Sunday, April 3, 2016, 4 beautiful women competed for the title of Miss Black Oklahoma State University. All women graced the stage, but at the end of the night, only one woman was able to take home the crown, Sensational Contestant #3, Miss Alicia Johnson of Ramona, Oklahoma.

I got the opportunity to sit down with the new Miss Black OSU and learn about her journey to becoming Miss Black Oklahoma State University 2016.

Alicia is a sophomore at Oklahoma State University and is majoring in human development and family sciences with an option in Pre-med. While at Oklahoma State, Alicia has heavily involved herself with the African American Student Association, where she is on the executive board as the publicity secretary. Alicia wants to “shine a light into different communities that are usually not reached out to.”

“I was shocked, my mouth dropped…I did not expect it all.”

Alicia’s platform “Going Against the Odds” is to increase the cultural competency within the black community as well as other cultures and to increase diversity inclusion on campus. Alicia believes that “OSU is a very diverse campus” but that it “still remains segregated.” Through her platform she hopes to create more open discussions between the various cultures to bring the community together and reduce the preconceived notions of each culture.

Being a part of the Miss Black OSU pageant has made an impact on all the contestants involved. From the pageant, Alicia “gained a sense of self and self-love, and a sense of how important it is to uplift the people around you.” She believes that it is important to practice what you preach to others. Through the pageant, Alicia was able to “put her emotions out there” and express her passion for writing to others. She was able to “show a lot of emotion that {she} usually doesn’t show to the public; doing the pageant put {her} foot in the water to start showing that side of {herself}.”

“If you are not filled, how can you expect to fill others?”

As Miss Black OSU, Alicia wants to help the other contestants to implement their platforms. She wants to find a way to present them to the OSU community so that “those ideas don’t go to waste.” She also wants to go back into north Tulsa area and talk to elementary school students, so they know they can achieve whatever it is that they want to do.

Alicia spends much of her time in Stillwater, volunteering at Oklahoma AIM, where she is a monitor for individuals with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities.

With this title, Alicia is most looking forward to “going out to the youth; volunteer and community service. The best way to implement change and start a chain reaction is going to the youth and teaching them.”

“I aspire to inspire to create the change.”

Alicia plans to graduate from Oklahoma State in December  of 2017 and continue her education at Baylor College of Medicine where she will work to receive her PhD as an OB/GYN.

I hope that you have enjoyed this tea. I just want to congratulate a dear friend of mine. I cannot wait to see all that you accomplish in the future and all that you do for the community. This is an honor and I’m sure I speak for many when I say that you have the full support of the OSU community.