Myrtle Beach native places 1st runner-up at Miss South Carolina

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Brooke Vu, Miss Myrtle Beach 2024, placed first runner-up to the title of Miss South Carolina on Saturday.

With that, Vu, a Myrtle Beach native and Coastal Carolina University graduate, earned thousands of dollars in scholarships through the Miss America Organization.

In October 2023, she was crowned Miss Myrtle Beach. Over the weekend, she competed for the title of Miss South Carolina.

Vu has been competing for Miss South Carolina since 2014. Over the past 10 years, she has received more than $45,000 in scholarships to help further her education.

“As a first generation college student, I was able to graduate from Coastal Carolina University completely debt-free,” Vu said. “I have so many blessings, but I am super thankful for this organization.”

Miss America is one of the nation’s leading providers in scholarships for young women. Since a young age, Vu has had a passion for community service and taking care of the environment.

“Keep Myrtle Beach beautiful has been my tried and true organization,” she said.

She is the founder of “The Future is Green: Sustainability takes all of us,” and has personally removed, logged and observed more than one million pieces of litter in South Carolina.

“For a long time, I didn’t know if my service was ever really appreciated by others,” Vu said. “But this year, I was awarded the inaugural ‘Jada Samuel Quality of Life Award,’ which is probably one of the highest honors you can receive at the South Carolina program.”

Vu said the Miss America organization has not just impacted her, but thousands of others as well. She said she’s proud to have placed first runner-up to such a prestigious title and to represent her hometown of Myrtle Beach.

But very soon, she’ll be heading back into the classroom.

“I earned over $12,000 in scholarship this weekend, and so I’m so excited to pursue environmental law,” Vu said. “I will be continuing the fight for the wild side and you’ll see me all over the state still advocating for environmental conservation.”

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Gracie is a multimedia journalist at News 13 and is from Cleveland, Ohio. Gracie joined the team in June 2023 after graduating from the University of Alabama in May. Follow Gracie on Facebook , Instagram and X, formerly Twitter, & read more of her work here .

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