Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashia Miller.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ashia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in south Georgia, in Effingham County, but I am always in Atlanta or Athens at least two or three times a month, so the two have really become second homes for me. I grew up in a moderately Conservative two-parent household with an older brother, Jarrod Miller. My brother is seven years older than me and has always been a real source of inspiration. He was very talented on the French Horn and, quite naturally, as the younger sibling – I wanted to beat him. So, I did. He went on to UGA for Music and I went on to get a full ride at FSU for music. I was so driven and so good at such a young age that I literally auditioned for every band thing you could think of and pretty much made 1st chair in all of them (District Honor Band, All State, UGA JanFest, UGA Summer Music Camps, AASU WinterFest, Georgia Governor’s Honors Program, and Brevard Music Center). I literally won so many accolades in music that I can’t even remember all of them! In my senior year of high school, I even made it to the final round of auditions for the Curtis Institute of Music, which is one of the most prestigious music schools next to Juilliard. I was blessed to take private lessons from professional Horn players with degrees from Juilliard and other College-Conservatories. The lessons were fully funded by a non-profit called SONATA, Inc. with whom I now work as a French Horn teacher…life comes full circle, right?
After my passions changed gears in college, I wanted a new competitive outlet and I decided that I wanted to start competing in pageants. I had no experience and the only knowledge I had of them was what I saw on TV from watching Miss America, Miss USA, etc. The first pageant I competed in, I literally had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have a coach and I just didn’t really understand how to dominate the stage and show personality. Needless to say, I didn’t do well but I did walk away with the Interview Award…mostly because I’ve never been shy about talking or sharing my opinions. Fast forward three years later, after placing and not placing and winning another Interview Award, I finally won the title of Miss Georgia United States in 2016. I attribute that win to a lot of things but the turning point was being coached by Thomas Barnette, Angelo Frasier, and Don Baker. – AKA my dream team. My mom’s oh so gifted hands put together a phenomenal evening gown and the dream team taught me how to command the stage, get a six-pack, and nail interview.
After that win, I wrote a book based on my year called “5 Keys to Success: A Plan to Win” and I do plan to write other books in the future. I “retired” from the pageant world shortly after that and put my heart and soul into corporate America by working for a BPO as a liaison between big brands and their customer service teams. One of the downsides, or upsides depending on how you view it, to pageantry is that people automatically think you’re dumb. Being a female in that particular industry is already tough and then to add the fact that I was a pageant girl on top of it made it even tougher. Suddenly I found myself being interrupted when I was trying to finish a statement or being overlooked when clients came in the door since after all, I was just a “front desk” girl. Despite all this, I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge so little by little I began to assert myself more, stand behind my opinions, offer up helpful strategies, and be the first to introduce myself to new clients. It didn’t take long for executive management and clients to notice me and in 6 weeks on the job, I was promoted to an Account Manager role. It wasn’t long after that, I was given a raise and promoted again to a Client Success Manager where I managed as many as 12 accounts and oversaw nearly 100 employees. Here I was the youngest manager, pageant girl, from the country, but being promoted and making more than my peers who had been in that role for 4+ years. After being there for nearly three years, I decided it was time to transition out of that environment. It was an amazing learning experience for me and it ultimately was a source of inspiration to continue to go after my dreams.
Following my time in corporate America, I launched my business, Crown Jewel Productions, LLC., that produces the kids beauty pageant, The Miss Southern Empire pageant. As someone who’s volunteered with the Meals on Wheels organization, No Kid Hungry, Feeding America, and local food banks, I yearned for a way to personally give back to others. I launched an organization called The Dinner Plate Project that works to end hunger for communities and families in need. To date, the organization, through the help of private donations, has helped communities in Savannah and Atlanta, cities in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and even internationally in Puerto Rico. After traveling to Ghana this past December, I see so many opportunities to help and I hope that this year, with The Dinner Plate Project, I am able to work to send aid to areas in need.
