NEW ORLEANS —  Shreveport native Lauren Vizza  will take the stage May 21 as Miss Louisiana 2018 and compete for the title of Miss USA.

She takes over the crown from Miss Louisiana USA 2017 Bethany Trayhan of Lake Charles.  Vizza was competing this year as Miss Shreveport.

Vizza is a morning show anchor at NBC 6 in Shreveport. She joined the KTAL news team in February 2015.  Winning pageants is not new for Vizza. She won Miss Louisiana five years ago as Miss America. She is only the second woman ever in the state to compete in both systems and win.

“I love Miss USA because it allows me to be a career woman,” said Vizza. “I love my job and the morning show, but ultimately I’d like to go back to school and get my master’s in political science and get in to public policy.”

Vizza says that the biggest misconception of pageant girls is that they are not intelligent.

“I even had professors tell me that people wouldn’t take me seriously in my career if I continued to do pageants. Some of the most intelligent women I’ve ever met compete in pageants.”

Her pregame song is “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas. You wont catch this queen smearing Vaseline on her teeth before pageants, but she does do push-ups before the swimsuit competition.

In response some women saying pageantry is anti-feminist, Vizza says “It’s actually the opposite. It’s women supporting one another, building each other up.”

Louisiana is one of the most successful states at Miss USA and is one of only seven states to have three or more Miss USA winners (in 1958, 1961, and 1996).

The Miss USA pageant is on May 21st on FOX, and it will be held in Vizza’s hometown in Shreveport at 7 PM CT.