Newly crowned Miss Tennessee talks about goals for the coming year
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JACKSON, Tenn. — The newly crowned Miss Tennessee, Hannah Robison, said she’s prepared to be a role model for the Volunteer State. Crowned Saturday night, the Henry County native said it was a moment she’s been working toward for three years. Sitting in a conference room Sunday morning at the DoubleTree Hotel, the soft-spoken, brown-eyed girl said she doesn’t think it’s fully set in that she’ll be heading to Miss America in September. Robison is already focused on how she’s going to use the Miss Tennessee crown to inspire other Tennesseans. “Something I really want to focus on as my year of Miss Tennessee would be STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] education,” Robison said. “It’s something I feel is very important today. I feel like our youth are growing up in a time where our future jobs haven’t even been discovered.” A senior chemistry major at UT Martin, Robison said in order to prepare for her new title she took a year off to finish chemistry classes. Robison said only 30 percent of women currently fill the workforce, “and the women who do the STEM jobs earn 30 percent more income,” she added. Robison began competing at the age of 12 in the “World’s Biggest Fish Fry” pageant in Paris. While answering questions with WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Sunday, Robison doesn’t seem to miss a beat. It’s hard to imagine she once was painfully shy. “She started out interviewing, even crying when they would ask her a question,” said Robison’s mother, Pam. The road to Miss Tennessee wasn’t always paved with jewels and roses. “I competed in local — didn’t win. I competed in another local and didn’t win. But it was so much fun, and in my third local, I won.” The title of Miss Scenic City brought Robison to compete in the Miss Tennessee Scholarship pageant. Robison’s platform will continue to focus on arthritis awareness. She also will add responsibility as a character trait while working alongside Gov. Bill Haslam.
