Page 50 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2022

ROMANCE & WEDDING
Michaela Lian considers herself a “South Mississippi nomad.”
“I’m from Clinton, but my passions keep me on the road,” she explains. What passions are those? Well, Lian is a behavior specialist, a model, a pageant contestant, and the owner of
story by
Victoria Snyder
photos courtesy of
Michaela Lian
“I aspire to help young turtles to the top of the fence. I know firsthand that you cannot get there on your own.”
Lian had dabbled in modeling during college but could not find the time to pursue it like she wanted to. After finishing her master’s degree,
The Girl Who Does Everything
the Mississippi Institute for Mentoring. “I’m constantly on the road between Jackson and the Coast – which is just the way I like it!”
Growing up, Lian had an invisible disability that went undiagnosed, which made school challenging. Now, as a behavior specialist, she serves children under five with disabilities. She provides free screenings, training, classroom mentoring to teachers, and interdisciplinary diagnostic evaluations. “My goal is to help
as many children as possible reach their full potential.”
Lian never stops dreaming of more ways she could help people. As she explains, her professor Dr. Eddie Holloway told her a story about a turtle on a fence. The moral of it was that the turtle didn’t get there on its own – it had help. “The story stayed with me and inspired me to begin the Mississippi Institute for Mentoring,” she says. The Institute serves at-risk teenage girls in Mississippi.
she put herself back out there and submitted her portfolio to anyone who would look at it. “So far, it’s worked out great!” she jokes. “Modeling gives me a sense of freedom to embody styles and looks that are outside of my comfort zone.”
While speaking with one of her mentees, Lian realized that she wasn’t pursuing an interest because it scared her – pageantry. After that conversation, she decided to enter the Miss Hattiesburg Pageant in 2019. “To my surprise,
I took home a crown!” Lian describes. That preliminary pageant qualified her for the Miss Mississippi competition, where she finished 11th. Now, she will represent the Coast as Miss South Mississippi USA on March 31-April 1.
In her spare time, Lian loves journaling, singing, and spending time with her family and friends.
To keep up with her on her journey through life, you can follow her on Instagram, @ michaelalian_.
50 | February 2022
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
Michaela Lian