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Photo courtesy of Houston M Photography
Miss Alabama 2024 Abbie Stockard takes a walk as the new Miss America 2025 in Orlando on Jan. 5.
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Photos courtesy of Houston M Photography, Abbie Stockard and Kimberly Stockard
Miss Alabama 2024 Abbie Stockard takes a walk as the new Miss America 2025 in Orlando on Jan. 5.
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Photo courtesy of Houston M Photography
Miss Alabama 2024 Abbie Stockard takes a walk as the new Miss America 2025.
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Photo courtesy of Houston M Photography
Miss Alabama 2024 Abbie Stockard is swarmed by delegates from other states after being crowned Miss America 2025.
Abbie Stockard never competed in beauty pageants or scholarship competitions growing up.
Photo courtesy of Abbie Stockard and Kimberly Stockard
Abbie Stockard as a young girl.
Although she watched the Miss America competition with her mother and sister over the years, she never imagined she would one day hold the title herself.
So when the 22-year-old Auburn University student who won Miss Hoover 2024 and then Miss Alabama 2024 heard her name called out and felt the Miss America crown put on her head in Orlando on Jan. 5, the moment felt surreal.
“I entered my first pageant my freshman year of college on a whim,” she said.
She took part in the Miss Auburn University competition hoping to earn money to help pay for college. She came in third runner-up but also gained determination to keep trying.
The next weekend, she participated in the Miss Cahaba Valley competition and won, earning her a spot in the Miss Alabama competition. She was third runner-up her first year in Miss Alabama in 2022, then fourth runner-up as Miss Trussville in 2023 and then finally won Miss Alabama in 2024 as Miss Hoover.
Photo courtesy of Abbie Stockard
Miss Hoover 2024
But Stockard said she believes the key to winning isn’t competing in many pageants. “You win by going in and staying true to your unique and beautiful self, not conforming to what you consider is America’s idea of perfect,” she said.
Stockard said she did indeed do a lot of preparation for Miss America, working out daily to stay physically fit, daily practicing her dance routine she did for her talent and doing extensive preparation for interviews and on-stage questions.
“The judges’ one-on-one interview — they can ask you anything, so I spent the past six months educating myself on social and political issues, making sure that I could formulate opinions basically to anything that’s happening in our nation, but also globally,” Stockard said.
For winning Miss America, Stockard received a $50,000 scholarship, bringing her total scholarships from competitions to more than $89,000. She had to take a year out of school as Miss Alabama, and now that will be extended with a year as Miss America. She plans to return to Auburn to finish her undergraduate nursing degree and then obtain a doctorate in nurse anesthesia and become a pediatric nurse anesthetist.
Photo courtesy of Abbie Stockard
Abbie Stockard visits New York City after being crowned Miss America 2025.
Stockard also will be using this year to further shine a spotlight on cystic fibrosis and the need for a cure. Her best friend has cystic fibrosis, and raising awareness about it and money for research is a passion for her.
“I have a heart of compassion and joy and service, and so I have found that I have the greatest sense of fulfillment when I’m giving of myself to others,” she said. “That’s when I’m at my personal best, so that’s what I want to make the focus of my year — serving others and truly using this position of influence to touch the hearts and the lives of the people across our nation."
