Tia Unsell, 25, of Crawfordville, will be competing June 26th-29th at the 88th Miss Florida Scholarship Competition in Lakeland.
Currently, Unsell holds the title of Miss Ocala. Unsell won the title of Miss Ocala January 27th at Eastside High School in Gainesville, FL, where there were nine young women in her division. This will be the first time in seven years that there has been a Miss Ocala representative on the Miss Florida stage. If crowned Miss Florida, she would be the first young woman from the Panhandle of Florida to win the crown in 10 years. She will be competing in five mandatory phases of competition: Private Interview, On Stage Question, Evening Gown, Talent and a new phase fitness, that was implemented into the competition last year. Unsell’s community service initiative is Dancers Against Cancer, a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to dancers, dance educators and their families battling cancer. Currently this organization has raised over $3 million with their goal of $5 million. Her talent is a jazz dance to “Fame” by Nautri Naughton.
The winner of the Miss Florida Scholarship Competition will go on to compete at Miss America in early 2025 in Orlando, FL. The Miss America Organization is the largest provider of scholarships for young women.
Unsell is a 2017 graduate of Wakulla High School and is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Communication Sciences & Disorders to become a Speech Language Pathologist. She is also a recreational and competitive dance teacher at Studio 88 Dance Productions in Crawfordville.
To keep up with the competition week, please like the Miss Florida Scholarship Program page and Miss Ocala 2024- Tia Unsell on Facebook.
