What a year it has been.

From competing in the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant to promoting her platform Teddy Bears for Troopers, Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen Holly Brand has amassed a treasure trove of memories that will last a lifetime.

“I remember when I won everybody told me about the opportunities I was going to get as MMOT,” Brand said, “and this year I have been able to see what they mean by that.”

Brand said competing in Orlando for the national title would go down as one of the best weeks of her life.

“Everyone told me I was going to meet my best friends, and I remember thinking I was only going to be with these people for a week, how am I supposed to meet my best friends,” she said.

But the camaraderie shared with other teens from across the country transpired.

“It was awesome to find my crew, my people,” Brand said, explaining that serving as a titleholder keeps you busy and sometimes does not allow for a lot of friend time. 

“So it was really cool for me to meet my people, who kind of understand the place you are in,” she said, adding, “And how many people can say they know someone from every single state.”

In addition to making new friends, Brand said the MAOT pageant also served as a learning experience where she had the opportunity to share her talent and platform on a national level.

“This was really eye opening for me,” she said.

So much so Brand has taken her platform, Teddy Bears for Troopers, to the next level and has been working with the commissioner of public safety.

Since she was seven, Brand has collected donated stuffed animals for highway patrol officers and state troopers to give to children in emergency situations, she said.

Her annual goal was to collect 1,000 stuffed animals to donate to the cause, but with the help of commissioner of public safety Marshall L. Fisher, things may change.

Brand said they are actually in the process of getting a state bear passed for the state of Mississippi.

“Mississippi doesn’t have anything like that so it has been truly up to just volunteers to make sure that the troopers get the stuffed animals that they need to calm down these traumatized children, so this would be awesome. I am so excited about that and would not have been able to do this without being Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen,” Brand said.

With a year of unforgettable experiences, Brand said, her favorite thing she got to do as MMOT was visit the children at the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital with Miss Mississippi Anne Elizabeth Buys.

“For me this will be the most memorable part of my year because it was so much fun to play with the kids and love on them and get to know them and brighten up their day,” Brand said.

After turning her crown and title over on Sunday following the final MMOT competition, Brand said she looks forward to sleeping in late and visiting with friends. This fall she plans to enter the University of Alabama, where all of her tuition will be covered, she said, thanks to the MMOT and MAOT organizations.