JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Columbus native Mercetia Jenkins seeks to win a national beauty pageant in August and make a difference in the lives and attitudes toward disabled Mississippians.

The annual Ms. Wheelchair Mississippi competition selects the state’s most accomplished and articulate spokeswoman for people with disabilities. Jenkins became the titleholder in February. The Ms. Wheelchair Mississippi Foundation set up a GoFundMe for Jenkins to help raise funds for her initiatives and to attend the Ms. Wheelchair America competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Rebecca Sentell, the state foundation’s coordinator and a board member for the national organization, started the GoFundMe. Winning the state crown in 2017, she believes in Jenkins’s ability to make an impact in Mississippi and nationally.

“It’s just very important for people to know that just because we use a wheelchair for our mobility or we might use hearing aids for hearing mobility, that doesn’t mean that we can’t be a very valuable part of society,” Sentell said.

Mercetia Jenkins works from home. As a quadriplegic, Jenkins struggled to find a job despite having a master’s degree. Her experience facing discrimination before finding employment inspired her to encourage workforce participation among disabled adults across the state.

“I’m going to travel and I’m gonna deliver that message wherever I go,” Jenkins said. “Whatever room that I can enter, whatever table that I can fit at, I’m gonna do it.”

Sentell was born with spina bifida, so her spine never formed properly. Jenkins became disabled at 16 years old through the actions of a reckless driver. Jenkins’s injury as a high school junior hits many children and adults closer to home.

“My disability is like the lottery; it can be me today and you tomorrow, all by someone else’s mistake or a simple mistake that you can make within a few seconds,” Jenkins said.

The mission of Ms. Wheelchair America is to provide an opportunity for achievement for women who use wheelchairs to successfully educate and advocate for the more than 64 million Americans living with disabilities. Jenkins aims to win the title so she can do just that beyond Mississippi.

“I think my purpose and my hard work and dedication is gonna pay forward,” Jenkins said.

No matter who wins the national pageant, Sentell and others respect Jenkins’s advocacy for disabled Mississippians.

“My relationship with Mercetia is very strong and I know that even after her title year is over in the next competition, that we will be friends for life,” Sentell said.

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