Jada Winston Crowned Miss ĢƵ 2026
Feb. 07, 2026
Michelle R. Eubanks , ĢƵ, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – ĢƵ Senior Jada Winston, of Pelham, has been crowned Miss ĢƵ 2026 at the Miss ĢƵ program Saturday evening in Norton Auditorium on the ĢƵ campus. Winston will now move on to compete for the title of Miss Alabama at an event that will take place later this year. She is a Sports Management major, and she performed an acro dance to “Boogie Wonderland” for the talent portion of the program.
Winston is the 51st student to be crowned with the Miss ĢƵ title, a tradition that began in 1974 when Pam Long was the first student to serve as Miss ĢƵ.
“The Miss ĢƵ program is storied and quite important in the life of the campus as it was started in conjunction with the official name change to the ĢƵ by then-President Dr. Robert Guillot,” said Becca Bush, the Miss ĢƵ event organizer and Associate Director, First Year and Retention Initiatives. “The students who participate are following in the footsteps of those who came before, several of whom went on to win Miss Alabama and represent ĢƵ on the national stage.”
Eleven women competed for the title of Miss ĢƵ in five stages, including private interview, on-stage question, health and fitness, talent, and evening gown. In addition to Winston, other winners included:
- Sofi San Miguel, of Columbia, Tenn., as the first runner-up;
- Kerstin Moody, of Belmont, Miss., as second runner-up;
- Savannah Young, of Alabaster, as third runner-up;
- Kerstin Moody, of Belmont, Miss., as Miss Congeniality;
- Sofi San Miguel, of Columbia, Tenn., as Talent winner;
- Kerstin Moody, of Belmont, Miss., as the Dr. Jocelyn Barnes Write Excellence Scholarship Winner.
Miss ĢƵ will receive a one-year tuition scholarship as well as a Miss ĢƵ Custom Designed Ring, provided by Creative Jewelers, in downtown Florence. Winston was the winner of an amethyst necklace courtesy of Creative Jewelers for receiving the most votes for her custom ring design.
The Miss ĢƵ program is an official preliminary for the Miss Alabama and Miss America events. The program provides an opportunity for contestants to compete for scholarship funding and prizes.
About The ĢƵ
The ĢƵ is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; the Spencer College of Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, ĢƵ is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. ĢƵ Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I and United Athletic conference. The ĢƵ is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/.