Bluffton's Julia Herrin prepares to compete for Miss America

RACHEL HARTDEGEN | Bluffton Today | August 2, 2021

Bluffton resident Julia Herrin is getting ready to compete in the 100th Miss America Pageant in December.

Herrin was crowned Miss South Carolina in June and will be the youngest Miss America competitor this year at 19 years old.

Julia Herrin of Bluffton is crowned Miss South Carolina on June 26 in Columbia. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER HERRIN

"This organization changes lives," Herrin said. "This program has done a 180 for me; it has instilled in me a drive to do more."

Before winning Miss South Carolina, Herrin competed in the teen program for four years. She aged out after being named a first runner-up two years in a row. She then took a break from competition, returning during her senior year of high school.

Once Herrin returned, she began to win. She first won a local title, and according to her father Jeff, at the time she was winning every competition she entered.

Bluffton's Julia Herrin is congratulated by her mother after she was crowned Miss Columbia Teen in 2018. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER HERRIN

"People knew she had almost won two times before and then to come into the Miss program and to be the youngest in the program and to win against 25- and 26-year-olds, it was huge," Julia's mother Jennifer said.

Julia's journey in the Miss America program began when she was 13. Her mother saw an ad in a local paper for Miss Hilton Head Island and she decided to sign Julia up. At the time, Julia said, she had a "lack of self-confidence and self-esteem," so her mother hoped the program could help.

"I thought this would be great, it will get her on stage, it'll help her with her confidence, it'll help her have a venue for playing the piano because she was a beautiful pianist but did not have the opportunity to perform," Jennifer said.

When Jennifer first signed Julia up for Miss Hilton Head Island, she knew nothing about the pageant world. Julia didn't have a pageant coach and Jennifer said they didn't know anything about doing hair and makeup.

"Everything was just out of our league. We bought her gown at Macy's, it was completely wrong. She looked like a matron," Jennifer said.

Despite not having experience in the pageant world, Julia won a few awards and wanted to do another one. At the time, Jennifer said, they were in the middle of a move, so she took Julia to see the Miss South Carolina competition and she loved it.

"She taught herself how to do hair and makeup and started doing research. This is where social media came in for her as the positive. She started following all of these girls who were already doing it and was really self-taught," Jennifer said. "She just took the bull by the horns and went."

In 2015, Julia signed up for the Miss Bluffton Teen competition. She was nervous, so Jennifer suggested she sign up for the Miss Lexington Teen competition first.

Bluffton's Julia Herrin at the Miss South Carolina Pageant in June. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER HERRIN

"I said it'll be a trial run. You can be under the pressure of having to do your hair and makeup and you can have that backstage experience. Then you can come home and do the Bluffton one," Jennifer said. "Well, she won the Lexington one and I thought, oh my goodness, what have we just done."

After her win in Lexington, Julia went on to win many more competitions. She said the program has taught her skills like marketing and branding, and provides opportunities to give back to the community.

"It is so much more than one night people see on TV; it is a public servant job. After I won Miss South Carolina, I took a year off to work with the organization," Julia said.

Julia said she has been able to build relationships with other competitors and her community. Jennifer said it was Julia's talent that put her in the program, but it was community service that made her stay.

As part of its community outreach, the Miss South Carolina organization has a mentoring initiative called the princess program. Through this program, Julia was given the opportunity to mentor kids between the ages of 4 and 16. Some of her favorite moments come from her time mentoring.

Bluffton's Julia Herrin hugs her princess, Shayla, after being crowned Miss South Carolina in June. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER HERRIN

"When I was 13, I started mentoring a little girl named Shayla, who was 4. She and I have been like sisters ever since, and she’s been my princess every year. The night I won Miss South Carolina, she sobbed for hours because she was so excited that I won after so many years," Julia said. "I got to see her for a little while at the after-party, and it was one of the most special moments of my life. It made it 100 times more special to share it with her and my other sweet princesses."

The program has allowed Julia to share the lessons she has learned along the way with a younger audience. Through losses and wins, Julia's parents said, they have seen their daughter grow in confidence and poise.

"Julia said that one of her little princesses learned more from watching her lose twice than she learned watching her win," Jeff said. "Now this is my little girl speaking, but I thought that was profound."

Julia Herrin of Bluffton walks across the stage with her three princesses at the Miss South Carolina Pageant in June. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER HERRIN

Julia just finished her freshman year at Auburn University and will take this year off to work with the Miss South Carolina organization. She will return in 2022 and plans to double major in communications and music.

She will also be growing her social media initiative "Real, Not Perfect," which she created in the Miss America program to "curb the tide of low self-esteem and confidence in the age of social media."

Julia and her family look forward to the Miss America competition later this year. Jennifer said Julia's goal is "to be herself and see what happens."