The Brooklynite, a 24-year-old opera singer, earned a master's degree in music composition from UNC School of the Arts and advocated arts programs in schools across the U.S.
Franklin named among the eight contestants to watch for by Cosmopolitan. She donated stem cells to her father while fighting cancer and advocated
This is the first year that the contest, at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, will take place without a swimsuit competition.
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