Daja Dial

{{Infobox pageant titleholder

| name = Daja Dial

| title = Miss Greater Carolina Teen 2010
Miss Powdersville 2011
Miss Lyman 2012
Miss Richland County 2013
Miss Fountain Inn 2014
Miss Greenville County 2015
Miss South Carolina 2015

| nationalcompetition = Miss America 2016

| birth_name = Daja Breyon Dial

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1993|3|22}}

| birth_place =Greenville, SC

| eye_color =Brown

| hair_color = Black

| height =

| education = Clemson University Major: Women's Leadership

| homepage =http://www.dialintolife.com

}}

Daja Breyon Davidson (née Dial; born March 22, 1993) is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Spartanburg, South Carolina, who was crowned Miss South Carolina 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015 and was a Top 7 finalist. She is the third African American to be crowned Miss South Carolina.

Pageant career

=Teen pageants=

Dial entered her first pageant in 2010 while a senior at Paul M. Dorman High School. She was in a pageant audience to support her cousin when the Director of another pageant encouraged Dial to compete herself the next weekend. Dial won the Miss Greater Carolina Teen 2010 title and competed for the Miss South Carolina Teen title on a platform of Juvenile Diabetes awareness and a vocal performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the musical Dreamgirls. Dial was a Top-11 finalist for the state title.

=Vying for Miss South Carolina=

The next year, competing as an adult, Dial qualified for the 2011 Miss South Carolina pageant as Miss Powdersville. She competed with the platform "Type 1 & Type II Diabetes Mellitus" and a vocal performance of the Dusty Springfield song "Son of a Preacher Man" in the talent portion of the competition. She was named runner-up to winner Bree Boyce. She competed in the 2012 Miss South Carolina pageant as Miss Lyman with the platform "Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus" and a vocal performance in the talent portion of the competition. She was not a Top-16 semi-finalist for the state title. She competed in the 2013 Miss South Carolina pageant as Miss Richland County with the platform "Type I and Type II Diabetes Mellitus" and a pop vocal performance in the talent portion of the competition. She was named a Top 10 Finalist for the state title. Dial, a Clemson Tigers cheerleader at the time, was also named Miss Clemson University 2013. She was the first African American to win the school title.

In 2014, Dial won the Miss Fountain Inn title. She competed in the 2014 Miss South Carolina pageant with the platform "Type I and Type II Diabetes Mellitus" and a vocal performance of "Believe" in the talent portion of the competition. She won a Preliminary Talent award and was named Miss Photogenic. Dial placed second runner-up to winner Lanie Hudson.

=Miss South Carolina 2015=

On February 21, 2015, Dial was crowned Miss Greenville County 2015. She entered the Miss South Carolina pageant at Columbia's Township Auditorium in June 2015 as one of 55 qualifiers for the state title. Dial's competition talent was a vocal performance of "I Believe", a song made famous by Fantasia Barrino. Her platform is "Type I and Type II Diabetes Mellitus".

Her on-stage interview question was whether "Confederate memorabilia" should be removed from South Carolina State House grounds. Dial answered, in part, "It's a new South Carolina. We have made so much progress and it's time to take it down. As Miss South Carolina, I can lead this state into a new era. And that flag being taken down is representative of that."

Dial won the competition on Saturday, June 27, 2015, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss South Carolina titleholder Lanie Hudson. She is the third African American to be crowned Miss South Carolina. She earned more than $10,000 in scholarship money and other prizes from the state pageant. As Miss South Carolina, her activities include public appearances across the state of South Carolina.

=Vying for Miss America=

Dial was South Carolina's representative at the Miss America 2016 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2015. In preliminary swimsuit competition, Dial won a "lifestyle and fitness" scholarship of $1,000. In the televised finale on September 13, 2015, she sang Fantasia Barrino's "I Believe" during the talent portion of the competition. During the interview portion, she was asked about banning "military-style assault weapons". Dial placed in the Top 7 finalists as earned a $7,000 scholarship award.

