Aubree Ford’s Mission to Help Others Thrive Goes Beyond the Pageant Stage

09/04/2026

Jax State senior uses her Thrive Together initiative to expand access to mental and physical health resources for young people

By Brett Buckner

When Aubree Ford stepped onto the Miss Alabama Volunteer stage in July, she came with a mission, one shaped by personal struggles and family hardships. She also brought a determination to make mental and physical health resources more accessible to young people, first in Calhoun County and, in time, across Alabama.

Ford, a 19‑year‑old senior at Jacksonville State University (Jax State) majoring in exercise science, has spent the past four years rising through the ranks of the Miss Alabama Volunteer organization.

After competing for Miss Alabama Volunteer in July, Ford began the next chapter of that journey in August when she was named Miss Oxford Volunteer 2027. She also earned the Evening Gown Award and a $500 scholarship. The title qualifies her to return to the Miss Alabama Volunteer competition next July.

“There’s a lot of different titles you can compete for to go and represent in the state level,” Ford explained.

Ford’s path began with Miss East Cahaba Camellia Teen Volunteer, then Miss East Alabama Teen Volunteer, followed by Miss East Alabama Volunteer, and now Miss Oxford Volunteer.

According to its website, the Miss Alabama Volunteer organization is part of a service-oriented scholarship program focused on providing young women with educational opportunities.  

It’s a mission that Ford is especially proud to be a part of.

“Miss Alabama Volunteer and the entire Miss Volunteer America organization are all about service,” she said. “That is our title, that is our mission, and that is our value.”

Ford’s service is perpetuated through an initiative called “Thrive Together,” which she created to advocate for both mental and physical health. The initiative serves as her community service platform for the various Miss Volunteer preliminary pageants.

Ford’s commitment to mental health support began before she wore a crown.

“I was one of those students who was into everything,” she said. “I was always busy doing whatever I could do.”

Beneath that busy schedule, Ford was struggling.

“I hit the lowest point of my life when I went through a season of depression and was diagnosed with anxiety,” she said. “And quickly, I realized that resources were not always as easily accessible to those who are struggling, especially if they were struggling silently like I was.”

Ford remembers how isolating that period of her life felt and how it changed once she finally received help.

“I knew in that moment when I had those resources accessible to me, and I started feeling more like myself, I knew I wanted to use my voice and I knew I wanted to use my story to make a change,” she said.

That experience was the inspiration for Thrive Together. Through the initiative, Ford creates self‑care plans and coloring books for children and brings them into classrooms across Calhoun County. She also partners with the YMCA, raising funds for its scholarship program, which helps families access after-school programs regardless of their ability to pay.

Her goal is simple: Give young people the tools she didn’t have.

“If I can go into these classrooms and elementary schools and use my story and use the self-care plans and coloring books I've created, they’ll have those resources,” she said. “So, when they start getting older and start having these feelings they don't really understand… they’ll have that to rely on and not have to continue to struggle silently like I did.”

Ford’s passion for helping others is about more than mental health. She is currently applying to doctoral programs in physical therapy. It’s a career choice that was shaped by her brother’s spinal cord injury, which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

“I was able to see the personal connection my brother had with his physical therapists,” she said. “They were able to change his life. I knew it was going to be my calling, too.”

The connection between her initiative and her future career is something Ford finds to be deeply meaningful.

“It's so incredibly rewarding to see that Thrive Together and my career field have similar missions of helping people,” she said. “It’s not just a pageant thing for me. It’s going to continue throughout my life of helping people physically and mentally.”

At the Miss Alabama Volunteer competition in July, Ford earned the Woman in STEM Award, which she called “incredibly rewarding.”

During her interview with a panel of judges, Ford shared her brother’s story, her passion for physical therapy, and how Jax State has prepared her for the next step in her academic journey. She also won more than $2,000 in scholarships, allowing her to complete her senior year without student loans.

“And that is truly just amazing,” she said. “Every year they're rewarding over $100,000 in scholarships to women across the state of Alabama.”

Winning Miss Oxford Volunteer means Ford will return to the state competition next summer, where she hopes to continue expanding her initiative and its impact.

“I knew I wanted to use my voice and use my story to make a change,” she said. “Now I am prepping to hit the stage. Not only am I representing myself and the mission that I've had with Thrive Together, but also Oxford.”