Sumedha Bobba and Banks Stamp are the winners of the 2022 Mr. and Ms. UAB scholarship.
The Mr. and Ms. UAB scholarship program is sponsored by the UAB National Alumni Society and has been a tradition at the university since 1981.
Bobba is a sophomore majoring in neuroscience on the pre-med track and is working toward an accelerated master’s in business administration. She is also involved in UAB’s Trailblazers and undergraduate research.
Stamp is a junior majoring in political science and is pursuing an accelerated master’s degree in public administration. He is president of Sustain at UAB and College Democrats at UAB and is a health policy ambassador for the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy.
Stamp was inspired to apply for the scholarship by the impact the title has on the UAB community.
“For Mr. UAB, what we have here is different from other universities, where it’s just a homecoming thing, popular vote and Greek life gets involved,” Stamp said. “With UAB, they’ve really taken the titles and made them more about service and volunteer[ing]and leadership-oriented activities. I wanted to take my thoughts and my values for the university and apply it.”
Bobba said she was inspired by her upperclassmen friends to apply for this position.
“I saw the role models they were for me and the leadership skills that they developed through different organizations, and especially though this process, and I wanted to be able to do that for the next generation of UAB students,” Bobba said.
At the Homecoming game, both Stamp and Bobba said they were overwhelmed and nervous about the outcome.
“My nerves were through my whole body,” Stamp said. “I didn’t even really hear my name. I just walked. I was on autopilot; it didn’t hit me until I stepped off the field.”
Bobba had a lot of friends and family visiting. She said she was just ready to go see them.
“One of my best friends is Alex Hayes, who ended up being the first alternate for Mr. UAB, and he was announced right before I was, and I was just so pumped from that that I didn’t even hear my name being called right after that,” said Bobba.
The 2022 Mr. And Ms. UAB are highly active on campus. Bobba said her favorite thing about UAB is the various theme days put on by the Commons on the Green.
“I remember, last year, they had different theme days every Tuesday, so I would make my friends go with me in between classes, and it was always super fun.”
On campus, Stamp enjoys the Diwali events that UAB puts on every year. He is a supporter of any event put on by student organizations. Off campus, Stamp enjoys watching movies, exploring the city, hanging out with different groups of people and watching anime.
In her free time, Bobba plays tennis and likes to bring her friends out to the court and teach them to play with her. She also bakes, having learned the skill while working at Crumbl bakery last summer.
Bobba and Stamp both have a love for the city of Birmingham and what it offers. Bobba is particularly fond of the coffee scene.
“I came into college never drinking coffee. I was never a huge coffee fan; I didn’t think I needed caffeine to keep me going. Then, turns out, I did,” Bobba said. “Sometimes, during the COVID year, I would go to different coffee shops and do my classes from there with my friends since it was on Zoom, so it didn’t matter if I did it in my residence hall or in a coffee shop.”
Stamp said that, beyond his love of the variety of restaurants Birmingham has to offer, he loves the diverse nature of the city.
“Birmingham is very diverse with the experiences and atmosphere you’re introduced to,” Stamp said. “Birmingham, compared to the rest of the state, is very engaging in all types of activities. So, whether loving rock climbing, or going to the movies, or shopping, or — like me — wanting to try all of these restaurants, there’s a little bit [of] everything for everybody.”
As the new Mr. And Ms. UAB, Bobba and Stamp look forward to connecting with faculty and staff, and they are excited to take on their new roles.
