Miss Tallahassee 2020
Writer, Graphics: Savannah T. / Chapter Submitted Photos
When Hannah K. was just 13 years old, she began the modeling career that would land her opportunities to walk in Miami, Atlanta, New York Fashion week, and later introduced her to the world of pageants. She was immediately intrigued and felt empowered by the Miss USA Organization, which encourages women to be multi-faceted and provides various educational opportunities. Currently, Hannah is serving as Miss Tallahassee 2020.
“Pageants have evolved so much in the past 100 years, and my favorite part of my involvement in them is getting to redefine beauty for the twenty-first century,” says Hannah. “My goal this year has been to show that women can be smart and beautiful - that they are not mutually exclusive. When I walk in a room with my sash as Miss Tallahassee, it gives me a microphone to speak about issues I care about, and my goal has been to use this platform for good and utilize this opportunity to make an impact.”
Back in January 2019, Hannah decided that she wanted to compete in the Miss Florida competition in 2020. In addition to applying to be Miss Tallahassee so she could compete, she spent the following 12 months preparing for the Miss Florida competition. She spent time working out and ensuring she was living a healthy lifestyle, building relationships with sponsors to “perfect her wardrobe for the pageant,” building her educational platform, and worked with an interview coach to “refine my speaking skills and stay knowledgeable on current events and politics” for the interview and on-stage portion of the competition. Through each step, she felt “blessed” by her supportive sisters in Alpha Delta Pi (ADPi), who were the first people she told when she won the Miss Tallahassee competition.
“I lived in-house this past year and served on the executive board, so my ADPi sisters were there through the early morning workouts, late-night interview practices, and all the highs and the lows of preparing for such the competition,” says Hannah. “My central goal within FSU Panhellenic and now representing my chapter as Miss Tallahassee is to be a positive voice and role model for women. I think being a part of an all-female organization is such a unique experience, and I accredit the wonderful, talented, intelligent women of Iota Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi for challenging and encouraging me over the past year as I pursued this goal.”
Hannah accredits her time at ADPi to shaping her into the woman she is today. When she was going through the new member process in 2017, she was focused on finding not only friendships and a home away from home, but also a chapter that would give her leadership experience. Throughout her three years in the chapter, she has held various leadership roles such as Secretary and Vice President of Finance, and currently serves on the ADPi National Board with the Grand Council.
“I wanted to have the opportunity to inspire young women like the leaders of ADPi over the past three years have inspired me. I believe that I am a collection of the people I surround myself with, and I am so proud to be surrounded by the intelligent, talented, and motivated young women of ADPi,” says Hannah. “I know that I have grown as a person in the nearly three years since I began my journey with ADPi, and I can credit the wonderful women in this chapter for being my friends, sisters, and role models.
In addition to being a member of the Panhellenic community, she is a Presidential Scholar and honor student majoring in Industrial Engineering and plans to pursue her masters in Industrial Engineering and open her own engineering firm in the future. She has also been involved in FSU’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) which directly inspired her Miss Tallahassee platform. Through UROP, she was connected to Dr. Shurte, where she worked on a project entitled Physics Playground that “[investigates] adaptive learning supports and the differences in fundamental math and physics competencies for students of different backgrounds.”
“Diversity in STEM is a topic close to my heart not only because I witness firsthand the lack of diversity in this field as a female engineer, but also because it was my research topic when I was involved in UROP,” says Hannah. “My platform is called Full Steam Ahead - Educating Our Future. In my role as Miss Tallahassee, I have been able to encourage more students, especially women and minority students, to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”
Through her role as Miss Tallahassee, Hannah has been able to get more involved in the Tallahassee community through philanthropy. While many of her appearances have been canceled due to COVID-19, she cherished the memories she has made and she is “grateful” for the work she was able to do with the Tallahassee community.
“Some of my favorite memories from this past year was time spent at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital visiting young patients. It was so special to be able to brighten patients' days by just being there and talking to them and their parents for a few minutes,” says Hannah. “I also got to meet some of the doctors and surgeons at the hospital and thank them for their work in the medical field.”
While Hannah did not win the Miss Florida competition, she has “learned that the journey is more important than the destination” and is proud of the personal growth she has had this year. She has enjoyed her time as Miss Tallahassee and described the experience as humbling and an honor.
“Although my time as Miss Tallahassee is coming to an end, the great thing about this year is that it has taught me that you do not need a title to make a difference in the world. I’ve learned that a true leader is a leader without a position,” says Hannah. “The most important people in my life I admire because of their integrity, courage, and kindness, and I will continue living out those values after my reign. I also plan to continue advocating for opportunities in science, women in STEM, and would like to continue modeling and pageantry in my future.”