HARRISON, Ark. — Miss Arkansas 2022 Ebony Mitchell is from Harrison, Arkansas, and growing up she and her two siblings were the only children of color in her school district. But one day when she was in elementary school, the second-ever Black Miss Arkansas came into her classroom to speak to the students.
“When I saw her I really felt like I had been seen for the first time," Mitchell said.
This was the moment that changed Mitchell’s life forever.
“I went to Eagle Heights, I’m the youngest of three so we were the only children of color in our whole school district at the time and I remember sitting in class and Eudora Moseby comes in," she said.
It was an interaction 9-year-old Mitchell will never forget because for the first time she saw a woman who looked like her in a position of leadership.
"She made me feel like I was valued and like I was capable of doing more than just being Ebony in Harrison and that I could make an impact on the entire state of Arkansas or maybe the world one day,” Mitchell said.
So after a year of admiring an autographed card from Miss Arkansas 2005 hanging on her wall, she decided to take the stage herself. She won her first title and made her first trip to Miss Arkansas as a Diamond State Princess at the age of 10.
"Being on that stage was life-changing for me and it’s a majority of the reason why I’m sitting here now and why I kept going on that path," said Mitchell.
But it wasn’t an easy path to take, she competed for quite a few years.
"It really was a whole lifetime of years of preparation," she said.
That led to her winning Miss Arkansas on her fifth try. It was a win that led to her meeting Eudora Moseby face-to-face again, 16 years later.
The two met for lunch, reminding Ebony of the impact she could make throughout her year as Miss Arkansas.
"At any given moment I could meet someone just like me when I was 10 years old," Mitchell said.
She's reminding kids everywhere she goes that no matter what they look like or where they come from, they are capable of whatever they set their minds to.
"Anything is possible if you just keep trying and keep persevering and keep practicing at whatever it is you’re dreaming of because it’s possible," she said.
Ebony has served as Miss Arkansas for about four months now and in the next few weeks, she will be heading to Miss America to represent the Natural State as the fourth-ever Black Miss Arkansas.
“I think 10-year-old Ebony would be very proud of where I ended up today."
OTHER STORIES: Salvation Army kicks off Red Kettle Campaign in NWA
OTHER STORIES: Rogers art exhibit honors veterans and highlights the benefits of art on mental health
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.