Miss Delaware: The Woman Behind the Crown

SALISBURY, Md– Anaya Harrison was crowned Miss Delaware during the 85th Miss Delaware Competition earlier this summer. Now she is traveling across the first state working with local philanthropies and sharing her story behind her journey to the crown.

Harrison said she never saw herself competing in pageants while growing up.

“I never really wanted to do pageants necessarily, not because I didn’t like them, but because they were something I never thought I could do,” Harrison said. “So growing up, I was a really shy girl, but I knew I had big dreams that I wanted to accomplish.”

It wasn’t until college that Harrison began to find her confidence. That journey eventually led her to compete or the title of Miss Claymont before earning the Miss Delaware crown.

As Miss Delaware, Harrison is using her platform to travel throughout Delaware and promote her community service initiative, A More Perfect Union.

The initiative reflects Harrison’s passion for civic engagement and leadership development. She also is inspired by people who work to create positive change in their communities.

“I’ve just always loved change-makers,” Harrison said. “People that set out to do something important for their families, for their communities, for their country, and I think we need more of that in our world today.”

Beyond her community service initiative, Harrison hopes to encourage young girls across Delaware to always pursue their ambitions.

“I really wanted to showcase that you can always do more. There’s never a limit to how much you can learn and do,” Harrison said.

As her reign as Miss Delaware continues, Anaya is preparing for one of the biggest opportunities of her year.

Anaya will represent Delaware in the Miss America Pageant in September in West Palm Beach, Florida.