MS HR18

Commends and congratulates Miss Laura Lee Lewis of Brookhaven, Mississippi, upon winning the title of Miss Mississippi 2016 on June 25, 2016, at the Vicksburg Conference Center.

Notes Lewis won the preliminary talent competition, earned a $10,000 scholarship, and competed for Miss America 2017 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, finishing as fourth runner-up.

Recognizes Lewis as a Mississippi State University student pursuing a degree in education with memberships in the President's List, Dean's List, Golden Key Honor Society, and Phi Kappa Phi.

Highlights Lewis's platform "Mentoring Matters," which has trained over 150 mentors, matched them with 150 elementary and middle school students statewide, and earned national recognition as a Quality of Life Finalist at the Miss America Pageant.

Acknowledges Lewis's additional mentoring work with Literacy Mentors, founding the Mississippi Chapter of TeenTrendsetters, creating mentoring resources online, and successfully advocating for anti-bullying legislation before the Mississippi Legislature.