Former Miss HU adds Miss National Sweetheart crown to her winnings

Desiree Williams is crowned Miss National Sweetheart 2012

Former Miss HU adds Miss National Sweetheart crown to her winnings

Hampton University Graduate Student and Miss Virginia First Runner Up Desiree Williams was crowned Miss National Sweetheart 2012 on Sept. 2. Forty ladies competed in the pageant, which consisted of first runner-ups from the Miss America state pageants.

Williams has a glowing track record in pageantry.

She was Miss Hampton University 2010-2011 and was crowned Miss Peninsula in November of last year. Also in 2011, Williams was featured in Ebony magazine as one of 10 Historically Black College or University (HBCU) Campus Queens. In June, she was first runner up in the Miss Virginia pageant. She will hold the National Sweetheart title for a year.

“My (National Sweetheart) competitors were, without a doubt, among the most talented women in the nation,” Williams said. “Any one of those girls could have been one point or one vote away from representing their state at the Miss America Pageant in January, so I was completely shocked and honored to have won.”

The future holds more opportunities for Williams, academically and socially.

At HU, Williams is in the second year of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. She earned her undergraduate degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from HU in 2011.

And there’s more pageantry, too.

“I will be competing in a Miss Virginia local pageant either late this year or early next year in order to qualify for the Miss Virginia Pageant next June,” Williams said. “Of course my goal at that pageant is to be successful enough to represent Virginia at the Miss America Pageant.”

Leha Byrd