Personal life and education

Dial is a native of Jonesville, South Carolina, and a 2011 graduate of Paul M. Dorman High School in Roebuck, South Carolina. Her father is Darrell Dial and her mother is Annette Goodwin.

As of 2011 Dial was a student at Clemson University where she was majoring in health administration.

References

{{reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite news |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=13 Miss SC pageant contestants represent the Upstate |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100627/NEWS/100629756/0/search?p=2&tc=pg |date=June 27, 2010 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Lee G. |last=Healy |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=Fireworks ring in reign of new Miss South Carolina |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100704/ARTICLES/7041048?p=2&tc=pg |date=July 4, 2010 |accessdate=July 25, 2015}}

{{cite web |publisher=Miss America |title=State Contestants: South Carolina – 2011 |url=http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2011&GO=GO%21 |year=2011 |accessdate=July 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725105706/http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2011&GO=GO%21 |archive-date=July 25, 2015 }}

{{cite news |newspaper=The Greenville News |publisher=Gannett |location=Greenville, SC |title=Dorman High School graduates |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20110608/ARTICLES/106081005/0/search?p=2&tc=pg&tc=ar |date=June 8, 2011 |accessdate=July 25, 2015}}

{{cite news |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=Meet the Miss SC, Miss SC Teen contestants |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20110626/ARTICLES/106261011/0/search |date=June 26, 2011 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite web |publisher=Miss America |title=State Contestants: South Carolina – 2012 |url=http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2012&GO=GO%21 |year=2012 |accessdate=July 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725070002/http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2012&GO=GO%21 |archive-date=July 25, 2015 }}

{{cite web |publisher=Miss South Carolina |title=Miss South Carolina 2012 Results |url=http://www.miss-sc.org/miss-sc-2012-results |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite web |publisher=Miss America |title=State Contestants: South Carolina – 2013 |url=http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2013&GO=GO%21 |year=2013 |accessdate=July 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725064841/http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2013&GO=GO%21 |archive-date=July 25, 2015 }}

{{cite web |publisher=Miss South Carolina |title=Miss South Carolina 2013 Results |url=http://www.miss-sc.org/miss-south-carolina-2013-results |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite web |publisher=Miss America |title=State Contestants: South Carolina – 2014 |url=http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2014&GO=GO%21 |year=2014 |accessdate=July 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725072615/http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2014&GO=GO%21 |archive-date=July 25, 2015 }}

{{cite web |publisher=Miss South Carolina |title=Miss South Carolina 2014 Results |url=http://www.miss-sc.org/miss-south-carolina-2014-results |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=Spartanburg's Daja Dial wins Miss SC Wednesday talent preliminary |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20140626/ARTICLES/140629787/0/search |date=June 26, 2014 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Karis |last=Rogerson |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=Spartanburg woman named Miss South Carolina |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20140628/ARTICLES/140629684/0/search?p=1&tc=pg |date=June 28, 2014 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite web |publisher=Miss America |title=State Contestants: South Carolina – 2015 |url=http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2015&GO=GO%21 |year=2015 |accessdate=July 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725073127/http://www.missamerica.org/competition-info/state-contestants.aspx?state=South+Carolina&year=2015&GO=GO%21 |archive-date=July 25, 2015 }}

{{cite web|publisher=Miss Greenville County |title=Pageant Information |url=http://www.missgreenvillecounty.com/News.html |accessdate=July 25, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127215920/http://missgreenvillecounty.com/News.html |archive-date=November 27, 2015 }}

{{cite web|publisher=Miss South Carolina |title=2015 Title Holders and Top 5 |url=http://www.miss-sc.org/title-holders-and-top-5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724230615/https://www.miss-sc.org/title-holders-and-top-5 |archive-date=2015-07-24 |accessdate=July 24, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

