By Janice McIntyre
City Editor
EL DORADO — He has traveled all over the world and lived and worked in numerous cities across the globe. He now serves as chief executive officer of a local Fortune 500 company.
But on Wednesday, Roger Jenkins, CEO of Murphy Oil Corp., got to say something he never dreamed.
“Here she is, Miss America,” Jenkins smiled as he introduced Savvy Shields, the 2017 Miss America, who was the keynote speaker for the 11th annual Academic Signing Day, a ceremony to honor approximately 300 graduates of El Dorado High School who are recipients of the El Dorado Promise. She received a standing ovation.
A sea of purple — purple gowns and purple Promise caps – greeted Shields as she entered Wildcat Arena and encouraged graduates to take advantage of the opportunity the El Dorado Promise offers. The El Dorado Promise was established in January 2007 by Murphy Oil Corp., to give students in the El Dorado School District, regardless of their economic situation or academic merit — the opportunity to pursue a college degree, free of financial burden. The El Dorado Promise awards every EHS graduate, who has been enrolled in the ESD since at least ninth grade, a scholarship covering tuition and mandatory fees equal to the highest in-state, public university rate.
Shields was accompanied to El Dorado High School by Miss Arkansas Savannah Skidmore of Calico Rock and Miss Teen Arkansas Emily Brewer of Lonoke.
“This is a celebration and I am honored to be here,” Shields told graduates, urging them to never let negative remarks alter their image of themselves or change their goals. “I wish I had known several things before college. I wish I had known how important a college education is,” said Shields, a resident of Fayetteville and a senior at the University of Arkansas majoring in art and minoring in business.
In September, Shields was crowned Miss America 2017, and with the Miss America organization, she is traveling the country on a year of service for her platform causes: encouraging young people in education, the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, the USO (United Service Organizations) — visiting military troops and veterans and “Eat Better, Live Better,” which aims for positive lifestyle change through nutrition.
Shields said as Miss America, she travels approximately 20,000 miles per month and is in a different state every 48 hours.
She told students she was “terrified” when she first ran for Miss Arkansas, and a month after that,
representing the state, she was named Miss America. Shields said at age 13, she was named Miss Teen Arkansas and for 10 years, she prepared to enter the Miss America pageant. Shields said she didn’t feel she was “skinny enough, pretty enough or talented enough” to be Miss Arkansas.
“It’s important to be a part of something greater than we are,” Shields said during the ceremony. “For your college experience, you will have to answer who you want to be and there will be hard moments. Don’t define yourself according to what other people think of you.”
She then asked students who inspired them and several answered “mom, dad, sister.” When she asked them why those people were inspiring, they had a number of answers, such as hardworking, dependable, kind, strong, intelligent and humble. “No one mentioned what those people look like or where they came from,” she told students. “Think about who you want to be like. Your opportunities are unbelievable.”
Graduates of the 2017 class “have your town, community and state behind you,” she said and ended with a quote, “If dreams don’t scare us, they aren’t big enough.”
Shields told students about a few memorable visits during her tour of Miss America. While in Sioux Falls, she was shopping in a store when a grandmother approached her and started crying. The grandmother said her granddaughter had just been born and was named after the current Miss America. “We went to the hospital and the mama put little Savvy in my arms,” she said, explaining at that moment she felt a deep sense of responsibility.
While visiting at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock, Shields said she went to her dressing room and a visitor got her attention. “I had my crown on and the lady said, ‘Sorry, I thought you were Miss America.’” Shields said when the woman knew her identity, she replied, ‘Well, you sure look different,’” she laughed.
While visiting at a children’s hospital in Denver, Shields said she met an 8-year-old boy who couldn’t talk, so they used his IPad to communicate. He was going to try to walk and when therapists put him on a treadmill and lowered his feet to the surface, “he started taking his first steps and then started laughing,” she said, noting the compassion she felt after witnessing the boy’s joy.
After Shields addressed seniors, juniors, parents, grandparents, teachers, students, school officials and friends at the ceremony, Chris Hegi, chief financial officer of First Financial Bank, sponsor of Academic Signing Day, presented her with a purple Promise cap that she tried to fit on her crown.
Jim Tucker, superintendent of the El Dorado School District, said that among the crowd of graduates seated on the gymnasium floor, there is a potential for “$10 million plus in scholarship funds available to the 2017 seniors. Murphy wants you to use this scholarship” to attend college after high school graduation. He then urged students to pick up their ink pens and sign letters of academic intent to attend a college or university after high school.
Sylvia Thompson, director of the El Dorado Promise, listed all the accomplishments achieved by 2017 graduates — including all-state and all-conference honors, championship wins and numerous other academic and athletic awards. She said over 2,000 EHS graduates have furthered their education after high school by taking advantage of the El Dorado Promise and have attended 129 colleges in 29 states.