Please excuse me for letting myself in...
Gotta say "Congratulations, ladies!" Ole Miss's Miss University has also been selected as Cosmo Girl of the Year... and she is a KD. I know you must all be very proud :-) She sounds like a lovely girl, inside and out.
http://www.thedmonline.com/vnews/dis.../3fbde3e30c2cb
Beauty Queen Jennifer Jernigan was announced 'Cosmo Girl of the Year' She currently holds the title of Miss University.
Miss University wins 'Cosmo Girl of the Year'
by John Waterman
DM Arts & Life Editor
November 21, 2003
Beauty queen and Miss University Jennifer Jernigan was recently named Cosmo Girl of the Year.
The junior marketing major from Madison, said she had no idea that she would be chosen as one of the eight young women around the country featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine.
"It really came as surprise," Jernigan said. "They contacted me, but I didn't think they'd choose me," Jernigan said.
"I knew there were thousands of girls they were considering."
Jernigan recently completed a photo shoot for Cosmopolitan, which featured her in her home in Madison.
She also traveled to New York to meet with the magazine staff with whom she had been working over long distances.
But Cosmopolitan had encountered articles about Jernigan's success in previous beauty pageants and was impressed with her work on her platform, Overcoming Defects and Disabities through Self-Esteem (O.D.D.S.).
Since she was 10-years-old, she has met with children with disabilities.
"They read articles about my successes despite my disability," she said.
"I was born without part of my right hand."
But despite her physical disadvantage, Jernigan has been working in beauty pageants since she was a child.
She was able to overcome her disability through pageants and singing.
Jernigan said she is very excited to be featured by Cosmopolitan, because she feels it will give her the opportunity to spread her message to a wider audience.
"(The magazine) is read by so many girls. I really want to help them succeed through self-esteem," Jernigan said.
"I've also done so much work in Mississippi. I'm so excited to be able to expand my work beyond Mississippi."
Jernigan has held the title of Miss University since February.
She held the title of "Most Beautiful" from 2002-03.
Jernigan also placed in the top 10 finalists for this year's Miss Mississippi Pageant.
Jernigan appears in the December/January issue of Cosmoploitan magazine, which has recently hit newstands.
The award is given to eight women nationwide for successful achievements, and to those who might serve as role models for other girls to follow.
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