New Miss Lander Discovers Welcoming Community after Transfer to Campus

Haleigh Tomlin, the new Miss Lander 2025, arrived on campus last year as a transfer student.

Unsure of how the new campus might be a fit for her and her interests, the media and mass communication major has found her niche at Lander University, her community and a sense of belonging that shines as brightly as the crown she wears.

“I have found the place where I belong. I am now a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority, and I have truly met my best friends through it,” she said.

Not only has Tomlin found her sense of belonging, but she also was recognized in this year’s competition with the crown and the People’s Choice Award, a clear sign of the support she’s earned across campus.

A junior from Gray Court, Tomlin said, “Being crowned Miss Lander is amazing, especially since I was a transfer student. I thought I might struggle to find my place, but Lander was very welcoming to me. Now, I’m getting to represent a place that I love so much.”

Tomlin, who plans to enter the Miss South Carolina Pageant next year as the Miss Lander preliminary pageant winner, also won the competition’s Talent Award with her vocal presentation of “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables, the highly acclaimed Broadway play and movie.

The pageant’s first runner-up was Savannah Williams, a senior nursing major from Chesnee.  Williams, who will graduate in December, has accepted a job in the emergency department at Self Regional Healthcare. She is actively involved in a nonprofit organization, Flights for Freedom, which she founded in 2021. The organization helps active-duty military members travel home for the holidays by providing financial assistance for airfare.

Kendall Bohn, a senior early childhood education major from Lancaster, was second runner-up. A Teaching Fellow, Bohn is treasurer for Phi Mu sorority and has earned President’s List and Dean’s List academic honors.

Contestants voted Amelia Beasley as the pageant’s Miss Congeniality for her kindness and friendliness throughout the pageant experience. President of Lander’s Student Government Association, Beasley is a senior from Elgin and is majoring in business, with a pre-law minor.

Other Miss Lander contestants were Cassidy Childress, of Ware Shoals; Christine Johnson, of Charleston; Ashley Olivo Hernandez, of Greenwood, and Autumn Lockhart, of Chesnee.

Tomlin said she entered the Miss Lander pageant to create new friendships with the contestants. “I am thankful and humbled for the chance to represent Lander at the Miss South Carolina competition. I hope to encourage more girls to compete next year and continue to grow the Miss Lander sisterhood.”

She also gave a shoutout to Lander’s unofficial mascot – a gray cat named Bear who wanders throughout campus, makes his home near the Learning Center and enjoys hugs and pats from students, faculty staff. “Every time I’m on campus, I love to see Bear. He’s everyone’s cat.”

The Miss Lander Pageant was sponsored by Lander’s chapter of the National Association for Music Education.