"Miss Auburn is the official hostess of Auburn University," according to the SGA website. "She is a woman that embodies the spirit of Auburn and what it means to be an Auburn woman. Miss Auburn is a female ambassador, representing the university internally to the student body and also externally to the outside community, alumni, and prospective students. She is elected by the student body on a platform, a cause that will motivate and engage the university."
Jennifer Ashman
After Jennifer Ashman found herself in a remote Honduran village at 15 years old on her first international mission trip, she realized serving others meant stepping out of her comfort zone.
From there, Ashman said she developed a passion for mission work, serving in her community in Atlanta and traveling abroad twice more, returning with a new perspective each time.
It was those experiences that inspired her platform.
“My biggest goal when I came to Auburn was to make an impact,” Ashman said. “And whether it was going to be on one person or 100 people, like I said, that was my goal just because I feel like we’re all called to serve in a different capacity.”
“Going Beyond Borders” headlines Ashman’s platform, which focuses on serving anyone from Auburn residents to people overseas.
“I think being able to serve gives you a different perspective on things,” Ashman said. “Whether it’s serving at a soup kitchen or going abroad, those are two very different things. But you can get very similar things out of them.”
The platform aims to raise scholarships funds through Alternative Student Breaks for students who want to serve but lack the financial means, according to Ashman.
Ashman said she wanted to share her passion for serving with students by providing them with opportunities such as hers.
Ashman, junior in health care administration, was nominated for Miss Auburn through Pi Kappa Phi’s nomination and landed a spot in the top five on Nov. 17, 2015, after a round of interviews with the top 20 candidates.
“I’m just so so excited to get to be able to pour into the students of Auburn and get to hear the experiences that they’ve had and just have those stories shared with me and people who are my supporters,” Ashman said.
Outside of class, Ashman devotes her time to War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen and Alpha Xi Delta.
When she returns home to Atlanta, she loses the Southern accent she’s picked up in Auburn and adopts the British accents her English parents carry.
“I remember the first time I made sweet tea at home, my dad was like, ‘Your grandparents are turning over in their grave,’” Ashman said.
But without her parents’ move to the U.S. 25 years ago, Ashman said she might not have attended Auburn.
“They love it, and I’m extremely fortunate for it because I wouldn’t have opportunities like this that I could’ve never dreamt of in a million years,” Ashman said.
Now, as she reflects back on the Creed that inspired her enrollment at Auburn, George Petrie’s statement, “I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all,” has taken on a new sense of purpose for her.
“I believe George Petrie wrote these words to speak to a higher sense of purpose,” Ashman wrote in her platform sheet. “I believe his vision called upon students and alumni to come together to show others outside of Auburn what these values mean.”
Reporting by Kris Martins / Copy Editor
Madison Gaines
Madison Gaines, junior in human development and family studies, received her Miss Auburn nomination from Auburn Singers and now promotes her platform “Auburn Gaines Perspective," which strives to create deeper relationships with international students.
Gaines said she wants to make the Auburn Family the University promotes a reality by unifying every student and making inclusion a priority on campus.
Gaines lived in China and is working on a minor in Asian studies. She said her time overseas greatly inspired her platform.
“When choosing a platform for Miss Auburn, I wanted something tangible that could make a difference right here on Auburn’s campus,” Gaines said. “Living in China for five years inspired my platform of reaching out to international students: ‘Auburn Gaines Perspective.’”
Gaines said her platform deals largely with the idea of unity throughout Auburn’s campus by encouraging students of various cultural backgrounds to reach out and learn from one another.
“I will strive to inspire students here at Auburn from all cultures to be unified through various on campus programs,” Gaines said. “My greatest wish is to truly embrace our tradition of an Auburn family and to gain a cultural perspective.”
According to Gaines, being Miss Auburn is not only a great way to spread her message about campus-wide unity, but also call students to action.
“I want to be Miss Auburn because I was so deeply impacted by being immersed in another culture that I want to spread that joy that I experienced to everyone I come into contact with,” Gaines said.
Gaines said living in China made her realize what life was like as a minority and how meaningful it is to have people reach out.
According to Gaines, her time abroad also taught her about the uncertainty of feeling different and, on the flip side, how great it feels to be embraced by people from other cultures.
“I know what it feels like to be a minority and be frightened, and I also know how great it feels when someone reaches out to you and embraces your differences,” Gaines said. “I want the international students here on Auburn's campus to feel that they are welcomed.”
Gaines said so far her experiences at Auburn have been positive, and that’s why she wants to make sure every Auburn student can say the same about their time on The Plains.
“My experience at Auburn has been beautiful and unforgettable,” Gaines said. “Auburn is a place where I have made lifelong friends, where I have taken classes that fascinate me and prepare me for what lies ahead, where I have felt accepted into a new family, where I wake up every morning knowing that I'm where I'm meant to be.”
Gaines also said she takes pride is calling Auburn her home.
“It's a place where I'm proud to be and proud to be a part of,” Gaines said.
Reporting by Claire Tully / Campus Writer
Eva Mavrakos
Eva Mavrakos, junior in marketing and recruiting from Sharpens Spring, Florida, was nominated by Eagle Eye for Miss Auburn and wants to use her platform to help students learn how to wisely manage money.
“I want to open up a financial advising office,” Mavrakos said. “A place for students to file taxes and learn the time value of money.”
Mavrakos said she learned the time value of money from her father who is a financial planner, and he is who inspired her platform.
“My father has taught my sister and I from a young age to plan to save,” Mavrakos said. “It’s something I’m passionate about."
Mavrakos said after her ordeal with identity theft, she would especially hate for that to happen to a student who doesn’t have a father who's a financial planner.
