Gulf Shores High grad Lauren Bradford is first runner-up Miss America

Gulf Shores High grad Lauren Bradford is first runner-up Miss America

Gulf Shores High school grad Lauren Bradford, representing her home state, was named first runner-up in the Miss America competition earlier this month at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, earning $42,500 in scholarships. Ms. Alaska, Emma Broyles, was crowned Miss America 2022.
“It has been an absolute honor to represent the great state of Alabama over these past few weeks,’’ she said. “Thank you to every person who ever made me feel like Miss America and has built me up throughout this process. If God lays a dream on your heart, pursue it with courage and enthusiasm – even if no one around you understands. God can use you in mighty ways when you are bold enough to trust Him.’’
A resident of Gulf Shores since she was six months old, Bradford was crowned Miss Alabama on June 12 at the historic Alabama Theater in Birmingham. Competing as Miss Jefferson County, the 2018 Gulf Shores High School grad topped 38 other talented contestants to win the Miss Alabama title and the responsibilities that come with it.
Her Miss Alabama social impact initiative is UNPLUG: The Digital Diet Plan, which she created when she was 15 to encourage and educate others about the overuse of technology and what it does to our relationships and mental health.
“Your value does not coincide with the number of likes you get or coincide with the number of online friends that you have. It is within you as a person and that is the message I want to spread as Miss America – To never be afraid of your value,’’ she said during the interview portion of the contest.
For her talent, she played the violin, which she’s done since age 6. At Miss Alabama, she played “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie “Titanic. At Miss America, she played a punk-rock version of a classical song on the electric violin. And despite early technical difficulties, she nailed the song.
Bradford will spend the next year traveling the state making appearances, speaking, visiting schools and sharing her social impact initiative.
Bradford was named Miss Alabama Outstanding Teen while at GSHS in 2017. She won Miss Auburn in 2019 and Miss Jefferson County in 2020. She earned more than $128,500 in scholarships which she used during her distinguished academic career at Auburn. She is currently earning a masters in finance at Vanderbilt.
Bradford will spend the next six months traveling the state making appearances, speaking, visiting schools and sharing her social impact initiative.
“Unplugged: The Digital Diet Plan is about educating people, no matter the age or generation you are from, about the harmful effects of the overuse of technology and how we can integrate technology into our lifestyle in a healthy and balanced way. Ultimately, technology is a tool that we should be using for our good and technology should not be controlling us,” Bradford said.