She was crowned 2018 Miss Mississippi. A broadcast journalism major at the University of Mississippi—Asya Branch has a unique and powerful platform: empowering children of incarcerated parents.

You see, her father has been incarcerated for half of her life. She talked to WCBI TV about the challenges of having a parent in prison.

“It was immensely tough. It was one of the toughest things I’ve ever been through, but I’ve used it to shape me into the person that I am today, instead of allowing the circumstances to define me.”

So today, as Miss Mississippi, Asya has set out to help children of incarcerated parents and to learn more about the prison system. She recently visited MTC’s East Mississippi Correctional Facility in Meridian just a couple of hours south of her hometown of Booneville.

Incarcerated men talked to her about their experiences inside prison and members of the facility’s choir even performed a musical number. Asya says she’s grateful to have learned more about MTC’s East Mississippi Correctional Facility as she works to make a social impact in the lives of others.

“I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to be here. My platform is to empower children of incarcerated parents. So, there are a lot of things I want to do in the prisons in our state and hopefully leave a positive impact in the lives of all of you and your children.”