Elon alumna Katherine Southard was named 2nd runner up this month in the 2008 Miss North Carolina Scholarship Pageant, two years after surgery to correct a spinal condition that threatened her heart and lungs.
Southard graduated magna cum laude and made the Dean’s and President’s Lists. She was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the national business honor society, and Gamma Sigma Alpha, a Greek honor society. She was also an Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellow.
During her year of service as Miss Mt. Holly, Southard focused on promoting awareness of scoliosis, which affects the curvature of the spine. Diagnosed with the condition during middle school, Southard slept in a brace every night to keep up her daily activities, including dance, cheerleading and pageant competitions.
She won the Miss Mecklenburg County title in 2005 and was named a “preliminary swimsuit winner” and a “most talented non-finalist” at Miss North Carolina in 2005.
Southard underwent surgery in 2006 to correct the 72-degree spinal curve that threatened to impede her pulmonary and respiratory functions. By August of the following year she had completed her double major, returned to dance and was competing in pageants again.
– Michaela Walker
Program Assistant
Martha and Spencer Love School of Business