“I want to open maybe a financial advising center where students feel safe to talk about finances,” Mavrakos said. “I want students to have a place to go while in college to figure it all out.”
Mavrakos believes learning how to make wise investments while young is beneficial to students of every major.
“I want to increase financial awareness, teach students the difference between a subsidized and unsubsidized loan,” Mavrakos said.
Mavrakos’ campaign slogan “Invest with Eva” is first and foremost about making sure students understand the importance of investments.
“We are able to give more back if we make it and invest it while we’re young,” Mavrakos said.
Miss Auburn is a position Mavrakos feels confident in because of her experience with Auburn University.
“I would feel comfortable being able to answer questions any alumni has,” Mavrakos said. “The point of Miss Auburn is not only external relations but also prospective students, and I’ve worked in a lot of different aspects.”
Along with her job as marketing director for Eagle Eye, Mavrakos has also worked as a student recruiter, a teaching assistant for Business 1010, the HBO campus agent and is currently a resident assistant for South Donahue dorms.
“I think I’m a good representation of what an Auburn woman embodies,” Mavrakos said. “I love experimental learning and getting to know every type of cultural backgrounds we have at Auburn University.”
Mavrakos said she truly loves her school.
“I honestly didn’t even know what Auburn was until I came here for a tour,” Mavrakos said. “It was kind of a love-at-first-sight situation. When I stood on the seal at Langdon Hall, I knew this was the place God wanted me to be.”
Mavrakos said she wants to use this passion for Auburn University and finances to help her peers in an issue she is passionate about.
“Finances impact every single one of us,” Mavrakos said. “They are influential in everyone’s life.”
Reporting by Andria Moore / Campus Reporter
Madison Rolling
Madison Rolling, junior in industrial systems engineering, hopes her Miss Auburn campaign will help grow an organization she launched in high school: Clothing for Confidence.
Clothing for Confidence is inspired by a lesson instilled by her mother.
"My mama always got me a new outfit for the first day of school," Rolling, junior in industrial systems engineering, said. "She thought if I felt good in what I wore, I'd be more likely to go outside my comfort zone or make new friends."
Rolling was a Fellowship of Christian Athletes member at Bob Jones High School in Madison. Through the organization, she met impoverished families who struggled to buy their children simple things, like clothes for their first day of school.
So, three years ago, she decided to do something about it.
Rolling, with some friends' help, created Clothing for Confidence during the summer after her high school graduation. They collected more than 1,000 new and barely used clothing items during their 2013 drive. These items were sold to families throughout Madison for $1 per article of clothing. The profits were used to purchase more clothes for children in need and to expand the organization.
Clothing for Confidence helped 50 families its first summer. Since then, the organization has aided families all over North Alabama.
Rolling's friends are considering starting a branch at the University of North Alabama and people have contacted her about opening one in Birmingham.
"It's been really cool to see how it grows," Rolling said.
Her goal since freshman year, Rolling said, has been to bring the organization to Auburn.
Rolling and her campaign staff will be on the Haley Center Concourse with drop boxes throughout campaign week so students can donate their new or barely used clothing.
Win or lose, Rolling said she wants this week to help people.
"It's cheesy, but I'm trusting the Lord to see where it's supposed to go," Rolling said.
Reporting by Corey Williams / Campus Editor
Meredith Thomley
Meredith Thomley, junior in biomedical sciences and medicine, was nominated by the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society for Miss Auburn and is bringing Auburn students together to strive for better health and wellness services on campus by working with administration.
As she promotes “Have Mercy with Meredith,” Thomley said her major has been a big part in learning about compassion.
“Extending mercy means responding to the needs of others with unwarranted compassion,” Thomley said. “As a biomedical sciences major, this act of service in relation to the medical field is quite dear to my heart.”
Thomley said she learned about the struggles other people face in the medical field when she served at Mercy Medical Clinic, where volunteer physicians treat patients.
“Mercy Medical serves as a refuge for those with nowhere to go for medical help, and I have seen firsthand the sadness of sickness in the eyes of those who go without aid,” Thomley said. “Unfortunately, many Auburn students are in this same place.”
The “Have Mercy with Meredith” platform encourages students to come together and work with administration to make more medical services available at Auburn, according to Thomley.
“The demand for both physical and mental healthcare is vast and urgent, so I aim to apply Mercy’s principle of compassion to Auburn,” Thomley said. “This platform urges students to stand by their peers and work hand-in-hand with Auburn administrators to hire new counselors and doctors for the Auburn University Medical Clinic.”
Thomley said she has grown a lot in her time at Auburn and would like for future generations of her family to attend as well.
“My experience at Auburn has been one of positive personal growth, not only in my academia and education, but also in my heart and character,” Thomley said. “I have been blessed beyond belief to go to Auburn and look forward to my future kids continuing the family tradition and experiencing the loveliest village on The Plains.”
Being a third generation Auburn student gives the school a homey feel, according to Thomley.
“It becomes more evident to me every day how incredibly fortunate we are to attend a university as phenomenal as Auburn,” Thomley said. “I truly take pride in being a third generation Auburn student and calling this place home.”
Thomley said winning Miss Auburn would be a humbling leadership experience.
“Miss Auburn epitomizes not only the utmost poise and grace, but also unparalleled leadership and service,” Thomley said. “If elected as Miss Auburn, I would be humbled to truly serve Auburn University in the greatest capacity.”
Thomley said she knows Miss Auburn is a big responsibility that allows the winner to give back to the community.
“As the official hostess of Auburn, Miss Auburn is both an honor and a privilege, of which I do not take lightly,” Thomley said. “I can think of no better way to give back to the campus and community that I so dearly cherish than to serve as Miss Auburn and execute my platform.”
Reporting by Claire Tully / Campus Writer
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