Shilah Phillips
Encyclopedia
Shilah Phillips is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 entertainer, beauty pageant contestant, and the 2006 winner of the Miss Texas
Miss Texas
The Miss Texas competition was founded in 1936 as a scholarship contest for young women. The winner represents Texas in the Miss America pageant; three winners have gone on to be crowned Miss America ....

 title. She is the first African American winner of the coveted crown in its 75 year history. Phillips was named first runner-up to Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

 on January 29, 2007.

Education

Phillips attended the Denver School of the Arts
Denver School of the Arts
The Denver School of the Arts was founded in 1991 as part of the Denver Public School District. It was a pioneer of the magnet school concept.-History:...

 from sixth grade until graduating from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in 2000. She studied both vocal music and theatre in her time at DSA.

Phillips began studying jazz music at Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...

 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and, while there received the Most Outstanding Vocalist award. She was recently accepted into the renowned jazz studies program at the University of North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...

.

Notable achievements

Phillips won the 2006 Miss Frisco
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is an affluent city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U.S. state of Texas and a rapidly growing suburb of Dallas. As of the 2010 Census, 116,989 people were living in Frisco up from 33,714 in the previous census. Frisco was the fastest growing city in the United States in 2009, and also...

title on 30 October 2005.

Phillips is the first African-American to hold the Miss Texas title when on 8 July 2006, at age 24 years, she won the pageant on her first attempt. She is only the second woman in the history of the program to win the title on her first try. She competed as Miss Frisco, sponsored by the Miss Plano Frisco Scholarship Organization. She placed 1st Runner Up at Miss America, 2007
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