Soon after the MasterChef First Season Finale, you could find the winner, Poplarville beauty Whitney Miller, surrounded by little girls wanting the photo of her which had her autograph and the scripture 1 Timothy 4:12 written on it. This was a request which she happily obliged with a big smile.

“What an amazing journey for such a sweet, shy young lady and her family,” said Doreen Wallace , a family friend for years.

Wallace, who attended Miller’s MasterChef Finale Viewing with her husband Reed, said, “I get asked all of the time if Whitney is as sweet as she comes across on television and I tell people yes, she is really how she appears. There is not one ounce of fake in Whitney. She is the real deal, just like the rest of her family.”

Wallace works with Whitney Miller’s dad, Coach John Miller, at Poplarville High School. 

“Coach Miller is a good man. He would not even hint if Whitney had won or not no matter how many different ways we all tried to ask him,” she said.

“The rest of the family is just the same, they are good people. Even if Whitney did not win, this has been such a great experience for her and for us in the community. We have watched her transform from a shy girl with a quiet demeanor to this young woman with some feist to her! It has been so good for all of us.”

The community showed support of Miller by displaying red ribbons on their businesses and residences and some wore them as well.

Miller began her MasterChef journey months ago when she auditioned for the show in New Orleans where she served celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay her now famous Catfish Tacos. That was the beginning of the ride of a lifetime for the 22- year- old college student.

Miller said that back when she tried out for the show, she could have never imagined being in the position that she is in today.

“This is surreal,” she said.

For now it is off to a busy schedule of appearances that will delay her much anticipated rest, but Miller takes it all in good stride. She seems to have a never ending source of energy and a true appreciation for path that she is on.