Gwinnett Daily Post

Photo Courtesy of Matt Boyd Photography Leighton Jordan, 19, a Suwanee resident and Georgia State student, won the Miss Georgia competition on June 23 in Columbus.

SUWANEE -- Leighton Jordan, 19, a Suwanee resident and Georgia State student won the Miss Georgia competition on June 23 in Columbus.

Jordan won a $15,000 scholarship and a chance to compete in the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas in January.

"I feel blessed," she told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. "I know some people may feel that at my age I am not ready to handle this job, but they should not underestimate me. I am prepared and ready to get to work."

Jordan's talent in the competition was ballet, something she began at age 2, and the reason she moved to Houston at 15 to live full-time and perform with the Houston Ballet.

"I got to live the adult life a little early," she said.

Jordan also was accepted in the Royal Ballet of London and danced on national television in China.

She has career plans to be a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner.

Jordan also supports the Sibling Support Project, a national program that strives to increase peer support and information opportunities for brothers and sisters of people with special needs. Jordan's older brother, Robin, who is deaf, has several health problems, including cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

Jordan's father, Jim, is an electrical engineer; her mother Clemmie teaches ballet.

Jordan was home schooled and has taken classes at Georgia Perimeter College. She was to begin school at Georgia State University, but plans have changed since the Miss Georgia win.