Friends and family joined the Miss University of Alabama Scholarship Program on Saturday evening to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the program and crown the 2024-2025 Miss UA. Quite a few former Miss UAs (known as Forever Miss UAs) – including the first ever crowned Miss UA, Cynthia Lee (O’Brien) McCrory – were the honored guests of the evening at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa.
Ruby Tilghman, a Panama City, Florida native, was crowned Miss University of Alabama 2024-2025 by Marissa Luna, Miss UA 2023-2024. Ruby is a junior at UA, majoring in Chemistry and an active member of Alpha Gamma Delta. She is a proud member of the 16th Cohort of the Witt University Fellows Experience and hopes to pursue a career in Pediatric Neurology, with the goal of completing a fellowship in Movement Disorders. Currently, Ruby is an Undergraduate Researcher in the Summers Lab, working to develop high value pharmaceutical intermediates.
Miss Tilghman’s community service initiative is Many Mini Musicians which is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that aims to fund Fine Arts in public schools and create opportunities for students to experience the Arts. Over the last seven years she has had the opportunity to raise over $50,000 for program grants, and over $100,000 through partner organizations.
Drawing from her time with the University Fellows Experience, Ruby has gained an appreciation for the challenges faced by low income communities, and how social determinants of health can be addressed on the systematic level. This led her and a team of other Honors College students to develop College Ready Marion, a college and career readiness curriculum for students in the Blackbelt of Alabama. Ruby had the opportunity to present this initiative over a period of three weeks, while living and working in Marion, Alabama.
“I was honored to be selected as Miss University of Alabama 2025. My experience and education at the University of Alabama has been life changing, and I believe it was the skills and confidence that I gained from my 4 years competing in the Miss America Organization and the opportunities afforded to me by the University of Alabama that have allowed me to build a beautiful life here. I see Miss University of Alabama as an opportunity to give back to two organizations that have given me so much, and in that moment, my dream of doing just that came true,” Tilghman noted on being selected as Miss UA on their 50th Anniversary.
“I see Miss University of Alabama as an opportunity to give back to two organizations that have given me so much . . .”
– Ruby Tilghman, Miss UA 2024-2025
Tilghman shared her excitement for “for the opportunity to participate in student life as Miss University of Alabama and share with fellow students the joy in service that comes from engaging in our community here at The Capstone. I am also very excited to represent our University on the Miss Alabama stage and the 50 years of legacy that the Miss University of Alabama program holds!”
Tilghman is looking forward to representing the University of Alabama and the Miss Alabama Scholarship Program in her year as Miss UA. “One of the reasons I was drawn to the title of Miss University of Alabama is the unique opportunity to represent the university that I love on a state and possibly national stage. I am the product of a strong network of students, staff, and alumni who care deeply about our school and I can’t wait to showcase all of this and more during my year as Miss University of Alabama. I am also looking forward to serving as an ambassador for the Alumni Association and participating in outreach and recruitment events. I am committed to increasing participation in the Miss University of Alabama Scholarship Program by promoting the scholarships, benefits and opportunities available to participants in the Miss University of Alabama Scholarship Program.”
On having the opportunity to promote her community service initiative as Miss UA, Tilghman noted that “As Miss University of Alabama, I hope to promote my Community Service Initiative alongside many of my other ongoing community outreach efforts at UA and in the communities surrounding our University. For me, this looks like continuing my work with Many Mini Musicians, expanding College Ready Marion to a digital format to increase accessibility to college readiness resources for students in the Blackbelt of Alabama, and reinvigorating 57 Miles, an Honors College initiative that aims to give UA students an opportunity to serve in the Blackbelt of Alabama and benefit from its rich culture, history, and community. During my time at UA, I have had life changing opportunities to engage in community outreach and grow in knowledge of the community I now call home. I want nothing more than for every student to have the same opportunity and experience the joy of service.”
Please join the Miss University of Alabama Scholarship Program in welcoming our newest “Forever Miss UA” Ruby Tilghman to the family.
Discover more from Official Blog of Miss University of Alabama Scholarship Program
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