Susan Hamm

Asked to identify one thing she would change about the world, Susan Hamm deftly answers with a question.

“Only one?”

Given a moment’s reflection, she drew inspiration from a well-known humanitarian.

“Mother Teresa once said, ‘Find your own Calcutta.’  That was her place and the work she was passionate about.  I wish everybody could find their own passion.”

Hamm’s passion involves eradicating one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

“The world I want to live in is a world cancer doesn’t exist in,” she said.  “Hopefully, that is a distinct possibility.”

Since being crowned Miss Leeds Area last June, Hamm has promoted the American Cancer Society’s awareness and prevention efforts, although her desire to see cancer eliminated began much earlier.

“My parents were very active in the Chilton County Relay for Life, starting when I was in the third grade,” she said.  “I knew it was important, but back then, it was more of a fun event for me.  But when my grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer and we buried him on my 14th birthday, cancer became very personal and very real in my life.  It’s a very real possibility for everybody, and my hope is that nobody will ever have to go through that.  Obviously there’s much more work to be done, and that’s why I got involved in it and stay involved.”

Her anti-cancer platform has taken her to a number of Relay for Life events, including the Leeds-Moody Relay earlier this month.  

“It was a very good turnout,” she said.  “They did a great job of creating a good, family atmosphere, and I was impressed with how much the community got involved.  It was clear that there had been a lot of hard work leading up to the event, and I was very glad I got to be there.”

As she prepares to compete for the Miss Alabama title during the annual pageant set for June 6-9, Hamm, who has also served as Miss Birmingham and Miss Samford University, discussed the piano solo she will perform in the talent competition, also identifying a misconception about scholarship pageants and explaining why she considers Leeds her second home.

About serving as Miss Leeds Area:  “To be honest, I wasn’t sure how Leeds would take to me, since the pageant is open to anyone in the state and I’m not from the area, but I’ve been blown away by how wonderfully I’ve been treated.   The pageant has a great board of directors that is deeply invested in the community.  This is an exciting time to be in and around Leeds.  I’m from Thorsby, but Leeds feels like a second home to me now.”  She will crown the next Miss Leeds Area on June 23.

The biggest misconception people have about scholarship pageants:  “That it’s over the top, outrageous, and catty.  That’s a bad stereotype perpetuated by TV shows like Toddlers & Tiaras.  It can’t be denied that there’s a reason those stereotypes come about, but Miss Alabama is as far from that as you can think of.  The women I’ve met through the program are smart, motivated, talented, and they’re some of the most community-involved women you’ll ever meet.  I’d go so far as to say that I’ve met most of my bridesmaids through the Miss Alabama program, and I’m not even dating anybody.”

In the Miss Alabama talent competition:  Hamm will perform William Joseph’s Piano Fantasy.  “I’m really excited about it.  Usually when you do a classical piano performance, the composers haven’t been around for quite some time, but this composer is very much alive, and this piece is much more relatable than what is traditionally played.”

How she describes herself:  “Competitive with a hefty measure of compassion.”

Why she enjoys living in the South:  “The people.  The more I travel other places, the more I love people in the South.  I love how they are so hospitable, look out for each other, help each other in times of need, and love to have a good time.”

The best advice she ever received:  “My parents taught me from a very young age to work hard, and you’ll have maybe not everything you ever wanted, but most of it.  I don’t know that they never actually said that to me in those words, but I was always brought up to believe that if you work for it, it can be done.”

Her favorite guilty pleasure:  “Queso dip.  I feel bad every time I eat it, because it’s not healthy, but I love it so much.”

Her greatest fear:  “Spiders.  It bothers me to hear people say they’re afraid of failure.  Failure I’m not afraid of.  Not trying I’ve been afraid of, but that’s not an issue for me any more, so definitely spiders.”

One item she’s never without:  “My watch.  I’m obsessed with knowing what time it is and really make an effort to be on time.  That’s one of my pet peeves.  I don’t like it when other people are late, and I don’t like to be late.”

Something an acquaintance might be surprised to know about her:  While completing her degree in management and marketing, she studied Greek at Samford.  “I took Spanish in high school but had gotten tired of it by college, so I wanted to do something different.”

Someone she’d especially like to meet:  “I would like to have dinner with the president, Barak Obama, right now.  Whether you agree with him or not, he’s the leader of our country at a very pivotal time, and I’d love to pick his brain and find out what that’s like.”

If stranded on a desert island with one book, meal, and CD:  “The book would be To Kill a Mockingbird, the meal would be my mom’s typical Southern spread with squash casserole, macaroni and cheese, fried green tomatoes, fried pork chops, cornbread, and sweet tea, and the CD would be one of my country and Southern rock mix tapes.”