View a gallery of Miss Georgia photos at www.accessatlanta.com/gallery/entertainment/miss-georgia-2014-crowned/gCLjL/#5415254
Maggie Bridges’ life story, all 21 years of it, could easily be scripted as small-town girl goes big-time. In June, Bridges, who hails from a produce farm on a red dirt road in Brinson, won the Miss Georgia pageant and the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss America in September. Perhaps those Southwest Georgia roots are what keep Bridges so down-to-earth and the focus of her good fortune on others, including her family and community at Georgia Tech, where she is majoring in business administration and on the dean’s list. In the whirlwind following being crowned Miss Georgia, Bridges seems to have gotten the biggest kick out of being interviewed by her hometown TV and radio stations and newspapers, including one where she once interned. “My pastor even wrote about me in our bulletin,” Bridges said. “I have never felt so supported in my life.”
Q: You grew up on farm?
A: My dad is a commercial farmer and grows everything — green beans, cotton, corn, peanuts. He is one of the reasons I love the sciences. Every summer, I worked at a produce stand managed by my grandparents where I learned a lot of people skills. I also learned about hard work. Working on a farm in the South Georgia heat is not an easy thing.
Q: Were you a pageant girl?
A: When I was 8, I asked my mom, I begged her actually, to let me do Little Miss Decatur County. My mom never wanted me to do a pageant that required more than powder blush, mascara and brushing my hair. I was not a “Toddlers & Tiaras” girl.
Q: Did you grow up wanting to be Miss Georgia?
A: I definitely watched Miss America when I was little and thought that was such a glamorous, beautiful job. As I got older, I realized that there was so much more to it than wearing a shiny hat.
Q: Is the role of Miss Georgia still relevant today?
A: This is an opportunity for me to be a role model and example, even if it is just for one little girl.
Q: Is winning Miss Georgia about more than good looks?
A: It is amazing to me how much preparation goes into being in front of the judges. The interviews are very tough. Some of the questions I got were, “Should gays be able to marry in Georgia.” “Is Edward Snowden a traitor or a patriot?”
Q: Do the judges care about the positions?
A: They do not judge you on what you say but how you say it. You have to be able to answer with grace and manners.
Q: What are the perks that come with being Miss Georgia?
A: I will receive $15,000 in scholarship money. I get a car for a year and the opportunity to promote my platform.
Q: Your platform is volunteering, right?
A: I started volunteering at a really young age in my church and it has grown and become part of everything I do. There are so many people who need help. Just having one single volunteer can make all the difference in the world.
Q: Are you able to continue with your senior year at Georgia Tech and be Miss Georgia?
A: I think I’ll be able to take next semester off, if not two. Everyone at Georgia Tech has been so supportive. I got an email from President (Bud) Peterson, which is pretty cool. Tech professors are serious about their classes and I don’t know how they would feel about me taking off a week and a half to be in the Miss America pageant. As Miss Georgia, you are in appearances all over the state and I want to soak it all in.
Q: Do you think most people would associate Miss Georgia with Georgia Tech?
A: I am thrilled to be breaking the stereotype. My friends at Georgia Tech know the Maggie Bridges who wears the bun on top of her head, no makeup, shorts and a T-shirt. Students who have seen me on social media as Miss Georgia say, “Hey, you clean up nice.”
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