CAU Student crowned Miss Collegiate America 2022

Kennedy Whisenant was crowned Miss Collegiate America 2022 at the end of the pageant, held at the Robinson Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Miss Collegiate Georgia succeeds Miss Collegiate America 2021, Ashleigh Pates for this crown. She was the first African American woman to win the Miss Georgia Collegiate America Pageant and the second African American woman to win the National Miss Collegiate America title. She won more than $400,000 dollars in scholarships & prizes and a brand new 2022 Jeep Sahara Wrangler!

Kennedy is an upcoming senior Fashion major at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta GA, and plans to continue to work in the pageant industry after graduation, with the hope of one day owning a pageant dress store of her own. “My first pageant that I competed in was Miss Alabama Teen USA and I was 15,” Whisenant said.  She spoke about the racism that she endured throughout her pageantry career and the descriptive distinction of pageants across the state lines of Alabama and Georgia. “I have seen that Georgia is more open-minded when crowning minorities,” Whisenant said.

Whisenant says it was not uncommon for her to be first, as she held the title of becoming the first African American for Miss Alabama Collegiate in 2019. “Growing up in Alabama, it’s either you are the first or you’re the never,” she sadly stated.

Whisenant later told the Atlanta Voice the plans she has for her reign and her journey to Miss Collegiate America. “The plans I have are to not only bring more attention to the African-American community but more specifically, Historically Black Colleges and Universities as a whole,” she emphasized. 

Whisenant explains this through the organization’s platform ‘BRAVE,’ which stands for building respect and value for everyone, an anti-bullying platform.  “Throughout my reign, I plan to travel across the state of Georgia to implement ‘BRAVE’ seminars into the classrooms and curriculums,” she said. 

Kennedy advises women in the Pageant Industry that it’s a “lot of self-work” to prepare for a title like this and “make sure your heart is in the right place”. 

Whisenant gives thanks to her family and her ability to be one hundred percent herself during her pageant journey. 

“Vulnerability is the main reason why I can say I am successful,” she continued.

She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Pi Chapter. Kennedy was a 2018 Debutante and scholarship recipient.