VALDOSTA, Ga. – Shayla Jackson, a student at Lowndes High School, was crowed the 2020 Miss Georgia Teen USA.
“What a dream weekend!” Shayla said. “Last night I was named Miss Georgia Teen 2020! On top of that I now have a huge support team of beautiful teens from all over the state I can now call my sisters.”
Shayla has been in the pageant world for many years and has still managed to maintain leadership skills, be on the Honor Roll, play sports – even with hearing-impairment. It would be a safe bet that being deaf is probably what pushed her to succeed even more.
“Mom, Kyle, Junior Lynn, Dad, I want to thank you for always reminding me that it’s okay to be different,” she said.
Her mother, Shanta Carroll Jackson, has been behind her daughter every step of the way, watching her deal with bullying throughout school, and seeing her evolve into an advocate for others like her.
“As her mother, this means that you can truly accomplish any goal you have and the only limits are the ones you set for yourself,” Shanta told Valdosta Today. “Over the past 17 years of her life what stands out the most in her development is how much confidence she has. When she was in 6th grade she was crying and afraid to stand and read a paper in front of her class, and she wouldn’t order her own food at a restaurant. I knew I needed to find a way to help her confidence. I enrolled her with Amanda’s Model and Talent locally and she started coaching for pageants. Pageants were just a way to let her get in front of people and work on her confidence. She still gets nervous speaking on stage in front of a crowd but the amount she has accomplished and developed in the past five years is truly amazing and it’s all due to pageantry.”
For her winning Miss Georgia Teen USA question:
“Miss Universe will be held in Georgia next month. If you could take these delegates from all over the world to one place in Georgia, where would you take them and why?”
“I would take them to my hometown (Valdosta) just because before we got this really cool skating rink that I haven’t been to yet, I’d love to take one of the candidates with me so I get to have such a really cool person beside me, obviously, but also get to have a really good time.”
From us to you, congratulations, Shayla.
