Taking the Blazer Spirit to Miss AL

Photo by Cade Pair/ Staff Photographer

Tiffany Millan is Miss UAB 2020

Emma Owen Blazer News Editor [email protected]

Another Blazer is Miss Alabama bound after the Miss UAB 2020 Scholarship Competition. In this official preliminary to Miss Alabama, seven candidates vied for the title, with Tiffany Millan, sophomore in business marketing, being crowned Miss UAB along with being awarded the highest talent score and thousands of dollars in scholarship.

Millan said the Miss UAB Competition was a wonderful experience for her. 

“I got to be with such an amazing group of girls, and I made so many new friends,” Millan said. “I was really intimidated at first, because a lot of them had done pageants before and I haven’t done a pageant since I was in the fourth grade. Everyone was super encouraging and supportive. I am on cloud nine and I still can’t believe I won.”

One component of the Miss Alabama Organization is the Social Impact Initiative, a branch of community service each candidate advocates for. Millan said her Social Impact Initiative is about the importance of voting. 

“[I make] sure that people know the importance of their voice and the value of their opinions,” Millan said. “I really want to encourage everyone at UAB to be registered to vote and to go vote in the upcoming elections. We can really make a difference by voting.”

Millan said throughout her year of service to the UAB community, she has an important message to send to students.

“I want to encourage people to know that their voices [can] be heard and that they shouldn’t be scared to share their opinions,” Millan said. “There’s a lot of negative stigma around politics and I want people to be able to talk about politics. We need to normalize it so people aren’t scared to share their opinions and I think it’s so important that people know that.”

Millan said there are many qualities that have made her enjoy her time at UAB.

“[What] makes UAB stand out the most is that [it] has been the number one young university for the past two years and the diversity in the school is so amazing,” Millan said. “UAB does a great job at bringing in [students] from all walks of life.”

Being originally from Long Beach, California, Millan said when her family moved to Alabama, she found a passion for playing the Saxophone. Millan’s award-winning talent performance at Miss UAB was an energetic saxophone performance.

“I chose “Ain’t it Fun” by Paramore to play because I wanted to play a song that was upbeat and could get the crowd moving,” Millan said, “I am excited to perform my talent [at Miss Alabama] and let everyone know how much I love playing saxophone”

When Millan is off the stage and not in the classroom, she said she enjoys serving as a Business Peer Mentor in UAB’s Collat School of Business.

 “I have been a Business Peer Mentor for the past year, and it has been awesome,” Millan said. “I enjoy it because when I was a freshman, I signed up for a Business Peer Mentor that way someone could show me around that really knew what they were doing. I wanted to do that for somebody else, so I have [a] little that I get to mentor and they’re so awesome. You [get] to meet so many new people [and] make them really feel good about coming to UAB.” 

Millan said she looks forward to her year of service to the university as Miss UAB.

“I am super excited to represent UAB at Miss Alabama and throughout the year,” Millan said.

Miss Alabama Competition Week:
Miss Alabama Week is the first week in June. During this week, candidates visit with the patients at Children’s Hospital and rehearse for production numbers and competition. Wednesday begins preliminary competition and Saturday is the finale night.

Phases of Competition at Miss Alabama:
Interview, onstage question, talent and evening wear/ social impact initiative statement.

How do I compete in Miss Alabama?
To compete in Miss Alabama, one must compete in and win a local preliminary competition. he competition schedule can be found on missalabama.com