Miss Georgia Sophia Wootten, born with a cleft and craniofacial differences, underwent 20 surgeries over 20 years and will compete on the Miss America stage on Sept. 6
Through musical theater and singing, the pageant queen found her voice; now she advocates for cleft care as Miss Georgia
If she wins the ****** le this weekend, Wootten hopes to inspire others at Miss America by sharing her story and championing representation
When Sophia Wootten was two years old, her parents were told that she might never speak clearly.

Wootten was born cleft-affected and with other craniofacial differences and started undergoing surgeries to correct those differences at just four months old. "[My parents were told] I might as well be put in a school for the deaf because that is where I would belong the best at that point," she tells PEOPLE.

At a young age, Wootten started speech therapy. Admittedly, she recalls being a "little bored" with the process. So her parents put her in voice lessons instead.
"Through it all, I fell in love with musical theater. I learned how to tell stories, but not necessarily my own," she says.

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