Warner Robins native, Miss Georgia finalist Olivia McMillan reflects on what’s next
Former Miss Warner Robins Olivia McMillan was the third runner up in last month’s Miss Georgia competition, walking away with the Third Night Preliminary Miss Georgia Talent $300 Scholarship Award.
McMillan graduated from Northside High School in 2015 and earned a voice degree from The Juilliard School in New York in 2019.
After competing in pageants for years, McMillan is ready to start her journey in the entertainment industry. She hopes to relocate to either Atlanta or New York to begin casting in television and one day hopes to work for a women-led production company. She spoke with the Telegraph about her journey to Miss Georgia, what inspired her to compete, and what’s next for her:
Q: What do you enjoy the most about pageants?
A: I really enjoy meeting all of the amazing girls… especially once you get to Miss Georgia, everyone’s so accomplished. And everyone’s so passionate about their platform. It’s really amazing to be in a group of women, where everyone was successful.
Everyone is confident in who they are, everyone is empowered. And what was really special about this particular time was that everyone was so complimentary of one another. And everyone really lifted each other up, especially in the top 15.
Q: So did the pause last year affect you? Did it help you prepare ?
A: It mostly put my plans on hold. I graduated college and came home and did the pageant. I was kind of doing it as a jump start into hopefully a career and giving myself some time to figure out my next steps. That turned into two years. So it felt a little bit like a holding period. I do think it helped prepare me, mentally and emotionally, to compete.
I think it’s easy when you’re doing something like this that is so competitive to compare yourself to other contestants, and to try to do whatever you can to be what the judges want. And I think having that two years really allowed me to figure out what I wanted to represent, and how I wanted to compete
I interview women who inspire me. So I’ve interviewed former Miss Americas, former cancer patients, and we’ve talked about their struggles with self-acceptance and a society that places so much pressure on women. Being able to hear their journeys was really empowering for me, and I hope for other people as well.
Q: “What was it like to compete in Miss Georgia 2021?
A: It was an interesting experience, the women were incredible. The top 15 were a very diverse group of women, which I loved. And they are claiming that they really want diversity, which is why I wanted to do this.
There’s prejudice within the pageant industry within Georgia... I don’t know if we all have equal opportunity to be honest with you. And so it really opened my eyes to how far we still have left to go. And that, you know, it’s similar to the fact that only 10% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women and only two have those women are Black. And that’s huge. That’s history we’ve never had that.
But there’s still a long way to go to celebrate. It really opened my eyes to how far we still have left to go. And how many minds we still have left to change. But I’m very hopeful. Because there were a lot of wonderful women competing with really wonderful things to say and, and really empowering stories. And I was really proud to stand among those women.
Q: What advice do you have for girls and women who want to compete?
A: To really read the job description before you get into this and really make sure that you understand what you’re signing up for because it’s not always glamorous. And it’s not always fun. Sometimes it’s really hard, and specifically to women who are different. So women who are not your stereotypical pageant girls, be ready to fight.
You have to actively change people’s minds, and we shouldn’t have to do that. But that’s the society that we live in where, you know, there is so much prejudice that exists. It’s not easy for people of color in this. It’s not easy for people who are plus size, who look different than what the beauty ideal is for pageantry. It’s not easy.
This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.