{{cite news |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=List of contestants representing Spartanburg area at Miss South Carolina pageant |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20150623/ARTICLES/150629903/0/search?tc=ar |date=June 23, 2015 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Armonaitis |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=Upstate contestants hope to become Miss South Carolina |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20150624/ARTICLES/150629861/0/search?tc=ar |date=June 24, 2015 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Armonaitis |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=Spartanburg woman reflects on her year as Miss South Carolina |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20150626/ARTICLES/150629802/0/search?tc=ar |date=June 26, 2015 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=Spartanburg woman crowned Miss South Carolina |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20150627/ARTICLES/150629773/0/search?tc=ar |date=June 27, 2015 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Lautenschlager |publisher=WLTX |location=Columbia, SC |title=Miss Greenville County Crowned Miss South Carolina 2015 |url=http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/2015/06/27/miss-greenville-county-crowned-miss-south-carolina-2015/29417415/ |date=June 27, 2015 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |publisher=WSPA-TV |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=Miss Greenville County Crowned Miss SC 2015 |url=http://wspa.com/2015/06/27/miss-greenville-county-crowned-miss-sc-2015/ |date=June 27, 2015 |accessdate=July 25, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Dwaun |last=Sellers |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=New Miss SC Daja Dial supports removal of Confederate flag |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20150628/ARTICLES/150629759/0/search?tc=ar |date=June 28, 2015 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Crumpton |via=TigerNet.com |publisher=Clemson Tigers |location=Columbia, SC |title=Clemson student named Miss South Carolina 2015 |url=http://www.tigernet.com/update/player/Clemson-student-named-Miss-South-Carolina-2015-19682 |date=June 28, 2015 |accessdate=July 25, 2015}}

{{cite news |newspaper=The Times and Democrat |publisher=Lee Enterprises |location=Orangeburg, SC |title=Daja Dial crowned Miss South Carolina |url=http://thetandd.com/news/daja-dial-crowned-miss-south-carolina/article_01411f24-7d14-599a-ad79-13736d87c089.html |date=June 29, 2014 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Carolyn |last=Culbertson |newspaper=The Daily Gamecock |publisher=University of South Carolina |location=Columbia, SC |title=Pageant fans, competitors thrilled for Miss SC Daja Dial |url=http://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2015/06/miss-sc-daja-dial |date=June 30, 2015 |accessdate=July 25, 2015}}

{{cite news |newspaper=Union Daily Times |publisher=Civitas Media |location=Union, SC |title=Dial is Miss South Carolina |url=http://uniondailytimes.com/features/lifestyle/432/dial-is-miss-south-carolina |date=June 30, 2015 |accessdate=July 25, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Romando |last=Dixson |newspaper=The Greenville News |publisher=Gannett |location=Greenville, SC |title=Daja Dial 'still in awe' of Miss South Carolina title |url=http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2015/06/29/daja-dial-still-awe-miss-south-carolina-title/29478659/ |date=July 1, 2015 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Romando |last=Dixson |newspaper=The Greenville News |publisher=Gannett |location=Greenville, SC |title=Clemson student could be next Miss America |url=http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2015/06/28/dana-dial-miss-south-carolina/29440333/ |date=July 1, 2015 |accessdate=July 24, 2015}}

{{cite web|publisher=Miss America |title=Miss America Show Scholarships 2016 |url=http://www.missamerica.org/scholarships/showscholarships.aspx |accessdate=September 14, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013101526/http://www.missamerica.org/scholarships/showscholarships.aspx |archive-date=October 13, 2015 }}

{{cite news |first=Wayne |last=Parry |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal |publisher=New Media Investment Group |location=Spartanburg, SC |title=Miss SC Daja Dial of Spartanburg wins Miss America preliminary |url=http://www.goupstate.com/article/20150909/ENT/150909712 |date=September 9, 2015 |accessdate=September 17, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Casey |last=Vaughn |publisher=WHNS |location=Greenville, SC |title=Miss South Carolina makes Top 7, Miss Georgia crowned Miss America |url=http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/30021001/miss-south-carolina-advances-to-top-15 |date=September 13, 2015 |accessdate=September 17, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Nick |last=Glespie |publisher=Reason.com |title=Miss South Carolina, Daja Dial, Digs Second Amendment |date=September 14, 2015 }}

}}