PANAMA CITY — The crown has put Ashleigh Lollie on a path to where she wants to be.
“I think that the title really opens a lot of doors,” Lollie said. “You don’t always know what’s behind them, but it always certainly changes the direction of your life, and it gives you a chance to do a lot of amazing things.”
Lollie, a 23-year-old Florida State University law student from Grand Ridge, was crowned in July as Miss Florida USA 2015. Since the crowning, she has been touring the state, getting her feet wet in the lobbying arena.
“Any legislation you can lobby for is a good thing and having that experience, pushing an organization is going to be a great experience for me, for sure,” she said.
She said, over the past 13 years, she has watched her grandmother age while suffering from Parkinson’s disease, which attacks the nervous system and causes a range of symptoms such as stiffness, tremors and slowed movements.
“There’s no cure,” Lollie said. “That’s something I will be very involved in the next few months.”
Breast cancer awareness is also on Lollie’s lobbying radar. She’s participating in a bra design campaign to raise awareness and funds for research.
“I wouldn’t be able to do this as myself, no one would ever buy my crafted bra,” she said, softly chuckling. “I’m going to find a way to incorporate a crown.”
Lollie has also served as a judge for the Seminole tribe’s princess crowning and helped facilitate Miss Florida Teen USA in Fort Walton Beach.
Her mother, Shannon Lollie, didn’t imagine that her daughter would have been crowned Miss Florida USA. Ashleigh Lollie’s family, friends and Grand Ridge community are proud of her achievement.
“We’re just really proud of her,” Shannon Lollie said. “We didn’t expect that to happen, but it’s been a fun ride so far.”
Lollie competed for the title against 70 other contestants. The Miss Florida USA pageant is the pageant that selects Florida’s representative to the Miss USA beauty pageant.