While many young girls have dreamed of wearing the Miss America crown, not many actually start down the path toward winning it.
Chandler High School Class of 2023 grad Laryssa Nunn is now one step closer.
The second-semester sophomore at Northeastern University recently won the Miss NSU title on Nov. 9 and is now on her way to competing for Miss Oklahoma this summer.
“It still feels like an absolute dream. It’s been almost three weeks - two or three weeks - and it still doesn’t quite feel real,” Nunn gushed.
She started competing in the Miss America program in 2019 with Miss Oklahoma Teen and made it to state in 2021 as an at-large candidate. This is Nunn’s first title, and she said it felt really good to win the crown.
The new Miss NSU credits her friend Mikah with getting her into pageants. The two danced together when they were young, and Mikah went on to compete in Miss Oklahoma. Laryssa said they talked about it for a few years, but she was too worried about having a talent to actually compete.
“That was the main thing that kept me from doing it, was the talent portion, but after watching my friend Mikah on stage at Miss Oklahoma, I realized I wanted to try it,” she said. “So I really thank her for introducing me to it because I don’t know if I would have actually done it if she hadn’t talked me into it.”
Nunn spent only about a month preparing for the pageant. She wanted to compete last year, but it just didn’t work out. So, this year, she decided to go in, be completely herself, and have fun with it.
“If I win, if I lose, it’s fine. I’m just going to have fun. It’s just something that I want as part of my college experience,” she said, adding that most of her preparation was spent on the paperwork, researching her community service initiative - Bridges Out of Poverty with the Cherokee Nation - and her talent. Nunn sang for that portion.
The Cherokee Nation started a Bridges Out of Poverty program in 2022. It’s a community support initiative that helps people move out of poverty and become self-sufficient. Nunn said she chose it because as a future medical professional, she knows that the care she provides is only a small fraction of a patient’s access to care, even for kids.
“I want to be able to provide resources to families in need. The program isn’t widely talked about and I want to shine a light on all of the opportunities it can provide,” she said.
For now, Miss NSU is focusing on carrying out her duties with some fun appearances and getting her community service initiative out to the public. She hopes to start a college program for Bridges Out of Poverty on her campus. And, of course, she’s gearing up to compete in Miss Oklahoma in June.
Nunn said the Miss Oklahoma and MissAmerica programs are important today because of all the scholarship opportunities they offer. Past Miss Oklahomas have been able to go back to school for more degrees and graduate debt-free. It’s not only the winners, either. Contestants who make it into the finals for both the state and national pageants win scholarships.
If she places high enough in Miss Oklahoma or Miss America, Laryssa said she plans to put any scholarships she receives towards medical school. She is applying for early admission in September to the OSU Medical School in Tahlequah. Her dream is to specialize in pediatrics and come back to help her hometown.
“I have always wanted to go home and open my own practice because I feel like it’s needed. And I want to be able to support the community that has supported me through 20 years of life,” she said. “I want to be able to give back to them and the future generations that will be in our hometown.”