On a chilly November afternoon in Atlanta, Savannah Miles logs into a Zoom call looking like any other college student juggling classes and deadlines. Then she starts talking. Focused. Polished. Present. That’s when it clicks — this is a woman who has learned how to hold a room, even through a screen.
Crowned Miss Georgia USA in June, Miles still has months left wearing the Peach State crown. And she’s using every bit of that time.
From Gwinnett to the Georgia Crown
Miles is a Gwinnett County native who now calls metro Atlanta home. She balances pageant appearances with coursework at Savannah College of Art and Design, where she studies interior design at the Atlanta campus in Midtown.
That mix of creativity and discipline shows in how she carries herself.
She speaks easily about her upbringing, her studies, and the weight of representing Georgia, without slipping into pageant-script mode. There’s pride there, sure. But there’s also awareness. She knows what the title gives her — visibility, access, a platform — and she seems intent on using it well.
Miles will hold the Miss Georgia USA title for seven months more, until a new winner is crowned in 2026.
In pageant terms, that time moves fast.
Competing on the National Stage at Miss USA
On October 24, Miles represented Georgia at Miss USA in Reno, Nevada, stepping onto a stage watched by audiences across the country.
The stakes were high. The winner advances to Miss Universe, one of the most recognizable competitions in the world.
Miles didn’t take home the national crown.
Still, she describes the experience with zero bitterness.
Instead, she talks about the friendships.
About bonding with contestants from other states. About the strange mix of nerves and excitement backstage. About learning how women from wildly different backgrounds show up, prepared and hopeful, chasing the same goal.
Those moments, she says, mattered just as much as the outcome.
And they’ll stick with her.
A SCAD Showcase Disguised as a Pageant
For Miles, Miss USA became something else too — a runway for her classmates.
She laughs when she says it, but she’s serious. She went into the competition determined to spotlight the talent coming out of SCAD’s fashion program.
Her stylist, Ava Polvino, is a SCAD fashion design major and close friend. Together with fellow students Sierra, Jason, and others from a recent graduating class, they designed and created much of Miles’ pageant wardrobe.
It paid off.
Miles was voted Best Dressed Contestant at Miss USA, an honor she credits directly to the students and faculty behind the scenes.
She also points to professor Peter Jensen, whose guidance helped shape the looks that caught judges’ and contestants’ attention.
For a design school, that kind of visibility matters.
And Miles leaned into it fully, proudly calling herself “a SCAD walking billboard.”
Wearing the Crown Back Home in Georgia
Now back in Atlanta, Miles is entering what she describes as her favorite phase of the title.
This is the stretch where the crown feels closer to home.
Living in the city means many of her upcoming appearances will be tied to major Georgia events, including the Peach Bowl Parade scheduled for January 9, 2026.
But it’s not just the big, televised moments.
Miles talks with real excitement about charity galas, community events, and partnerships with organizations across Atlanta and throughout the state.
These appearances, she says, allow her to connect directly with people who see the Miss Georgia USA title as more than a sash.
It’s an opportunity to show up. To listen. To represent.
And she seems eager to do exactly that.
Balancing Student Life and Statewide Visibility
There’s something quietly impressive about how Miles handles her schedule.
Interior design coursework at SCAD is demanding. Studio time, critiques, deadlines — none of that pauses for pageant life.
Yet she manages both without sounding overwhelmed.
Maybe it’s practice. Pageants train competitors to manage pressure, after all. Or maybe it’s temperament.
Either way, she doesn’t present herself as someone rushing to the next thing. She’s grounded in the present, aware that this season won’t last forever.
And she seems okay with that.
Looking Ahead Without Rushing Forward
When asked what comes next, Miles doesn’t lay out a grand blueprint.
There’s no dramatic pivot, no big reveal.
Instead, she talks about finishing her degree. About continuing to build creative skills. About staying involved in the communities she’s connected with now.
She also speaks about pageantry as something that shaped her, rather than something that defines her.
The crown opened doors.
What she walks through afterward will be up to her.
And that feels intentional.
A Modern Pageant Queen, Quietly Redefined
Savannah Miles doesn’t fit a single mold.
She’s a design student who values structure. A pageant titleholder who doesn’t lean on clichés. A young woman who understands both presentation and substance.
Watching her speak, even through a laptop screen, you get the sense she’s already thinking past applause and titles.
For now, she’s Miss Georgia USA. Fully present. Fully engaged. Making the most of a role that gives her a voice.
