America’s Junior Miss 2009 Still Shocked

Winner 2009 Winner Michelle Rodgers says she’s astonished at her first place finish.

by Chad Petri

Published: Sun, June 28, 2009 - 9:00 pm CST Last Updated: Sun, June 28, 2009 - 9:03 pm CST

She's may be America's Junior Miss for 2009, but this Kentucky native says she still finds dancing like this a little complicated.

“When we first started learning it they were all like ‘cha cha’ and I was a count behind,” says AJM 2009 winner Michelle Rodgers. She comes from a small town outside Lexington. Family members say they're very proud by what their daughter's achieved.

“Open a lot of opportunities for Michelle to do things and I think just as far as our family in Clark County as a whole we're going to get to experience a lot of that with Michelle,” says Michelle’s mom Karen Rodgers. Michelle says the biggest thing she's learned on this year long journey is don't doubt yourself

“When they called my name to be America's Junior Miss it was great surprise,” says Michelle Rodgers. Michelle says the Junior Miss competition was a great challenge and isn't remotely close to a beauty pageant.

“Junior Miss is about the whole person it's very well rounded, it's how you think on your feet and what your grades are like and are you talented,” says Michelle. She says she's still trying to wrap her brain around how she was able to win the competition. She says it's a big honor that gives her new opportunities.

“I've been on stage a lot for theatre and I wanted to try something different where I could win some scholarship money and I never in my wildest dreams imagined I'd be here.”

WKRG.com » News Stream » Alabama