Miss Mississippi Vivian O’Neal, a USM Alumna, Readying for the Big Stage in Quest for Miss America Crown

Thu, 06/29/2023 - 04:32pm | By: David Tisdale

Vivian O’Neal nearly took a pass on taking one more shot at the opportunity of a lifetime.

A University of Southern Mississippi (USM) alumna who won this year’s Miss Mississippi Pageant, O’Neal had considered not entering this year’s edition of the contest. But a change of heart led to her getting in the mix for the title, and she defied the odds – her fifth time participating in the event proved the charm – and she now finds herself vying for the Miss America Pageant crown.

“I’m just overwhelmed with joy and gratitude,” said O’Neal, a Hattiesburg area native who earned a degree in public relations and minor in political science from USM in 2020. She placed as first alternate at the Miss Mississippi pageant in 2021, participating as Miss University of Southern Mississippi (2019).

O’Neal wasn’t planning to return to competition, deciding instead to move on to establish a career and complete her master’s program in higher education at USM. But her supporters – along with whispers from her ‘inside’ voice - convinced her to give it one more try.

“So many different parts of my life fell into place that pointed toward competing again, and I had so many voices, strong voices, people close to me who shared that they felt I should compete one more time and so I just said, ‘What the heck.’”

A new sense of self trust also buoyed O’Neal enroute to the title.

“That was one of the most influential, one of the most important themes through my preparation this year, was trusting myself and deciding I was going to do it my way,” she explained. “And this year, I said if I do this again, I'm wearing the dress I want to wear, I'm dancing to the song I want to dance to, I'm going to say what I want to say in the interview, and just really trust those instincts and trust the decisions I was making, and it paid off.”

The life of Miss Mississippi is hectic, to say the least. But O’Neal is relishing the moment and the opportunities to meet and connect with people from across the Magnolia State.

“No two days are the same,” she said of her schedule. “This past week, it's been a lot of media interviews, and then next week, it'll be a lot of meetings with my prep team and getting established and onboarding this job just like any other job.

“The day-to-day duties can be anything from presenting on my non-profit community service initiative, CapABLE, being a public speaker at an event or a conference, to working with kids and hanging out with kids doing arts and crafts or other activities, or talking at a school promoting CapABLE.”

CapABLE is employed in classrooms in multiple states providing educators and their stakeholders with solutions for bridging emotional learning for all students, including those with disabilities. Inspired by her relationship with a sibling with disabilities, O’Neal says CapABLE celebrates the differences between students in its quest to eliminate stigma and encouraging diversity.

“As the daughter of educators and sister to a child with a disability, my perspective was significantly impacted by these relationships in founding CapABLE to advance curriculum inclusion for students with disabilities in the classroom, and so far, the program has reached more than 20,000 students,” O’Neal explained. “So, I’m hoping that through my role as Miss Mississippi that CapABLE can become a nationally recognized nonprofit and double the number of students who are served through its programming.” 

O’Neal says it’s very special to her to represent USM as an alumna both as Miss Mississippi and when she competes for Miss America in January 2024, describing her alma mater as “a place that has poured so much into me and has certainly left me better than it found me.”

“USM has been so influential in not only my ability to succeed, but in shaping the story of my life though the people I’ve connected with here,” she said.

USM President Dr. Joseph S. Paul said O’Neal’s journey to becoming Miss Mississippi exemplifies “true Southern Miss grit.”

“She never gave up, never gave in,” Dr. Paul continued. “We could not be prouder of her.”