Chemical sophomore to serve as Miss Auburn University for second term

Collins McMurray, chemical engineering sophomore, will serve a second term as Miss Auburn University due to the postponement of the 2020 pageant year by the Miss America Organization as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Serving for a second year is very unusual, and nationally, it has never happened before,” she said. “I am so excited and honored to be able to serve Auburn University again, as well as represent Auburn at Miss Alabama in June of 2021. I may be a little bit biased but I think Auburn is the best place to represent, so being able to do it two years in a row is amazing.”

McMurray plans to use her second year as Miss Auburn University to further promote her platform, The Importance of the Arts in Education. With a passion for arts education advocacy, she has cultivated relationships with local art programs and Auburn-area school systems and sees the pandemic as a unique challenge that her platform could help address.

“An area that I am really expectant for my platform to grow in is helping school systems that are struggling due to COVID-19,” she explained. “The arts in education is so valuable to a child’s growth and development and being online has caused it to be even harder for students to be immersed in the arts. I am hopeful that I will be able to provide students with arts access, even though the format for school looks different this year."

A dedicated Auburn Engineer, McMurray offered advice to others considering pursuing a degree within the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

“Get involved with the college as much as possible. There are so many professional and student engineering organizations that give students the ability to learn and grow throughout their time at Auburn,” she said. “Pouring into the College of Engineering will benefit you tenfold because you will make so many friendships and connections that carry into your classes and campus experience. 

“Through the connections I have made, I feel that I have been greatly supported in my academics and in my extracurriculars because the College of Engineering gives us, as students, so many opportunities to succeed,” she added.

You can listen to McMurray's interview on the #GINNing Podcast below.