Miss Mississippi 2005 Kristian Dambrino might just break the mold.

Like her predecessors, she’s smart, talented, beautiful and poised – but has worked hard the past three years to convince herself not to run off stage during the swimsuit competition.

She’s been singing since she was 2 – when she learned the theme song to “The Beverly Hillbillies – and can belt out a tune like no other.

She can speak on her feet with the greatest of ease – but just ask her, and she’ll gladly shift to other voices, ranging from Kermit the Frog or Bull Winkle to SpongeBob SquarePants or Napoleon Dynamite.

Dambrino, 20, was crowned by Miss Mississippi 2004 Jalin Wood Saturday night before a sold-out audience at the Vicksburg Convention Center. She competed as Miss Grenada County in her third attempt for the crown.

So, has it hit her yet that she’s Miss Mississippi?

“Absolutely not. I woke up this morning and the hostess came in and said, ‘Wake up, Miss Mississippi!’ I thought it was one of those dreams, where usually I wake up and eat a brownie. But this was real, and I looked up and saw this really big trophy that was taller than I was. And I said, ‘Oh, gosh, I have a title, Miss Mississippi.'”

After placing as first alternate last year, Dambrino said winning this year could not have come at a better time. It took living in Tennessee for a few months this past year to grow up and learn to live on her own, she said.

“Last year, when it got down to Jalin and me, I remember suddenly thinking, ‘I don’t want this. Please don’t let me win.’ I was by no means ready for the responsibility like I thought I was. I thanked the judges sincerely for getting first alternate,” she said.

This year, however, Dambrino’s focus changed, and her parents said though she didn’t expect to win, it would have broken her heart if she hadn’t.

“Some things that come hard for the other girls come easy for Kristian. But what comes easy to them is what she has to work a little harder on,” said her mother, Debbie Dambrino.

She said her daughter’s strengths are speaking and talent, but when it comes to poise and swimwear, she had to work harder.

“Kristian’s a little different than some of the other contestants. She’s not that big into clothes or makeup. She doesn’t like to go shopping. She’d rather you just bring an outfit to her and she’ll try it on,” she said.

Dambrino’s father, Robin, said she’s always marched to the beat of a different drummer, which is probably why she was a favorite among other contestants.

“She has this ability to make them relax, and what helps her focus is to make them laugh or smile. She’s always understood that whether win or lose, it doesn’t change who you are or what you’re about,” he said.

Debbie Dambrino said hearing genuine compliments about her daughter from other contestants is what the reward is all about.

“Since she started competing right out of high school, I had moms telling me that she really brought something new and enjoyable to the competition. She was a breath of fresh air, and I think she really wanted to make a difference in the nature of competition,” she said.

Kristian Dambrino said she can’t believe she’s now Miss Mississippi.

“I used to watch it on TV and think, “Wow. I wish I was that graceful.’ Now I get to be here and work with the big, head directors. It’s just amazing,” she said.

As for her parents, the Dambrinos have great respect for what the pageant is all about.

“I just think the whole experience is very humbling,” Debbie Dambrino said.

“The Miss Mississippi system is set up to percolate to the top the best and the brightest of the state. To see your little girls up there standing with them is incredible on its own. For her to win, it is just indescribable,” Robin Dambrino said.

Kristian Dambrino is a junior graphic design major at Delta State University. She will stay in Vicksburg this week to entertain during the Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen Pageant Thursday through Saturday.

Since the Miss America Pageant is not until January this year, Dambrino will probably be able to go home to Grenada before returning to Vicksburg in the fall to prepare for the national competition.

“I’m sure it will hit me sooner or later, but right now I still have to make sure there really is a crown on top of my head,” she said.