What are your Hobbies?
I enjoy singing and performing; running and working out; horseback riding; cooking and collecting cookbooks; listening to Broadway and bluegrass music; reading mystery novels; and shoe shopping with friends.
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What makes you special and unique?
I was named after both my grandmothers and my great-grandmother. My first name, Anna, came from my great-grandmother, Anna Black. My middle name is actually shared by both my Grandma Sarah and Grandma Tadlock, so all three of us have the same middle name!
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What is the best advice you have ever received?
My parents instilled in me from a very early age to stand up for my beliefs and opinions and not to be ashamed of them. My mother always says, "Anna, open your mouth and speak." Because of that advice, I have learned to speak out and speak up for what I believe to be right, even if that meant being different from my peers or receiving criticism. It is a lesson that has helped to ground me in my faith and my beliefs.
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Name one thing you cannot live without.
Wow, this is tough because there are many things I'm not sure I could get through the days without! Of course, if I had to name only one, my choice is my Bible. Reading from Scripture makes my life so much more joyful, and it gives me strength to live day to day.
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What's the most valuable lesson you've ever learned?
When you begin a task or make plans to attain a goal, always follow through to the end and DON’T GIVE UP! So many times people fall short of following their dreams because of discouragement. We should remember that our goals can’t always be met overnight; invested time will build the skills we need to work hard and achieve them, whatever they may be.
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Who is your most valued role model and why?
My parents possess every quality that I aspire to have in my lifetime. Their love for each other and their family has always been a number one priority, and they have given me the kind of love and upbringing that I want to pass on to my children one day. Besides that, I hope that maybe I might be able to run as well as my dad and cook as well as my mom!
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What was your most unexpected moment?
When I was a little girl, my grandparents would let me come and sing solos at their church when we visited on the weekends. One Sunday when I finished singing, the pastor stood up and said, "Well, that was so nice, I think I might want to hear it again!" So, not wanting to disappoint anyone, I sang the entire song a second time! I certainly was not expecting to sing twice during the service that morning.
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What is your workout routine?
Being physically active is just absolute fun for me! If I don’t stay active, both my mood and my body are affected. Running almost every day is a great way for me to relieve stress and build endurance. Strength training and abdominal exercises at least three times a week at the gym are also important.
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What has been your biggest accomplishment to date?
This is my second time to be able to compete in Miss Mississippi, and I consider that such an accomplishment in itself. Also, I consider making it through Mallory's rehearsals to be an accomplishment as well!
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What is the best compliment you have ever recieved?
My Princess from Miss Mississippi 2006, Leslie, is actually my distant cousin, but she is the most precious girl in the world! Sometimes I call her my little twin! After one of the preliminary nights, she came to see me at visitation. She told me what a wonderful job I had done and how pretty I looked that night. Hearing that compliment from her just made my week.
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What is your secret wish?
To have my own half-hour cooking show on Food Network! I love to cook and make up new recipes, and what could be better than getting dolled up to be in front of a camera AND do one of my favorite hobbies.
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What was your most embarrassing moment?
Once I took my dad's silver Tacoma truck to the drug store. When I left the store, I opened the truck door, got inside, and started to crank the truck. However, by the time I realized the key would not fit the ignition, a man tapped on the glass window. Then it hit me...this wasn't my dad's truck! I had gotten inside someone else's vehicle without realizing it, and my dad's truck was actually one parking space down. They were exactly identical! From now on I make sure that I park next to vehicles that are extremely different from the one I'm driving.
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What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
Definitely some ice cream from Coldstone! I only let myself go on very special occasions because it is so indulgent. My personal favorite is cake batter ice cream with strawberries and graham cracker crumbs, yummy!
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What is your favorite movie and why?
The Notebook is the epitome of what a chick flick should be: you laugh, you cry, you smile, you sigh, and occasionally you verbally try to tell the characters in the movie how much they are perfect for each other. The movie is always best when you watch it with lots of girls eating lots of popcorn and lots of cookies!
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What do you like to do for fun... relaxation... recreation?
Cooking is great relaxation therapy, especially baking. Sometimes I enjoy spending a whole Saturday at home in the kitchen making pies and cakes for my family. Other days I like to curl up with a good book or a good movie. However, for recreation I prefer to be outside in some way, especially running or horseback riding. Shopping might also fit into that category!
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What would be your dream vacation or destination?
If I had a bottomless budget, first I would travel to Italy and visit Venice and Rome. Next I would go to Ireland and tour all of the historical castles there, and finally I might want to finish my vacation by just spending a full week of laying out on the beach in Destin.
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What do you like best about the state of Mississippi?
Our hospitality and our grandmothers, who are the best cooks in the country!
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Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Hopefully I'll be done with my education and also be able to find my place in the work force. My goal is to have enough experience to be my own boss and the owner of my own business. Also, if and when the time is right, I would like to start a family. We live in a world today where the sky is the limit, and the glass ceiling for women is cracking every day. I plan on being the kind of woman who can balance my life so that I can have my family and a career.
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Who am I?
One of my favorite activities in college is being a MSU Roadrunner. Roadrunners are responsible for helping with student recruitment, and we spend the year calling high school students, writing letters to them, and giving them tours around campus. I love this organization because first and foremost, I get to tell people how much I am passionate about MSU, but it is so much more than that. Being a member of this team has shown me what it means to sacrifice time to help someone else. I have enjoyed being a servant, and I have friends that I may not have made any other way. Being a Roadrunner teaches me commitment and dedication, but along with that I have reaped the benefits of helping students make the right choices about their futures.

So if a person can be defined by what they do, then I hope that my service as a MSU Roadrunner will be the best description of who I am.
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Tell us about your platform.
Music has fascinated me since I was a child. Since both of my parents have been singing most of their lives, they passed their love and appreciation for music along to me. As I grew up, I realized that music was more to me than just a pastime. Learning and practicing music gave me the basic skills I needed to jumpstart my education. As a result I was motivated to get involved in music camps and after school programs that focused on music education’s benefits for children.

My platform is Music as a Positive Influence on Children's Education. It encourages and promotes music education for children, especially at the elementary age level. Research shows that children involved with music have better test scores, hand-eye coordination, and also more self confidence. They also have better math, reading, and language skills. The opportunity to improve our children's education is one that we should cultivate as much as possible because of this research. If music can help our children have better intelligence, better self esteem, and better grades, then certainly it can improve their chances of surviving in the world of work. With my platform, I hope to make this kind of difference in children's education.
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