Five senior students compete in the Student Government Association's 2024 Miss Homecoming competition. Voting is on Sept. 13, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the winner announced at the Auburn vs. New Mexico home football game.
Lily Grace Thome
Thome, senior in public relations with a double minor in marketing and leadership, is nominated by her sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta. Thome currently serves as president of her sorority and also serves as the co-chair of the outreach committee for the Women’s Leadership Institute. Since sophomore year, Thome has worked as a student recruiter for the College of Liberal Arts.
Thome’s campaign is “Run Your Race with Lily Grace.” and is meant to highlight student organizations, resources for students and the practical steps to getting involved.
“Whether you started it because your grandpa came here and he was an Auburn football player and that was your dream growing up, or maybe you just decided to come here and your first time stepping on campus was move-in day with your parents, it’s realizing that we're here for a reason and how short and special our time is.”
Thome's biggest challenge at Auburn occurred during Hey Day on October 12, 2022.
“It was gonna be an awesome day. Everything was perfectly in place. It all had all lined up. until the weather forecast came out. […] I got called out of class into the student involvement office with some of the student affairs higher-ups and said we need to decide if we're gonna cancel Hey Day, and in that moment I watched myself including my team that was so strong and worked so good start to crumble." Thome said.
Thome worried about losing the vendors and those scheduled to perform for the pep rally. Thome also had around 250 volunteers she worried wouldn’t be able to make it to a rescheduled day.
“I think it really made me a stronger leader in that moment because I remember thinking , ‘Okay the easy answer is let's not move it if it rains. If it rains, we figure it out, but then on the flip side we've worked so hard and the university has worked so hard for this event to make it flop at the same time.’” Thome said.
Thome and her team decided to reschedule, which worked out, as it rained heavily on the original date. The new date proved to be better too, as 75 additional volunteers were able to help.
Abigail Stephenson
Stephenson, senior in history, is nominated by her sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi. Stephenson is currently serving as president of her sorority and is also a War Eagle Girl.
Stephenson’s slogan is “Set Sail with Abigail,” and focuses on appreciating those who have helped others embark on their Auburn journey through education, involvement and everyday life.
To Stephenson, the creed is what makes Auburn University stand out from other institutions.
“Everyone says it's the people, but I'll also say the values of the Auburn Creed, I really do think set us apart as going into the world. […] Auburn makes that extra effort to add color to everything. And I kind of love that. At first, I was like, okay, add color. Like what does that mean? You know, sometimes it's not necessary, but Auburn just takes all of these like little steps to make sure that like we are set apart in just a small way from the rest of the world.”
Outside of campaign week, Stephenson plans to show her appreciation for faculty, students and others by delivering flowers and thank you notes. Throughout her college career, Stephenson learned to prioritize her time and set personal boundaries to avoid overworking herself while being a leader.
Molly Walding
Walding is a senior in Public Relations and is nominated by her sorority, Chi Omega. Walding currently serves as the recruitment chair for her sorority and is a student recruiter for Auburn.
Walding’s slogan is “Make Your Mark with Molly,” and her campaign focuses on educating students about the Office of Accessibility.
“I just want to highlight that the differences are what make us all unique and build the Auburn family,” Walding said. “So just like encouraging people to talk about it a little bit more, breaking the stigma and like get bridging the gap between those that do have and don't have accommodations.”
When Walding was in fifth grade, she was diagnosed with cholesteatoma, which is an abnormal buildup of skin cells deep in the ear. Cholesteatoma can damage the inside the ear if left untreated and lead to hearing loss.
Walding has three pillars to her campaign: making students aware of the resources at the Office of Accessibility, encouraging students to share their stories and marking the lives of others by volunteering and spreading awareness.
Vulnerability is something Walding learned to accept throughout college. From opening up to others or asking for help, Walding learned that embracing her vulnerabilities was one of the strongest things she could do.
Helen Talmadge
Talmadge is a senior in nutrition and pre-dietetics and is nominated by her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. Talmadge currently serves as the president of her sorority and her slogan is “At the Table with Talmadge.”
“[My campaign] focuses around kind of the culmination of what my Auburn experience has been, which at the end of the day has been my education and just like this realization that food deeply impacts our lives,” Talmadge said. “I kind of saw that for the first time my senior year of high school when I wrote my senior thesis on the relationship between eating disorders and diet culture.”
To Talmadge, the Auburn community stands out the most, and she relates community to her platform.
“Food is this very tangible sense of community, and I think so much of my life, and so much of many people's lives, they spend away from the table and they spend away from that community because they're scared and they have these false beliefs surrounding food and like Auburn like brings people together to the table.” Talmadge said.
Something Talmadge learned throughout her college years is showing up for others.
“There are days when you go and you have a test in a class and you're like, ‘The last thing I want to do is give a tour,’ but when you believe in Auburn and when you believe in something, you show up for it.” Talmadge explained.
Talmadge plans to work with the International Student Organization and help highlight their dinners and events. She also plans to work with the dining halls and promoting the Health and Wellness Center’s counseling services and dietary analysis.
“I feel like the biggest thing that I'm just trying to promote through this is that everyone on Auburn's campus has a seat, everyone has a seat at the table, everyone is welcome to the table, that's my goal. That's what I would want to do for the entirety of my life.” Talmadge said.
Emery Waggoner
Waggoner is a senior in human development and family science with a minor in leadership studies. Waggoner is nominated by Mortar Board, an honor society specifically for seniors. Waggoner’s slogan is “Who We Are with Waggoner.”
Waggoner is also a member of the sorority Alpha Gamma Delta and one of the War Eagle Girls. War Eagle girls help with football gamedays and other athletic events, and work with the president’s office and the alumni association.
Waggoner has lived in Auburn for 20 years, with her explaining Auburn football and homecoming were a big deal to her as she grew up.
“I think when I was a young kid I didn't even understand what homecoming court was. I just knew it was like, you know, five sweet-looking girls out there on the field with their dads and that's really what I want it to be now,” Waggoner said. “I'm honored to get down there on the field with my dad, and I don't know, I think about like myself as a little girl watching those girls at the game and I just hope that maybe I'm inspiring the next future generation of Auburn women the way that I was inspired by the previous homecoming candidates”
When Waggoner was a senior in high school, she was diagnosed with the heart condition, postural orthostatic tachycardia, also known as POTS.
“I started kind of panicking since I was a senior in high school that the looking forward to freshman year was just gonna be ruined. And so, then I was met with the Office of Accessibility who really just like set me up perfectly here at Auburn.” Waggoner said.
Waggoner’s campaign is about providing awareness to the Office of Accessibility and helping find other ways to interact with the office.
Waggoner is planning on creating a partnership similar to the WINGS Eagles program where students can help those temporarily or permanently injured by carrying their backpacks to class, offering them a ride or picking up mobile food orders on campus. As well, Waggoner wants to help implement anonymous feedback boxes around campus to help make the campus more accessible.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Michaela Yielding is a senior in journalism currently serving as the news editor. She has been with The Auburn Plainsman since fall 2023.
