“Unbelievable,” says Christine Kozlowski when asked about her reign as Miss Mississippi 2008.

“There were so many different things I never imagined I would ever do,” said the 20-year-old D’Iberville native, who will give up her title tonight as she crowns a new queen at the 52nd annual Miss Mississippi Pageant. “I learned so much about myself.”

Kozlowski competed as Miss Gulf Coast the year she was crowned and as Miss Mississippi Coast the year before, in 2007.

Before winning the state pageant, Kozlowski was a freshman at the University of Southern Mississippi. She took a year off to fulfill her duties as Miss Mississippi and promote her platform, D.A.N.C.E., which stands for Diabetes Advocated Nourishing Children’s Education. Kozlowski will return to USM in the fall as a sophomore, to work toward a degree in nutrition and dietetics with the goal of becoming a registered dietician.

Her platform is something she developed as a result of a personal connection. Her mother was diagnosed with diabetes more than 10 years ago, and her grandmother died of complications from the disease 20 years ago.

An avid athlete, Kozlowski says she will have more time after tonight to do the things she likes.

“My favorite thing to do is working out,” she said. “I love to run. It’s social time when we run and when we go biking.”

Her exercise routine earned her a Miss Mississippi 2008 preliminary win in swimwear.

She also likes to read, and her favorite is John Grisham, a Mississippi author famous for his legal thrillers.

“I learned so much about Mississippi and learned about the history before I was born,” she said of Grisham’s “The Last Juror.”

During the 2009 Miss America Pageant in January, Kozlowski, the oldest of four children of Brian and Norma Kozlowski, won the swimwear category for her group during the preliminaries. She was awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Overall, she said, she has accumulated more than $23,000 in scholarships in the two years she has competed in the Miss Mississippi and Miss America pageants.

“It’s not a beauty program,” she said. “It’s a scholarship program.”

During her reign, Kozlowski has made many appearances around the state. But there are a couple she remembers most.

Her favorite was in Amory, at Stars Over Mississippi, a celebrity-filled, charity musical event put on by Sam Haskell, chairman of the Miss America Organization’s board of directors.

“It was neat to get to see some celebrities,” she said. “The entire show was so much fun.”

When she wasn’t meeting celebrities, Kozlowski attended fundraisers and volunteered. She established Halloween Hero, a program that gave sugar-free candy to diabetic children.

As she gets ready to crown a new Miss Mississippi, Kozlowski says the main thing to remember is be flexible.

“You are at the service to your state and need to be open to all options,” said Kozlowski. “Be professional, punctual and have everything done.”

Something she embraces is the bond she developed with other contestants. “We all benefited from the constant contact,” she said. “It’s a huge sisterhood.”

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com