Miss Mississippi Teen Volunteer
Izzy Karns
Izzy Karns is an 18-year-old native of Ellisville, Mississippi, and recent honors graduate of Oak Grove High School, now enrolled at The University of Southern Mississippi.She also holds an Associate’s Degree from Pearl River Community College that she obtained in the same year of her high school graduation. She is currently studying Strategic Communications and hopes to continue her path as an entrepreneur.
On July 6th, 2024, Izzy was crowned the state’s fourth-ever Miss Mississippi Teen Volunteer in Tupelo. The Mississippi Volunteer Pageant is a state licensee of the national Miss Volunteer America Pageant, which is based in Tennessee and seeks to empower young women across the nation through educational scholarships and extraordinary opportunities.
Izzy was awarded just under $5,000 in cash and in-kind scholarships. In her free time, she enjoys social media content creation, graphic design, modeling, photography, and running her own business, “Let’s Get Social” – a social media and content management service.
Izzy’s platform is Choose Rescue: Advocating for Shelter Pets and Shelter Pet Adoption, inspired by the joy and sense of belonging she experienced in adopting shelter pets. She has dedicated more than 700 hours to advocating for this cause and other important volunteer initiatives, including raising more than $19,000 for local animal shelters. In 2023, she was recognized with the First Lady’s Rising Star Youth Volunteer of the Year Award.
Izzy serves alongside Miss Mississippi Volunteer 2024, Lauryl Joyner, as a partner of the Mississippi Highway Patrol’s D.R.I.V.E. Campaign, teaching life-saving driving practices to teens across the state. Additionally, Izzy and Lauryl serve as official ambassadors of The Salvation Army and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. They utilize their titles to volunteer, advocate, and raise funds for these important causes throughout the year.
She will represent Mississippi at the national Miss Teen Volunteer America Pageant in March in Jackson, Tennessee.
Izzy looks forward to serving her home state this year and utilizing the title to further the mission of the Miss Mississippi Volunteer program, which focuses on providing young women with educational scholarships and extraordinary opportunities.In her first two months with the title, Izzy had already made over 50 appearances, traveling 9,000 miles.
