2019 - 2021 FMA Magazine

AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS
LAUREN BRADFORD
BY JOE MCADORY
Lauren Bradford will carry the crown of Miss
Alabama for a year. However, her academic
foundation earned at Auburn University’s
Harbert College of Business will last a lifetime.
Bradford, who graduated in May, 2021 with a degree in
finance and was crowned Miss Alabama the night of June 12,
hopes to parlay her education into a career in strategy and
management consulting.
“The Harbert College of Business has equipped me for the
future by fulfilling a culture of hard work and engagement
with professors and faculty,” said the Gulf Shores, Alabama,
native who will compete in the Miss America Pageant in
December.
“The finance program at the Harbert College is filled with
professors and individuals who truly care about the outcome
of their students and work to ensure they have the resources
needed to obtain internships, networking opportunities and
their desired careers.”
Bradford, who will begin pursuit of a Master of Science in
finance at Vanderbilt University in 2022, made the most of her
three years as a student as an active member of the Auburn
University Financial Management Association, or FMA, and
Harbert College’s Executive Society.
“FMA works to prepare students interested in competitive
careers in finance for Fortune 500 and Wall Street jobs in
fields such as investment banking, asset management, and
strategy consulting,” she said.
“I have learned so much from this competitive environment
and hope to carry these skills gained into my next season.”
Tracy Richard, director of Harbert College’s Integrated
Financial Leadership Program and FMA faculty advisor, said
Bradford’s skills “reach far beyond the classroom.”
“She’s a remarkable young woman who has the capacity to look
at the big picture first and then drill down on meaningful ways
to achieve desired outcomes,” Richard said. “FMA is so proud
of all of Lauren’s achievements. We look forward to cheering on
her successes as Miss Alabama, a Vanderbilt graduate student
and a successful career woman, and wish her the best at the Miss
America pageant.”
“FMA, under Tracy’s directorship, pours so much into ensuring
students obtain their dream internships and offers,” Bradford
said. “I appreciate her level of dedication and intentionality to
myself, the students of FMA and the finance program at Auburn
University—she has truly impacted so many of us and charted
a path for her students’ success. In the words of Tracy, ‘Finance
rocks.’”
Though Bradford was deeply entrenched as a Harbert College
student for three years, she remained active in the pageant
scene, winning Miss Auburn University as a freshman in 2019
and Miss Jefferson County in 2020.
“After stepping into a role that I never expected to hold at the
age of 18, I was emboldened by professors, faculty and members
of the Auburn Family,” she said. “I learned so much about what
it means to be an Auburn woman and stand for something
bigger.” than myself.”
46 FMA 2019-2021 MAGAZINE