About a month ago, women from across the Commonwealth convened at the Berglund Center for three days during the annual Miss Virginia competition. Our region’s own Miss Roanoke Valley shone bright as first runner-up to Miss Virginia, bringing awareness to autism in girls. Emmeline Soyars loves all sides of our region, from the big-City feel to the hometown charm, and especially our tight-knit community. She uses her platform to advocate for more research to be done for autism in girls.
Emmeline, thank you for chatting with us! Please tell us a little about you.
I am a recent graduate of Liberty University with a degree in Business Leadership and Communications. I am currently discovering what my next steps are. I sing and have been doing musical theatre since I was in third grade, which I love so much. I am waiting for the perfect time to audition for a show at one of the local theaters. I was diagnosed with autism at 18 and it’s why I advocate for girls with autism. I started doing pageants also at 18 and had a community of people help me with the smaller pageants I began competing in.
Getting to see many other parts of the state, what makes Roanoke special? …