Quinn Shelt’s suitcases are packed — both literally and figuratively.
Making sure her suitcases were packed was the advice Shelt, who is Miss Augusta, said she received from the current Miss Georgia Karson Pennington, a 2016 Lakeside High School graduate.
“You want to take everything you need,” said Shelt, a recent University of Georgia graduate, who heads to Columbus Friday to prepare for next week’s Miss Georgia pageant. Columbus’s Chelsea Paulding is Miss Augusta University and Columbia County’s Ashleigh Proctor is Miss Garden City.
It’s not just all the clothing Shelt said she’ll need for the various events during the three days of competition. Shelt also needs to be armed with a knowledge of current news events as well as information on her platform, which is Alzheimer’s disease.
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Shelt said she’s been preparing for that by visiting the Jud C. Hickey Center for Alzheimer’s Care on Central Avenue as well as attending a recent Rotary Club meeting earlier this week where she listened to Dr. John Morgan, an Augusta University professor who also serves as the director of movement and memory disorder programs, speak on the differences between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition, she’s visited the Claiborne, a local assisted living facility with a memory care unit.
Since graduating from the University of Georgia, Shelt has been fulfilling her role as Miss Augusta in a variety of ways including reading to area schoolchildren.
The Miss Augusta title is part of the Miss America pageant system. The Miss America crown has four points one of them is for scholarship and that’s not just the monetary award given, she said. It’s more about education and literacy.
The Grovetown High School graduate has a full week ahead of her in Columbus. She’ll prepare for the pageant which has three days of competitions culminating with the crowning of Miss Georgia June 18.
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The pageant-week calendar is packed with activities giving them little free time, and Shelt said that’s a good thing.
“I told my mom I’m not nervous and that’s making me nervous,” said Shelt, who is a Grovetown High School graduate.
Also representing the Augusta area in the pageant is Paulding, a graduate student in public health and was crowned Miss Augusta University 2022 on Oct. 1, 2021.
“Paulding competed in Miss Augusta University to get herself more involved on campus, but also to improve exposure for graduate students in student life,” according to an article at the Jagwire Augusta University website.
Paulding had several reasons for competing in the Miss Augusta University pageant.
“Her main goals as Miss Augusta University are to create visibility for the graduate student community, increase student involvement on campus and promote her social impact initiative of domestic violence awareness,” the website said.
With the title of Miss Garden City, Ashleigh Proctor is a Lakeside High School and University of Georgia graduate who recently received her master’s degree in kinesiology from Augusta University.
She plans to attend medical school.
Her goal is to bring awareness to Girlocity, a youth mentoring program. Proctor serves as a mentor and works to recruit other mentors.
She is a former Miss Augusta Outstanding Teen.
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This will be the second time Paulding has competed in the Miss Georgia pageant. She competed as Miss West Georgia in 2021.
“Being Miss Augusta University is not just wearing a shiny crown, but more importantly, implementing the work to better the campus, improve the community and be an example of what the university stands for. I am ready to get to work and represent Jaguar Nation,” she said.
Finishing up her reign is the current Miss Georgia, Pennington.
According to her biography at the Miss Georgia website, Pennington is a doctoral student in political science and international affairs at the University of Georgia. In May 2020, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with High Honors from UGA in four years, with three separate degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master of Arts in Political Science and International Affairs.
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During her reign, Pennington focused on literacy.
“With her mascot Lucky Lion, she visits classrooms, donates books and educates students and parents alike on the importance of obtaining strong literacy skills,” the website said.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor of The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
