Chattanooga girl wins Miss Tennessee for America title

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Previously known as Miss Chattanooga, local girl, Claire Portilla brought home the gold as she was recently crowned the newest Miss Tennessee for America after her move back from Dallas, Texas. 

“I knew that this was home, I wanted to be here. And I thought, What a great way to start off my time back home by representing the city,” said Miss Tennessee for America, Claire Portilla. 

As a first-time pageant girl, she had no idea what to expect and succeeded within her journey by staying true to herself. 

“It was more about being authentic to myself, and really getting them to know who I am, instead of who they think they want me to be,” said Portilla. 

Portilla was born in Ensenada, Mexico and moved to Chattanooga with her parents and three sisters when she was nine years old. 

“I really do believe that when somebody is true to themselves, they kind of shine a little bit differently,” said Portilla.    

She attended school at Signal Mountain High School and graduated college from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a child and family studies and a nonprofit education. 

“I realized is I had a great support system at home, and kids in our own backyard don’t have the same things. I want to be able to say: ‘I see you and I encourage you and I love you and you can do anything that you set your heart to do,'” said Portilla. 

Portilla has big plans to create her own scholarship program for kids to follow their dreams. 

“I want to go to their students and encourage them, and I want to do like a shark tank or business proposal. I want to know why these kids want to go to school or what they want to be when they grow up, and then, I want to support that financially for them, said Portilla.” 

The Miss America pageant will take place in Las Vegas on August 24th, and Portilla says those who want to follow her journey and support her can keep up with her social media accounts @MissTennesseeForAmerica.