The first six months of Lauren Bradford's reign as Miss Alabama 2021 has been a self-inflicted whirlwind, she says. But, she says, she would not change a thing.
Bradford is a Gulf Shores native, a 2018 graduate of Gulf Shores High School and a graduate of Auburn University with a degree is finance. On June 21, 2021, she competed as Miss Jefferson County and was crowned Miss Alabama 2021. In December she represented Alabama at the Miss America Competition in Connecticut and was named first runner-up and won $42,500 in scholarships.
Thanks to the many scholarships she has won over the years, Bradford graduated from Auburn University debt free. This summer, she will pursue a master's degree at Vanderbilt University.
She enjoyed some down time over the holiday with her family in Gulf Shores but says she has a list of things she hopes to accomplish before she hands the crown to the next Miss Alabama.

Q: How busy has your year been so far?

"It has been wild! I knew it was going to be busy, but I don't think I was mentally prepared for how busy it was going to be. People think the role of Miss Alabama is you walk onstage, win a crown and then go compete at Miss America and that's it. But it is a lot more. It's about service and in my mind, leaving a tangible impact and legacy on the people around you and the people you meet."

Q: What is the role of Miss Alabama?
"Miss Alabama is my full-time job. I get paid a salary to go speak at schools, churches and events. I have taken a year off school and work as part of the contract to fulfill this job. I have been traveling a lot. So much in fact that I had to put new tires on my car. That was not a fun purchase. It has been really busy doing all the traveling and appearances while preparing to be the best I can be at Miss America."

Q: What is your day-to-day schedule like?
"Leading up to Miss America, I was taking violin lessons all the time. I was playing so many hours each day I was nearing injury and had to go to physical therapy twice a week. I was also physically working out, meal prepping and cooking for myself. On top of preparing and reading the news and having mock interviews I was traveling the state making appearances.

"The year is what you make of it, and I knew that if I ever won Miss Alabama, I wanted to treasure it and really take advantage of every single second. I have personally self-inflicted the busyness but I would not change a thing. It has been a whirlwind."

Q: What have you accomplished in the first six months of your reign as Miss Alabama 2021?
"I had a list of things I wanted to do if I ever won Miss Alabama. One of those was to travel to Washington D.C. and meet with the Alabama delegation and both of our senators on behalf of my social impact initiative which is called Unplugged: The Digital Diet Plan. I have been developing this for the past five years. I had meetings with all our delegation and both senators. I wanted to collaborate with our politicians and hear their ideas on how I can make a broader impact on our state. They gave me some great ideas and connections and I parlayed their support into a partnership with the Alabama State Department of Education.
"I collaborated with an educator at the Carver Magnet School in Dothan, and she helped me create a curriculum consisting of a three-pronged lesson plan for Unplugged: The Digital Diet Plan. It is a unit of three lessons that are all centered around my website which has a lot of findings and the message I want to share about the overuse of technology. It is so important that we teach our students how to use technology because it is going to be a part of their lives. It is here to stay.
"It was a huge dream of mine to have this curriculum made because I have been speaking this into existence for the past five years. I wanted to make something that showcases to students that it is not normal to be looking at a screen every second of every single day until you go to bed. That is normalized and I wanted to have a message that it's not normal and not healthy for us. That is something I worked hard on. The lessons are now available on the Alabama Learning Exchange which is the primary way that educators receive new curriculum, lesson plans and ideas."

Q: Why did you want to be Miss Alabama?
"The scholarships and professional development. This is how I finished college debt free and pursue a master's degree. It has been fun to spread that message in the local community, showcase what Miss Alabama is all about and break down the stereotypes because they are so prevalent and tangible."

Q: How much have you won in total?
"I did the math recently including Miss America stuff. I have been awarded in-kind and cash scholarships collectively $388,050. That is including in-kind scholarships I won for Miss Alabama to go to University of Mobile, University of Montevallo and University of South Alabama. They awarded tuition."

Q: Are scholarships available at all levels?

"Yes. I won a total of over $2,000 from my local title. It's not just at Miss Alabama, it's also at the local level that you can compete and win scholarship money.
"At the heart of this organization it is a professional development tool for young women to obtain their professional dreams. So many women I know have been able to say they have graduated debt free because of this and I think that is such a beautiful statement. College is so expensive and to be burdened with debt is a huge thing in our culture and so common. To be able to release young women from the shackles of that is such a beautiful thing and to know the Miss America Organization that is its integral goal is something that I love to share about."

Q: What are your goals for the next six months?
"Rolling out the curriculum for Unplugged: The Digital Diet. Making sure that students are aware of it and that teachers and educators can get the curriculum rolled out to the students.
"I would also like to bring more sponsorships to the Miss Alabama Organization. We run on sponsorships because it is a nonprofit organization, and all money really goes to making the operations for the whole program work and make sure women get scholarships. Everyone who works with the Miss Alabama Organization, aside from the booking manager, is unpaid. It is all volunteerism.

"Bringing on sponsorships and making sure we have the funds necessary to catapult us into the next 100 years because I believe in the power of this organization. We need to make sure we are continuing to bring in those sponsorships because that is going to set us up for success for the next 100 years."

Q: How do you plan to bring in those sponsorships?
"I do a lot of outreach on my own and making sure I am networking with people and putting myself in positions where I can have phone calls. As someone who is going into finance, I really do appreciate the power of corporate sponsors. I want to get them on board by letting them know this is a professional development tool. This is a group of young women they can hire one day. They are vital for the workforce and can be huge contributors to their companies. Pitching it in that sense really changes the prospective because I think a lot of people have a prospective that is a little bit skewed. Miss America is a professional development organization and I want to pitch it that way."

Q: Is there anything you are looking forward to doing or anyone you are looking forward to meeting before the end of your reign as Miss Alabama 2021?
"When I was a senior in high school, on Thanksgiving, I left Morgan Freeman a pie on his doorstep with a note and my address. I drove by the next day and the pie was gone. He had taken it inside. On Christmas Eve my doorbell rang. I opened the door and no one was there but there was a jar with a huge bow on top and a card.
"I haven't met him yet. We have exchanged gifts. I know he is around. I have been saying this and speaking it into existence for so long, but I have not met him yet and I really want to meet him. I have reached out to his publisher and a couple of other people and I haven't heard anything. I know he is a busy guy. As Miss Alabama, I would love to meet him before my year is up."

Q: What message do you want to share as Miss Alabama?
"A message I want to share as Miss Alabama that I have said from the beginning is don't ever be afraid of your own ambition. Our culture really lacks that these days especially among my generation. People like to bring down those who are going after their goals. I want to make sure that is something others see as valuable not as something that holds you back. Don't ever be afraid of your own ambition and the value you have within you because that is a beautiful thing. No one ever makes a difference by being like everyone else."