Hannah Roberts, 22, of Mount Olive, Mississippi, finished as first runner-up in the Miss America 2016 89th annual competition held in July 2015. A Bio-chemistry major with a minor in Biology, Miss Roberts had graduated summa cum laude from USM in May 2015. A Goldwater Scholar, she was named Outstanding Senior from the College of Science and Technology and is a member of the Southern Miss Student Hall of Fame. At the time of the competition, she had already been accepted into medical school at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, but deferred her enrollment one year to serve as Miss Mississippi.
In June 2015, the newly crowned Miss Mississippi visited Grace Christian School to share her platform on literacy. Miss Roberts read to the students and shared life lessons on goal setting. “Shoot for goals that are bigger than what you actually want. If you want a scholarship to USM, shoot for Harvard,” she advised. “Even if that doesn’t happen, you’ve made a wonderful, successful journey to somewhere else.”
On April 12, 2016, Miss Roberts returned to Grace Christian School with a challenge to students about health issues, such as the harmful effects of tobacco. Miss Roberts interacted with the students by using hands-on demonstrations and life stories. At the conclusion of her presentation, Miss Roberts quizzed her audience. GCS’s students were on point with their answers. The day ended with Miss Roberts taking selfies with the students, parents ,and staff of GCS.