{"id":5397,"date":"2024-02-20T16:46:39","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T16:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/?p=5397"},"modified":"2024-02-20T16:46:46","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T16:46:46","slug":"meet-miss-troy-university-2024-sarah-jane-houston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/2024\/02\/20\/meet-miss-troy-university-2024-sarah-jane-houston\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Miss Troy University 2024: Sarah Jane Houston"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION<\/a>) \u2014 Sarah Jane Houston can be described in many ways: author, singer, dancer and philanthropist, but she wasn\u2019t always the confident girl she is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I really wish that I could go back and talk to middle school Sarah Jane because we are completely two different people,” Houston said. “I was so insecure and shy and I didn’t have very many friends. So getting up on stage in front of people and putting myself in a position to be judged did not sound like a fun idea.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when an opportunity came up to help her middle school band, Sarah Jane found herself doing something she never thought she would do: walking the stage in her school\u2019s fundraiser pageant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I ended up walking away with so much more confidence and learning so much about myself. Overall, it felt incredible to be able to grow in that way instead of what I thought would be a negative experience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though she did not win her first, or even her second pageant, Sarah Jane kept trying until she finally won the title of Miss Albany\u2019s Outstanding Teen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I felt really proud of myself because I had worked really hard to win my first pageant,” Houston told TrojanVision. It didn’t really come easy to me, so I had to put in an effort every single day in order to see the results that I wanted.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she moved to TROY for college, she knew that she wanted to represent her school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Georgia did raise me, but Alabama, and specifically Troy University, has made me into the person that I am today. I have learned so much about myself, especially living on my own here at Troy University that I don’t think I could have learned anywhere else.”<\/p>Sarah Jane Houston, Miss Troy University 2024<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just sashes and crowns for this pageant queen. Her platform, \u201cSee it, Be it\u201d advocates for representation in literature, a cause that Houston says it near and dear to her heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I was born with an extreme visual impairment that I still have to this day,” Houston explained. “I was diagnosed as legally blind as an infant and have endured four eye surgeries to correct my vision and I still lacked peripheral vision to this day. Growing up with this extreme visual impairment limited my sight and also the amount of places that I saw people like myself succeed. As the oldest child and an extremely diverse family I also saw the lack of representation that my brother’s face, and how our environment gave me a sense of determination to advocate for those in similar positions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houston is also an accomplished author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’ve been able to launch a children’s book titled ‘Janeybug’s Big Day<\/a>.’ It’s also become featured school curriculum across the state of Georgia, and it’s just been such a cool experience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houston will now turn her attention this summer’ Miss Alabama competition where she will represent Troy University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) \u2014 Sarah Jane Houston can be described in many ways: author, singer, dancer and philanthropist, but she wasn\u2019t always the confident girl she is now.<\/p>\n

“I really wish that I could go back and talk to middle school Sarah Jane because we are completely two different people,” Houston said. “I was so…<\/p>\n

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