Jane Granberry Carries Ole Miss Spirit as Miss Mississippi

"Ole Miss has played such a big role in preparing me for Miss Mississippi," the School of Journalism and New Media alumna and current MBA student said. "It gave me the confidence to lead, the chance to build lifelong relationships, step out of my comfort zone and to pursue opportunities to grow academically, professionally and personally."

Granberry will compete in the Miss America pageant Sept. 6 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Ole Miss graduates are a very specific type of person, she said.

"It's a person that's not afraid to walk into a room and connect," she said. "Ole Miss can help you build the soft skills that other schools lack because there is a lot of encouragement to get out there and meet someone new, or cold email someone to interview them for a class."

Those small threads of opportunities prepared Granberry for the real world, whether working in New York City for a major cosmetic brand or serving the state of Mississippi.

"It prepared me for walking into a 10-minute interview and not being afraid of any question that they could ever ask me because of my MBA program mock interviews," she said. "Or, to go on stage and answer an onstage question because I've had opportunities like Speaker's Edge that have helped me become a better speaker and a better leader.

"A very unique trait of Ole Miss is that they want you to not only step out to prove that you can do it, but it's more so to prove to yourself that you're worthy of doing it."

Granberry proved to herself and others that she can excel. She served as Miss Mississippi Teen 2019 and 2020, Mississippi Miss Hospitality in 2021, Miss University in 2024, Miss Hattiesburg in 2025 and Miss Capital City in 2026 before being crowned Miss Mississippi in June.

Those roles and opportunities provided scholarships that have more than paid for her education. At Ole Miss, she was a four-year member of the Rebelettes dance team.

"I tried to use the time that I had in college to learn who I was and do the internships and really focus on who I was and who I was becoming," she said.

One of the things Granberry became at Ole Miss was a communicator and writer, especially when studying under Mark Dolan, associate professor of journalism.

"She's an expansive thinker and an energetic writer," Dolan said. "Watching her work with an idea is like seeing a pebble drop into a pond and watching the ripples go out from it; she likes to make broader connections and have a wider reach.

"She's also unafraid to make deeper connections by wading into challenging intellectual waters. That's what made her great to teach."

The state's future has always been important to Granberry, he said.

"She used to come to me and talk about that she really felt like it was down in the trenches, and in the little communities, that would make a difference and make the state better, and that she had a responsibility to do that," he said. "That always impressed me and her willingness to identify the real problems and to see pageantry as a way to address them."

Throughout the titles she has held, her support for literacy throughout the state remains constant. That passion began at an early age, thanks in part to her grandparents being friends with William Faulkner and her mother being friends with Willie Morris.

"Those really important literary figures in the state were part of the stories I had growing up, and with my grandmother an Ole Miss English major, she always made sure that we had books around and instilled in us that education is such a gift and it's the gift that keeps on giving."

The mission of Granberry's platform, Literacy Without Limits, is to provide access to literary and educational resources for Mississippians of all educational levels and ages.

"There are 45 million Americans that are considered functionally illiterate, which is reading below a fifth-grade level," she said. "And some of those are people in the state of Mississippi."

Noting that Mississippi has made huge strides in elementary school literacy education, she said more can still be done.

"One of my literacy mentors, Sanford Johnson, who is the executive director for Teach Plus Mississippi, said, 'Literacy is like a football game: you cannot score a touchdown and say you've won; you have to run the next play,'" Granberry said. "There's always something more to do because literacy is a lifelong commitment."

Those conversations and others with roommates who are English language arts teachers have made her more informed.

"As a Mississippian who really prioritizes education, I know literacy can impact everyone," she said. "It benefits everybody. It benefits you as an individual, benefits your community, benefits your state."

As part of Literacy Without Limits, Granberry has created a database that allows people to locate Little Free Libraries in their communities, adult literacy centers that can assist with learning to read and downloadable writing practice.

"My goal as Miss Mississippi is to continue to share that message and amplify the teachers, the curriculum builders, the community members, that are really the hands and feet of this future and just trying to be the support that they need and maybe the listening ear, but also the megaphone that they need."

The Ole Miss experience and Hotty Toddy spirit cannot be replicated.

"(Hotty Toddy) is the sense of comfort and belonging that you can feel, even among people you've never met before," Granberry said. "The people make the place, and I think that's true for Ole Miss and for the state of Mississippi. It's the people, the relationships and the memories that make it so special.

"As Miss Mississippi, I have the privilege of representing the community that raised me, including my family, my hometown and my Ole Miss community."

Top: Jane Granberry is set to compete in the Miss America pageant Sept. 6 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Hattiesburg native and Ole Miss alumna and student credits the lessons she learned at Ole Miss for helping her prepare to compete as Miss Mississippi. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services