Norman High graduate wins Miss Oklahoma pageant

Jun. 13—Sunny Day never thought she would get another chance to become Miss Oklahoma.

Time and pageant rules had passed her by.

Day had competed in the state pageant in 2021 and was fourth runner-up. At 25, she had reached the age limit.

"I just carried on as an educator doing my thing, living my life, never thinking I'd be able to compete for Miss Oklahoma again," she told The Transcript.

Four months ago, Day received an email that changed her life. She learned pageant officials had changed their rules to allow contestants as old as 28 to compete.

Despite not having a coach, she decided to sign up for the pageant and won Saturday's competition at the River Spirit Casino in Tulsa.

Day will represent Oklahoma and compete for the title of Miss America 2024.

"I said to myself, 'I have to do it,'" she said. "You don't get two last chances to do anything ever."

Day was up against 39 women who practiced for years and had received coaching. Day said she felt rusty and wasn't sure how well she'd fare.

"I had three months to prepare, I knew I just had my heart and I knew what I intended to do with my life," she said.

Day has overcome challenges that she said go beyond what is normally seen at Miss Oklahoma pageants. When she was 9, her father abandoned his family and later became homeless after suffering substance abuse disorder.

At that point, she was raised by her mother, who was pregnant at the time, and later looked after her younger brother like a second mother-figure.

"Substance abuse has been in my family for as long as I can remember," she said. "When he left, we immediately had to move into Section 8 apartments and we started living off food stamps, and at the time, my mom was working three jobs to support us."

She said she had to grow up fast and even look after her mother, who felt stressed at the time.

Day graduated from Washington Elementary, Irving Middle School and Norman High School.

"There was a program at Irving where they would put me and my sister on a bus, and they would take us to this place to buy us clothes for school," she recalled. "I was embarrassed, and looking back, my biggest regret is that I was ashamed of where I came from."

"If it weren't for those experiences, I wouldn't have a heart for the kids that I serve that I do now," she said.

Day, the first high school and college graduate in her family, is an English Language Arts teacher for Western Heights Public Schools in Oklahoma City.

She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2017 after receiving an Oklahoma Promise scholarship, which provides financial assistance to students who receive a minimum grade point average of 3.5 and who live beneath the poverty line.

Lindsey Hansen, Miss Oklahoma spokesperson and 2006 Miss Oklahoma, said becoming Miss Oklahoma will be a full-time job for Day over the course of the next year.

"Miss Oklahoma will go on a year-round school tour where she will speak to kids and inspire them, often doing two, three, or four assemblies a day," Hansen said. "She's been working full-time as an educator for years. This will be a benefit to her because she has so much experience speaking with young people."

Dom Dozier, a Miss Oklahoma pageant judge, said Day's experience in the classroom affected the judge's decision to vote for her.

"She was relatable, genuine and real," Dozier said. "She had a detailed plan of action and was ready to step in immediately and take on the role of Miss Oklahoma. If I were a kid, I would want to be in her classroom."

Day said the first classrooms she wants to visit are Washington, Irving and Norman High. She also wants to speak to University of Oklahoma students.

As winner of Miss Oklahoma, she received a $30,000 award, plus $2,500 for winning the Community Service Award, $1,000 for best interview, and $1,000 for winning the evening gown award.

The money will be applied to her master's program.

"Getting my master's degree, that's something I've been dreaming up for as long as I can remember," Day said. "As an underpaid teacher, I can barely afford to put food on my plate. There's no way in the world I can continue to do that."

She wants to become a principal, and someday, she would like to serve as Oklahoma's state superintendent of education.

Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at bking@normantranscript.com.