University to Crown Miss JSU 2022
01/20/2022
by Buffy Lockette
Jacksonville State University will crown the next Miss JSU on Jan. 21, when nine women take the stage at 6 p.m. in Leone Cole Auditorium to compete in the Miss Alabama qualifying pageant.
It will be the first time the pageant has been held since the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the Miss Alabama pageant in 2020, leading most qualifying pageants in the state - including Miss JSU - to forgo their 2021 competition so the 2020 winner would have a chance to compete in Miss Alabama. Camden Swatts of Beuregard, Ala., represented JSU at Miss Alabama in June 2021.
Competing for the Miss JSU crown this year are the following students:
- Morgan Carroll, a business management major from Moulton, Ala.
- Sophia Castillo, a pre-health biology major from Decatur, Ala.
- Makayla Holden, a criminal justice and psychology double major from New Market, Ala.
- Morgan Huckaby, a marketing major from Anniston, Ala.
- Tavaria Johnson, a pre-health biology major from Childersburg, Ala.
- Piper Jones, a psychology major from Ohatchee, Ala.
- Kaylee Knight, a criminal justice major from Monroeville, Ala.
- Ashley Moore, a nursing major from Birmingham, Ala.
- Alana Watwood, a business major from Albertville, Ala.
JSU women have a long history of success on the pageant stage. Seven Miss Alabamas attended JSU, including Miss America 1995 Heather Whitestone McCallum and 1979's first runner-up and retired JSU voice instructor Teresa Cheatham Crosby. Other Miss Alabamas who hailed from JSU include Ceil Jenkins Snow, 1971; Jane Rice Holloway, 1973; Julie Houston Elmer, 1977; Tammy Little Haynes, 1984; and Jamie Langley, 2007.
The Miss JSU pageant is open to the public. Admission is $5 for students with ID and $10 for all other guests, cash only. The university is currently requiring masks be worn inside all campus buildings.