted that there wasn’t much pressure representing Arkansas, but that she still wanted to make everyone proud.
“I did feel the need to make everyone at home proud, but
because I’ve been in the Miss Arkansas Organization for so long, I knew that Arkansas would be proud no matter my placement,” she said. “It’s a joy to hold the prestigious job of Miss Arkansas, and I’m honored to do so.”
Mitchell said that her favorite piece of wardrobe is her evening gowns, and that the evening gown portion of the competition is her favorite.
“My favorite piece of wardrobe were my evening gowns. I’ve always loved the evening gown portion of competition, so wearing my Miss America gown was extremely special.”
She continued, saying “For me, the easiest is the evening gown phase of competition because I can walk the stage while feeling beautiful and confident.”
The competition isn’t always easy though, and the pageant queen says that the talent portion is hard. Her talent is tap dancing.
“The most difficult is talent, only because I know my routine like the back of my hand, and any minor imperfection while performing, I pick up on! I can be hard on myself at times for it,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell graduated from JBU with an MBA in 2022, and she said that the experience helped in her competition.
“My time at JBU gave me the experience I needed when talking to the judges about my business plan. As an MBA graduate, this came in handy when speaking about my key performance indicators,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell says that this is ultimately her last pageant.
“Yes, this was my last pageant. I’ve had the best time in pageantry and it has completely changed my life.”