My word for 2020 is – vision. I am throwing caution to the wind and working hard to make my dreams a reality. I’m a huge believer in the Law of Attraction, manifestation, and vision boards and a lot of the things I’ve achieved over the years were meditated on, studied, prayed for, and written down. I’ve had a YouTube channel for several years now, RealAshiaMiller, but this year I created a demo reel because my ultimate dream is to be a correspondent for CNN and Entertainment Tonight.
I came out of “retirement” this year with pageantry and traveled to Sandy Springs to compete for the title of USOA Ms. Georgia 2020. For those who don’t know, the Ms. division is for ladies who are 29+, single/divorced, kids/no kids. Following my trip to Ghana for the #YearOfReturn, I actually caught a very bad case of the flu and was quite ill before, during, and after competition weekend. I was bloated, sneezing, coughing, you name it but I knew I had to push through and know that no matter who the judges picked, I was still a winner. Let’s just say by the time I got over the flu, I could have been a spokesperson for Alka Seltzer Severe Cold and Flu. To my surprise, the judges selected me as the new USOA Ms. Georgia and I couldn’t be more honored and humbled. My brother refers to this win as my Michael Jordan “flu game” but I call it divine timing and a God thing. The last time I won, I competed as a size two and this time I competed as a size six and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about that. I’m thankful the USOA pageant system is open to all body shapes and sizes but I also know that a size two or even a size 0 are often the preferred body sizes. My interview coach, Don Baker, always told me “the swimsuit competition is won from the neck up…evening gown tells the judges NOTHING about you – only swimsuit…” I never understood this until now. It only matters to the judges if your thighs jiggle if it matters to YOU. Ultimately, you tell the judges and the audience everything they need to know about you when you get on stage. Do you love your body? Are you comfortable onstage? Are you nervous? You have to believe you’re the winner before the judges will believe it.
In my opinion, life is a pageant. You’re always on stage. People are always judging you and there are people who are more successful than others but ultimately, it boils down to who YOU are as a person and who you THINK you are. After all, as a man (or woman) thinketh, so is he/she.
Has it been a smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road but I am thankful for all the obstacles that I’ve had to overcome to be the woman that I am today. I’ve been through bullying, sexual abuse, an emotionally/verbally abusive ex-boyfriend, and a bit of a stuttering problem. I look back and I say “my God, my God” because He has truly brought me from a very long way. While, yes, I grew up in a loving home and went to a “good” school and lived in a “great” area, it still doesn’t change the fact that sometimes people can do bad things. I forgave them, prayed for them, and moved on. I encourage everyone to find the power in forgiveness, the strength in releasing any vengeance for any wrongdoing done against you, and the peace to know that God is still in control and He will come to your aid…maybe not right then but He is definitely always right on time. In the words of my late maternal grandmother, God can deal with people and things way better than you can so sit down and let Him work.
We’d love to hear more about Crown Jewel Productions.
I work as a pageant director for my kids’ beauty pageant, Miss Southern Empire and I also teach music lessons through a nonprofit called SONATA, Inc. I’ve always enjoyed developing people, working with kids, and of course, music. I think now more than ever kids need people to invest and pour into them so they don’t get lost in the age of social media and all the very real positive and negative things that may come with it. I think what sets me apart and makes kids trust me is that I’m very transparent. If I’ve struggled with something, I’ll tell you about it, be empathetic, hear you out, and provide real solutions. On top of that I feel like people can feel my aura that I’m really nice and warm – people are drawn to me and trust me.
Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
Oh definitely. I think there has to be a certain level of losses and failures to be successful. As someone who is incredibly competitive, it took me a while to come to grips with this. As I get older, now I realize that a loss can be JUST a loss if you let it be OR it could be so much more.
Contact Info:
- Email: ashia.k.miller@gmail.com
- Instagram: @RealAshiaMiller
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/SouthernEmpirePageant
- Twitter: @RealAshiaMiller
- Other: @USOAMSGEORGIA
Image Credit:
Krisna Goodwin Photography, Tonya Chester Photography, Cory Brooks Photography
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