Woodlands-area junior high student headed to USA National Miss Pageant, aims to capture national title

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Ashleigh Gramss, a Woodlands-area junior high student, is preparing to represent the state of Texas as she heads to the USA National Miss Pageant, taking place in Hollywood, Florida this July.

Ashleigh competed in the USA National Miss Texas Pageant in January and won the USA National Miss Lone Star State Jr. Teen title, receiving the award for academic excellence. It was her first time to ever compete in a pageant.

In Florida, she will be competing with girls from all over the country in casual wear, runway fashion, evening gown, interview, fitness competition, and a host of other optional categories, as she tries to capture the USA National Miss Jr. Teen title.

USA National Miss (UNM) is an award-winning national pageant organization that exists to enrich the lives of young women through an unsurpassed pageant experience that leaves them inspired and positively empowered and helps them gain confidence and life skills to embrace their full leadership potential. UNM prioritizes character and service-based initiatives through their national platform INSPIRE, which encourages delegates to live a life of service through three pillars: INSPIRE Compassion, INSPIRE Kindness, INSPIRE Earth.

This life of service is what encouraged Ashleigh to start her own charity, ColoringThroughCancer.org, which aims to bring awareness to childhood cancer while providing care packages to children currently undergoing cancer treatment at Texas area hospitals. She volunteers with numerous local nonprofit organizations, including Canopy Cancer Survivorship Center, TEAM (Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries), Operation Pets Alive, Interfaith, Kids Meals, Woodsedge Hope Center Food Pantry, Inspiration Ranch, Texas Children’s Hospital, The Woodlands Children’s Museum, Operation Gratitude, the American Heart Association, and The Montgomery County Food Bank.

Ashleigh dreams of becoming a pediatric anesthesiologist, so creating a charity that focuses on children has been a long-term goal of hers. She hopes to expand her charity across the United States.

In her free time, Ashleigh is in National Charity League, National Junior Honor Society, Student Council, is on her Junior High Cheer Team and her Junior High Dance Team. Next year she’s headed to Tomball High School where she will be a member of Tomball High School’s Cougar Cheer Team - The Pride of Texas.