Within a year, 21-year-old Jianna Garcia helped her mom through cancer treatment, relearned to walk after having surgery twice and earned the title of International United Miss Texas.
Jianna will represent Texas at the IUM International Pageant in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.
“I am incredibly honored to represent Texas and carry these values with me to Internationals,” Jianna said. “I've competed in Princess all the way up to Miss, so it's a full circle moment.”
Jianna was first introduced to pageantry at the age of four to combat her shyness.
“I was very shy, which is so weird to think about,” Jianna said. “When I competed for the first time, it helped me get out of my shell.”
Jianna won National American Miss Texas Junior Preteen in 2012 and National American Miss Texas Teen in 2022.
“As I competed, it shifted my perspective and my values,” Jianna said. “I learned that I have a lot of different values than other people my age in high school. A lot of people have different hobbies, but for me, it was community involvement and making appearances.”
Jianna is a six-time published author of an original children’s book series.
“It's been fun writing those because they can be read anywhere online,” Jianna said. “I get comments from across the world, which is super cool, because they're taking my message and putting it in a whole other country.”
Jianna also has published an internationally distributed handbook, “How to be HEROIC,” teaching young leaders to embody honesty, empathy, respect, optimism, integrity and community.
“This journey has been about more than just a crown,” Jianna said. “It’s about creating real change in the lives of young women and children across the country.”
The Princess Mission was founded by Jianna in 2022 to empower young girls through mentorship, service events and collabora- tive projects.
“At one of the princess parties I hosted, there was this little girl,” Jianna said. “Her mom came on and was like, ‘She doesn't have a lot of friends at school.’ That's the exact purpose. I didn't have a lot of friends in high school, so I wanted to get these girls friends.”
Jianna has also volunteered at HOPE Food and Clothing Ministry in Aubrey since she was a child. Over her time volunteering, she’s served over 100,000 people in need.
“Seeing what other people are going through, it gives me passion to serve them because they don't have much control of what's going on in their life,” Jianna said. “It gave me a lot of gratitude.”
When she was 16, Jianna went to the hospital because of stomach pain, weight loss and pale skin. Jianna later found out these symptoms were a result of an unhealthy diet.
“Now I have learned all about it, learned what I was going through and learned how I can help others,” Jianna said. “That's kind of why I want to do what I want to do.”
Jianna is entering her senior year of college, earning her bachelor’s in nutrition sciences at Texas Woman's University. Jianna minors in pediatric child development and plans to pursue a master’s in nutrition to become a registered pediatric dietitian.
“For me, being a dietitian, I've learned how to be compassionate with people who are going through that because it's a different level of understanding when you know the pain,” Jianna said.
Jianna earned a large scholarship to TWU after an intensive interview process.
“She had all her leadership and service experience, so I definitely think that helped her,” Jianna’s mom Melissa Garcia said. “It helped her understand how to communicate, how to set goals, how to keep those goals and how to have selfconfidence to be able to do it all.”
Jianna gave up her title as Miss Texas Teen during her sophomore year of college.
“That year was probably one of the hardest years of my life,” Jianna said. “I felt like I didn't know who I was. I had lost my personality. I lost my closest friends at school, so I felt like I had nobody.”
In May 2023, Melissa was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I struggled quite a bit,” Melissa said. “It’s very scary when they tell you something and you don’t know what will happen. I was a hot mess.”
Jianna was living in the TWU dorms and drove home frequently to check on her mom.
“We were very supportive, making sure she didn't have to move a muscle for anything,” Jianna said. “It taught me a whole new level of understanding. It taught me how to step up.”
Melissa asked Jianna to not tell others before knowing if the treatment would work.
“My mom was really sick at the time, so I was just very confused and didn't know what to do,” Jianna said. “Then one of my little sister queens told me to try the IUM in Texas. Then I got runner up.”
As her mother began to recover, Jianna shared the news with friends.
“Thankfully, I had a couple close pageant friends who were there for me,” Jianna said. “It was a really heartwarming moment when I was able to have support for it. It taught me how to speak out about it and how to share with others.”
Jianna started sharing her story on social media and connecting with others going through similar situations.
“As a title holder, you have to show everything about your life and always smile,” Jianna said. “You always have to be perfect. But title holders are real people. You don't always have to be perfect. You don't always have to be pageant ready.”
Four months before she won her title, Jianna had to have surgery which installed six screws in each foot. Jianna was told she couldn’t wear heels for eight months, so she went to physical therapy three times a week to relearn how to walk in time for IUM Texas.
“A year ago, I was very motivated to come back to win something,” Jianna said. “It was a long journey. It taught me how to push myself.”
Jianna was crowned IUM Texas in September of 2024. Her social media has boomed to around 13,000 followers on Instagram since her crowning.
“Seeing my reign take off, it's been life-changing,” Jianna said. “I've encountered so many people across the world. It's given me so many friendships, which is really special to me because that's exactly why I wanted to win.”
In December, Jianna had another surgery but made an appearance a week later at the food bank.
“I'm still Miss Texas,” Jianna said. “I have to get back up.”
Jianna’s reign will end in September when she crowns the next Miss Texas.
“I never thought I could be a national title holder,” Jianna said. “I think it was very much God's timing.”
The areas of competition at Internationals are interview, personal introduction, evening gown, high fashion runway and community involvement.
“It’s about representing everything I've done in the state of Texas and the difference I have been able to make,” Jianna said.
Follow Jianna’s journey to Internationals by visiting @iumtxmiss on Instagram. Pageant results will be posted on IUM’s website July 19.
“Whether I walk away with a crown or not, I have made so many friends,” Jianna said. “I am the Miss Texas that I really wanted to be.”
