Asya Danielle Branch
Mississippi 2018
Asya Danielle Branch
State: Mississippi
School: University of Mississippi
College Major: Integrated Marketing Communications
Scholarship Winnings: $21,150
Social Impact Initiative: Finding Your Way: Empowering Children of Incarcerated Parents
Miss America empowered me to: embrace my past while helping children of an incarcerated parent find their way. Having the backbone and financial base of our family stripped away through incarceration and arrest left me hurt, confused, scared, bullied, and withdrawn. Through the Miss America Organization, I have been able to face my fears and insecurities brought on by my father’s imprisonment. Now, I am boldly working to help other children who find themselves in unfortunate circumstances fulfill their greatest potential and realize they have an uninhibited future.
Bio: I am a daughter, a sister, a scholar, a community and campus leader, a nanny for a special needs child, and my dad is in jail. Talk about getting the attention of a classroom full of rowdy children. The Miss America Organization has empowered me to embrace my past while helping others achieve their brightest futures. I am grateful to have the opportunity to help others realize they are not defined or doomed by the actions of others but instead can achieve successes beyond their wildest imaginations. Our country cannot afford to ignore the aftermath of a family’s shared sentence.
