Junior Emma Terry is the new Miss University of Alabama at Birmingham 2023.
Thirteen students competed for the title at the Miss UAB Scholarship Competition on Nov. 12, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. The competition, presented by Student Involvement and Leadership, is an official preliminary to the Miss Alabama and Miss America competitions.
Terry, the daughter of Amy Terry and Brian Terry of Leeds, Alabama, also won the Social Change, Talent and Spirit awards, earning a total of $3,300 in scholarships. She is an accounting major in the Collat School of Business and is in the UAB Honors College Personalized Path.
Sophomore Phaedra Manuel of Hoover, Alabama, was named first runner-up and Miss Congeniality, winning $1,100 in scholarships. Manuel is in the Honors College Personalized Path and majors in bioinformatics, an interdisciplinary major between the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Sciences.
Junior Sophia Porrill of Gardendale, Alabama, was named second runner-up, winning an $800 scholarship. Porrill is a kinesiology major in the School of Education and is in the Honors College Personalized Path.
Senior Emily Morring of Blountsville, Alabama, was named third runner-up, winning a $500 scholarship. Morring is a biology major and chemistry minor in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Junior Jeanie Cabaniss of Pelham, Alabama, was named fourth runner-up, winning a $500 scholarship. She is a kinesiology major.
Sophomore Priscilla Moyana of Leeds, Alabama, won the Civic Engagement Award and a $200 scholarship. Moyana is a mathematics major with minors in computer science and chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, and is in the Honors College Personalized Path.
Sophomore Jada Allen of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, won the Servant’s Heart Award and a $100 scholarship. Allen is an accounting major and is in the Honors College Personalized Path.
Sponsored scholarships include the Social Change Award sponsored by Lindsey Elmore, Pharm.D., Miss UAB 2004; the Talent Award sponsored by Kelly Belcher, Miss UAB 2000; the Civic Engagement Award sponsored by Serve205; and the Spirit Award sponsored by Blazer Spirit Council. The inaugural Servant’s Heart Award was created to allow competition guests to donate to worthy causes. This year, attendees could donate menstrual pads for Blazer Kitchen as they arrived for the competition. The candidate with the most donations won the award. More than 6,090 menstrual pads were collected for Blazer Kitchen.
Miss UAB 2023 will receive a gift certificate from Southern Exposure Photography, a year of free workout classes from True40 Fitness Studio, a year of free haircuts from Morgan Ashley Salon, a gift bag from the UAB Bookstore and a gift certificate for a free spray tan from Glow by Gabby. Glow by Gabby also offered discounted spray tans to all candidates. Little Brown Photography sponsored the candidate headshots and photography for the competition.