Nettleton alumna competing for Miss America crown

PEEKSKILL, NY (KAIT) - A Region 8 woman is vying for the crown of Miss America.

Nettleton alum Amelia Collins won the title of Miss New York 2023 at the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater on Sunday, June 4. She will compete in the Miss America pageant later this year.

Collins graduated from Nettleton High School in 2019.

During her days as a Raider, she was on the dance team and danced competitively at Christie McNeill’s Dance Studio in Jonesboro.

Collins’ former dance teacher and owner of the studio, Christie McNeill, said just a week before the Miss New York competition, Amelia returned to the Jonesboro studio.

“In fact, she was in Jonesboro last week,” McNeill said. “She wanted to use the studio to practice before she went back to New York.”

McNeill said it’s great to see one of her students live her dream.

“She’s such a talented girl. She can sing, dance, and act,” she said. “She can just do anything she wants to.”

Collins attends college at New York University, which is how she was eligible to compete in another state’s pageant.

She won the title of Miss Manhattan in November of 2022, securing a spot in this year’s Miss New York competition.

Collins’ friends and family are currently in the works of planning a homecoming for her, but it is unknown when exactly she will return to Jonesboro next.