McKayla Young of Durham, N.C., was crowned Miss Chapel Hill 2027 on Sept. 19, 2026, at East Chapel Hill High School.
Young takes the title with a community service initiative she calls Polished Pathways: Turning Barriers into Breakthroughs, built around a distinction she returns to often: the difference between giving someone something for a day and removing whatever stands between them and what comes next. She applies the same frame to her own path, as a former Division I athlete who earned a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and a master’s degree at North Carolina Central University, and who is now a Ph.D. student and a volleyball coach.
“Polished Pathways: Turning Barriers into Breakthroughs was born from one belief: people experiencing hardship don’t need our pity—they need access, dignity, and someone willing to walk alongside them,” Young said.
Through the initiative, Young connects individuals and families with food, hygiene products, clothing, school supplies, professional attire, mentorship and other resources, working with the Salvation Army, Street Reach, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and Urban Ministries. She has collected formalwear for young women, stocked community blessing boxes and connected families to local resources. In the vocal talent category, she performs “La Vie en Rose,” a piece she chose to step outside what felt comfortable and one that took on a second meaning after the death of her friend Carrie Everett, Miss North Carolina 2024, who loved pink. “La Vie en Rose”—life in pink—became her way of carrying a piece of Everett onto the stage with her.
“I’ll never forget working with a high school senior who was experiencing homelessness while trying to figure out how he could possibly make it to college,” Young said. “What started as helping him navigate resources became walking alongside him through the process until he enrolled—and ultimately had his first term covered.”
Young is pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology with an integration of Theology, studying, in her words, “why people are who they are and the role purpose plays in who they become.” Of the organization that brought her to this point, she said: “Three years ago, I entered this organization hoping to earn a crown; instead, I found out just how much I was capable of without one.”
Young will represent Chapel Hill at the Miss North Carolina competition in June 2027.
She describes herself as “a firm believer that you can be deeply purposeful without taking yourself too seriously,” competitive enough to turn almost anything into a game. “If this journey has taught me anything, it’s that I don’t just want to build a life that looks impressive—I want to build one that feels full,” she said.
Young can be followed on Instagram at @misschapelhill_nc.
