Before winning Miss Alabama USA Jan. 28, Katherine Webb was busy with her job as training director at Chick-fil-A in Columbus, Ga., and working as a model.
Now her schedule is packed with preparing for the Miss USA pageant, as well as making appearances across the state and her hometown.
"That's what I'm really excited about--going and being out in public and meeting everyone and just really being an advocate for Alabama," said Webb, who graduated last May in business administration.
Webb said if she wins Miss USA, reaching out to young women across Alabama will be her priority.
"That's something that's very important to me because I grew up being tall and lanky and feeling awkward because I was always the tallest girl in my class," Webb said, "... so I grew up with a lot of self-confidence and image issues."
She said she wants to speak with young girls because she feels girls today are always tearing each other down as a result of a lack of self-confidence.
"That's something that's very dear to my heart," Webb said, "and I know that I can definitely be helpful to them as well."
Among her activities at Auburn, Webb was involved with the Women's Philanthropy Board, which she said helped her prepare for the Miss Alabama USA pageant.
"Women's Philanthropy Board is all about really just encouraging women to give back, and also it really encourages to really develop yourself into strong, confident women and go for your goals," Webb said. "So definitely that was something that contributed to me going for my dreams and my goals."
Sidney James, WPB director, knew Webb during her time at Auburn.
"She serves as an ideal role model for women of all ages and men of all ages as someone who's dedicated to her values to be supportive to others and to be responsible and to leave a lasting legacy through her work to benefit others," James said.
To prepare for the pageant, Webb not only had to make sure she was physically fit, but said she also had to prepare mentally.
"I had to kind of mentally envision myself being a Miss Alabama, being a Miss USA," Webb said, "and really envision myself being on the stage and how I would act and how I would walk and how I would just really present myself."
Webb said her favorite part of the pageant for which to prepare was her weakest area: the interview.
"I'm all about always improving myself." Webb said. "So practicing interviews and getting pretty good at that--that was self-rewarding because that was something I accomplished and I knew that, 'OK, I can do this now.'"
Webb's mom, Leslie Webb, said she always thought her daughter would compete in pageants.
"Ever since Katherine's been a little girl ... she always loved to dress up and wear high heels and wear really pretty dresses and fix her hair," Webb said. "We would always call her Miss America, and so it's just fun to see that she actually did Miss USA."
Katherine Webb said the moments leading up to the announcement were surreal.
"When you're standing on stage and you're in the top five, the only thing you don't want to happen is for them to call your name," Webb said. "So it was just me and another girl standing there, and I was totally convinced there's no way (I'll win) because she was gorgeous--she's just the whole package--and I knew I was, too, but at the same time I was like, 'I want her to win, but I want to win, too.'"
Webb said she was shocked when her name was called.
"I just never in my wildest dreams ever thought it would actually come true."
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