DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN) — Katelyn Vinson is your Miss Alabama USA for 2022. She took home the title over the weekend and she says it still hasn’t set in.

“Crazy to think about in and of itself,” Miss Alabama USA Katelyn Vinson said. “I’ve hardly had time to think about it because it hasn’t even really set in that I am Miss Alabama USA.”

Vinson is a Wiregrass native and a former Miss Houston County winner, but after high school, Vinson took a few years to attend college. Then, on a whim, she tried out for Miss Alabama USA 2021, where she placed in the top five.

Going into the 2022 Miss Alabama USA pageant she had one goal in mind:

“I didn’t want to win as somebody else,” Vinson said. “I didn’t want to win trying to be someone they wanted me to be. I wanted to win as Katelyn Vinson, and that’s exactly what I did. I went into my interview and I was 100% me. I was like it if they like it they like it, if they don’t then it someone else year to win.”

Vinson will hold this title for the entire year. She says this title is not only for herself but for the Wiregrass.

“Bringing home the title to the Wiregrass is so special,” Vinson said. “There is no other place that I would have worn across my chest than Dothan. An area where pageantry is respected and it is a huge part of our community, it really is and I would not be where I am without that.”

Vinson’s platform for 2022 is to provide people with inspiration and education on how to live a healthy balanced lifestyle. Another side of her platform that she will also cover will be the importance of brain health.

“Supporting the brain because it is a powerhouse of our body and it’s extremely important to have good brain health,” Vinson said. “Contributes to mental health and I think that if we can focus on brain health, then the stigma around mental health can be erased.”

Vinson will have a couple of weeks to relax before she begins her training for the Miss USA Pageant, as the title of Miss Alabama USA 2022 begins to sink in.