Reigning Miss America visits Clayton High School promoting arts in education

CLAYTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- On Friday, reigning Miss America Nia Franklin returned to her home state of North Carolina to promote performing arts in education at Clayton High School in Johnston County.

Franklin also played the piano, sang for the students and answered questions. She is a classically trained opera singer and advocate for the arts.

Franklin won Raleigh's Miss Capital City contest in 2016 and went on to compete in the Miss North Carolina pageant.

Her journey to becoming Miss America continued when she moved to New York. She was crowned Miss Five Boroughs at the age of 23, then went on to win Miss New York 2018 and was awarded the job of Miss America 2019 on Sept. 9, 2018.

Franklin was born in Winston-Salem and lived in North Carolina through graduate school. She earned an undergraduate degree from East Carolina University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

She will return to the Triangle on March 2 for the 2019 Miss Capital City, Miss Clayton, and Miss Cleveland Scholarship Pageant.