PEMBROKE — Before she ever stepped on a pageant stage, before the crown and the public appearances, Taylor Davis was a UNC Pembroke student searching for direction.

She first arrived at UNCP in 2017 unsure of her path but certain of one thing: she wanted to be near her people.

“The N.C. Promise tuition caught my eye,” she said, “but being close to my family and tribe is why I chose Pembroke.”

Back then, she never imagined she would one day wear the Miss Lumbee crown, attend a U.S. Senate hearing or become a cultural ambassador for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. She certainly never imagined she would do it all while navigating a speech disability.

Yet now, during Native American Heritage Month, Davis is doing exactly that by speaking out boldly about her culture and reminding other

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