Next year’s Miss America pageant will feature a proud U. Alabama-Birmingham Blazer, the new Miss Alabama Ashley Davis.

“My blood is green and gold,” said Davis, a former Miss UAB.

After two and a half weeks of rehearsals and preliminaries, Davis was stunned to hear her name in the top eleven at the Miss Alabama pageant “Any of those girls could have been Miss Alabama,” said Davis.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be me.”

Davis has “hit the ground running” since being crowned, she said.

After splurging on some fast food and sweets, she is back in the gym, exercising her singing voice and working on her platform, March of Dimes.

Now instead of promoting March of Dimes in just her community, she will be promoting it statewide, an opportunity that greatly excites Davis.

“I was actually a preemie,” said Davis, explaining why she chose March of Dimes as her platform.

After learning the fears experienced by her mother during her infancy, Davis felt a need to promote support for women experiencing those fears and their fragile newborns.

Davis will spend the next year as a state advocate for March of Dimes as Miss Alabama, which requires a year-long break from college.

After her service as Miss Alabama, Davis will return to college for her senior year and complete her bachelor’s in public administration and political science.

She is scheduled to graduate in May 2012.

“I have a lot of life ahead of me. I am going to fulfill my dreams regardless of how long it may or may not take,” said Davis.

Davis received more than $11,800 in scholarships during the recent Miss Alabama pageant.

She competed last year, as well, as Miss UAB and reports earning more than $18,000 in scholarships during the last two years.

Davis plans to use her scholarship money to attend law school and pursue a master’s in public administration.

Though unsure exactly which career path to travel, she knows that she wants a career with a corporate administration, she said.

“You can’t find a better way to fund education and be involved in the community,” she said of the Miss Alabama program.

“They have given me so much more than I’ll ever be able to return.”

Davis began competing in pageantry during high school and has earned more than $45,000 in scholarships since ninth grade, all which serves to fund her education in full.

Davis recently moved into her Miss Alabama apartment- her first “big girl” place, she said.

She lived on campus at UAB since her freshman year, immediately joining Alpha Omicron Pi and soon taking a job in the student recreational center on campus.

“I live at UAB, work at UAB and go to school at UAB. It’s safe to say I love UAB,” she said.

“This campus is my world.”

Her sorority sisters have been incredibly supportive- “shoulders to cry on, hands to hold,” said Davis.

She appreciates their willingness to help promote her platform on campus.

She thanks the full student body and staff for their support, as well.

“I loved working with the student body and getting to know the student body,” she said.

“When you can learn community service in college, you translate it into every aspect of your life,” she said.

Davis hopes her experiences help her gain a national title in the Miss America pageant aired on ABC, Jan. 15.