Shepherd student crowned Miss W.Va.

Review Staff July 21, 2021 

Miss West Virginia Jaelyn Wratchford

MARTINSBURG — One of the 1st stops for the new Miss West Virginia will be Monday night’s Hampshire County Fair pageant.

The Shepherd University student will represent the Mountain State later this year in the 100th anniversary Miss America Pageant.

Jaelyn Wratchford won the title of Miss West Virginia 2021 in Martinsburg last week.

On her way to winning the state crown, Wratchford won the overall onstage question award, a talent award and the West Virginia Elk’s Club Tomorrow’s Promise award, earning her $4,800 in college scholarships.

She is a Dean’s List student at Shepherd University, where she is pursuing degrees in business administration and psychology. A member of the honors program, she is the vice president of community service for Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity and vice president of operations for Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority.

The recipient of the “Phenomenal Woman” award, she was a featured poet in Sans Merci and a writer for The Letter Project. She was honored for her efforts with voter registration with the Jennings Randolph Award and is a Berkeley County Council honorary member.

Wratchford is dedicating her year of service to youth empowerment. She believes every child should have a robust and meaningful support system as they grow. Her message is simple: an investment in young people is investment in West Virginia.

“My goal is to be an advocate for all children,” she said. “Regardless of a child’s background or socioeconomic status, race, or gender, all children have the right to grow with the same opportunities to be great.”

She encourages people to become involved in their local communities with existing programs like the West Virginia PASS Program and 4-H.

Over $40,000 in cash and in-kind scholarships was made available to candidates competing in the 2021 Miss West Virginia and Miss West Virginia’s Outstanding Teen Competitions.

https://www.hampshirereview.com/news/article_2109ecb2-ea4a-11eb-98ca-eb76b308071c.html