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Your Ms. Premier America is Anika Hutchinson. She’s creative,
kind, and is known for turning adversities into assets. That is
what she hopes to inspire in others, especially youth. |
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Anika is a native of Indiana and has represented many pivotal
Indiana institutions such as the Indy 500, Indiana State Fair and
4-H and Indiana University. As an Indiana University graduate,
she’s passionate about education and encouraging youth. |
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She has overcome a lot of adversities in youth. She was severely
bullied in high school. Their constant bullying affected her
self-esteem and confidence. Especially since most of the
criticism was about her looks. Once she attended Indiana
University,, her life changed for the better. She was encouraged
to enter her first pageant and won! She also gained the
confidence to be very involved in campus life and different
organizations. |
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After graduating, she auditioned for the Indianapolis Colts and
made the team. That gave her even more motivation to continue to
go after her dreams and aspirations. |
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Living in New York City was always a dream. She moved to the area
and started her career there. She worked in the fashion industry
and was very involved in that world. She even attended New York
Fashion Week in Bryant Park. She also modeled both print and
runway and was a featured dancer for MTV’s hip hop show, “Direct
Effect”. |
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Even though NYC was a dream come true, she felt like she wanted
to do more to help others. Youth was her calling since she had
such a tumultuous high school experience. The opportunity arose
to become an anti-bully advocate. Soon after, she was named
Director for Bully-Police Indiana in a volunteer role. She was
able to help parents and students throughout Indiana to navigate
school systems with bullying complaints. She and other advocates
also created events to raise awareness. In 2012, she and a
handful of advocates wrote and lobbied for a new anti-bully law
in the state. We spoke before the House, and later it was pushed
through to the Senate. The law was passed in Spring of 2013.
She now works in the tech industry in Marketing and Customer
Success. She also serves as Board of Directors for Indiana
University, helping to improve student life. |
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She has come full circle with her pageant experience. As Ms.
Premier America, Anika intends to use her title to continue to
help youth live their best lives. |
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Sadly Anika passed away in 2026. We will all miss her. |
