As most students prepare for quizzes and tests, one third year student heads to a different challenge, Miss America 2016. Savannah Lane, a double major in Foreign Affairs and Arabic, was crowned Miss Virginia in June of this year. According to news reports, she also won the Quality of Life Community Service Award. Lane, who is from Midlothian, Virginia, was serving as Miss Piedmont Region when she won the title.
Savannah was a Her Campus at UVA Campus Celebrity during her first year at the University. At that time she was serving as Miss Chesterfield. Her advice for Her Campus at UVA readers was, “As someone with a performing background my mother always reminded me of the quote ‘today is not a dress rehearsal’ and that is something that I live by. Whether I am doing a literal performance on a stage or just waking up to another day of classes, I try to treat every single moment as if it was my one and only chance to ‘perform’ on that particular stage and prove myself. This mentality has allowed me to never take an opportunity for granted and truly appreciate every single challenge and chance thrown my way. If you live with the idea that ‘today is not a dress rehearsal’, it makes every single day exciting and allows you to fight your way to success one ‘performance’ at a time.”
In an interview with a local news station, Savannah spoke about competing in the Miss America 2016 Competition and said, “I just hope to enjoy the experience, enjoy the ride and it’s a win-win. If you win Miss America, you have the year of a lifetime and if you don’t win, you still have the year of a lifetime as Miss Virginia.”
The Miss America 2016 Competition, held on Sunday, September 13, will take place in Atlantic City, New Jersey and will be broadcast on ABC from 9:00-11:00pm EST.