In a recent address at the “LeadSamford” training conference, President Beck Taylor said, “In (his) experience, about 5% of the people in any organization do about 95% of the work needed to allow the organization to thrive,” — nothing could be truer of Miss Samford 2025, Jayla Duncan.
Duncan, a junior studying journalism and mass communications, sports an impressive resume. She is a Samford cheerleader, on the Student Government Multicultural Affairs Committee, on the executive council for Alpha Kappa Alpha, NPHC executive counsel, Amnesty International Vice President, the Black Student Union Vice President and founder of the nonprofit organization Be the Spark. She is a woman who truly does it all, and it makes her journey to being Miss Samford all the more impressive.
Duncan, who started competing in pageants at the age of 7, is not new to the pageant world.
“When I first started out, I didn’t win at all, and I used to cry every pageant. But my dad told me if I cried I couldn’t do them anymore, so I stopped crying and eventually I started to win. When I turned 12, I was eligible to compete in the Miss America organization,” Duncan said.
Duncan went on in high school to compete in Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen for four years and earned $19,000 in scholarship money, making it possible for her to attend Samford University.
However, Duncan’s road to Samford was not easy by any means; she faced severe bullying in elementary school and middle school.
While things eventually got better when her parents got involved, it took Duncan years of therapy to fully recover. It was this that launched her journey in the nonprofit world, starting the anti-bullying campaign “Jayla’s Justice,” which later transformed into the Be the Spark Foundation. The foundation raises money for anti-bullying materials in schools, and Duncan personally goes across the country to schools to speak out against it.
In many ways, the pageant world can be thanked for Duncan’s journey. When she won Miss Coosa Valley 2018, she was given a “Miss” mentor from the older pageant divisions. Chandler Mordecai proved to be a valuable mentor, having started the non-profit Victory Over Domestic Violence and encouraging Duncan on her journey.
“Seeing her talk about (domestic violence) and encourage other people made me feel like I could be confident in my struggles and have victory over those issues. She quickly became one of those people I just strive to be like,” Duncan said.
Mordecai sat in the audience Saturday night cheering Duncan on.
“I didn’t really know what to expect. With Miss Hamilton it was people from the Miss Alabama organization I was used to competing against whereas Miss Samford only one other girl had competed in Miss Alabama. I didn’t know what to expect because Samford has such a unique pull of women that are so extremely talented and articulate,” said Duncan.
Even in the moment, Duncan had no idea how she was doing in the competition.
“Since I was the last one (in the lineup) I never saw anyone else compete,” she said.
When she got to the stage for the reveal of the contestant’s placement, she was unsure what would happen.
“When they called my name for the top five I didn’t even care if I won, I was just so happy to have made the top five and to have made scholarship money. When they called her (the second runner up’s) name I just could not believe it.”
As Duncan gears up for Miss Alabama in the spring, she is excited to represent Samford University to the best of her ability.
“I have nothing to lose and everything to share. God gave me these gifts for a reason to be able to help people and share my initiative and be given a platform,” Duncan said.
Staff Writer
