Jessica St. Julienne Richards Miss Greater Irmo Lugoff- native Jessica St. Julienne Richards (Jessie) will represent the Greater Irmo area in the Miss South Carolina pageant beginning July 1. The USC senior majoring in tourism management was crowned Miss Greater Irmo in September, 2007. Her Palmetto Princess, McCrae Watson, who is a sixth grader at Lugoff Elgin Middle School, will also participate in this year's pageant.

As Miss Greater Irmo, Richards has worked to educate South Carolinians of all ages about Autism through her program, WALT (Winning Autism through Acceptance, Learning and Teaching). She is creator and team captain of "Walking for WALT," spokesperson for both the South Carolina Autism Society and the Autism Advocate Foundation, and mentor and speech therapist for a four- year old autistic child. Upon learning of the lack of children's books addressing Autism, Jessie also wrote a children's book chronicling the battle of Autism through the eyes of an affected child. This book was distributed to every elementary school in Irmo.

"Knowing and working with someone affected by autism has been a life- changing experience, and I wanted to be able to share what I have learned from my personal experience with others, especially children. In fact, it has inspired me to become a special education teacher specializing in autism," says Richards.

As a senior in Tourism Management at the USC, Richards has accomplished many scholastic achievements in addition to her leadership activities, including making Dean's List and President's List, receiving the Life Scholarship and being an active member of the National Scholar's Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, and Eta Sigma Delta Society. Upon graduation, she plans to continue her studies to obtain a Master's degree in Special Education.

The 72nd Miss South Carolina pageant will be held July 1, 2, 3, and 5, 2008 at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. The winner of the Miss South Carolina Pageant will compete in the 2009 Miss America Pageant.