In front of a wall of streaming colored tinsel, with the song “Mamma Mia” playing in the background, Miss Samford began in a truly pageant fashion Saturday night, Oct. 27th. Prior to the competition beginning, the opening invocation included a prayer over the contestants and the singing of the national Anthem by Melinda Toole- who was Miss Samford and Miss Alabama 2006. It embodied in many ways what I have perceived pageants to be; patriotic and oddly faith oriented.
Minutes later, each competitor stood in semi-formal gowns in two lines, alternating between girl’s quickly saying their major/ educational background and throwing in a scholar program, followed by the loud pronunciation “I AM…[their name].”
As they walked away, they looked over their shoulders with a bright smile, eyes locked with the judges in what an outsider to the pageant world may describe as uncomfortably prolonged eye contact. This was followed by an opening speech by President Taylor who described the excitement of having this pageant back on campus and how it was “empowering women to lead.”
Despite my initial cynicism, these opening steps Samford took to try and reflect the Lord in a world that is otherwise seen as superficial began the competition in a tone that resonated with the values of Samford.
From here, the competition truly commenced. 30% of candidates scores were from private interviews with the judges earlier in the day, and to reflect that to the audience, 10% of contestants scores came from a singular unique onstage question that related to the community service initiative they had privately spoken to judges about.
Young women described their experiences with bullying, family loss, health issues or their heart for serving youth with what could, for the majority of them, be described as real passion.
Despite some additional uncomfortable smiles with a look over the shoulder and strut across the stage (which was definitely a key part of the pageant), these women’s dedication to philanthropy and helping others stood out.
Following this portion of the competition was the “fitness section” which accounted for 20% of the contestants scores. Each woman was dressed in a red athletic assemble of her choosing and it was quickly apparent that the display was less about the girl’s fitness and more about her stage presence. While some girls struck poses, bounced across the stage with large strides, and fast paced rhyme, others walked slowly and meagerly with a little hand on the hip moment at the end.
While one could argue about the objectification of women’s bodies in this portion, Samford did a great job of highlighting this section as being about physical fitness to honor the temple (the body) the Lord had given these women, rather than it being about appearance.
This was followed by the talent section, which accounted for 20% of the contestant’s overall score. It was opened by contestant number one, Shannon Boutwell, with an impressive Celtic violin performance where she commanded the stage. Following her were spoken words, many talented dancers, singers, speed painting and even an acrobat.
What became apparent was that the women participating in this competition were more than just generous in heart and well spoken, but overall were incredibly multifaceted and talented. The layers of the competition went beyond mere visual appearance but extended into their very essence. More so than competitors, they were modern day renaissance women.
The final section of the competition before crowning was the evening gown section. It is exactly what it sounds like. A whopping 20% of contestants score was simply based on wearing a beautiful gown and walking across the stage with perfect posture and at an incredibly slow pace.
While strange in practice, similar to the fitness section, the women that stood out were not those with the best dress but the women that commanded the stage in confidence. As it concluded, the final contestant, contestant #21, Jayla Duncan was met by the entire audience’s applause and cheers as she crossed the stage in a beautiful white dress.
Duncan, who speaks across the country on bullying, has started the Be the Spark Foundation, and demonstrated her incredible tap-dancing skills across the stage, was the clear audience favorite of Miss Samford by its conclusion. It was no surprise then that, after the contestants closing synchronized dance and subsequent award display and crowing, she was announced Miss Samford 2025.
With this title comes a well-deserved $15,000 scholarship, alongside an additional $5,000 in scholarships that goes to the first and second runner up, the non-finalist interview winner, and the non-finalist talent winner. The Miss Samford competition is much more than a beauty pageant. It is a display of the skills, passions, and heart of the women of Samford University.
Staff Writer
