Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2008-11-17

Anna Laura Bryan, a freshman interior design major from Decatur, Ala., was crowned Miss Samford University 2009 Friday, Nov. 14. She will represent Samford in the Miss Alabama pageant in June.

Bryan, daughter of Norwood and Kathy Bryan, sang "Woman in the Moon," during the talent competition. Her platform is Paws for Autism.

Finalists were Elizabeth Fuller of Brierfield, Ala., first runner-up; and Susan Hamm of Thorsby, Ala., second runner-up.

Fuller won the talent competition for her piano performance of Rachmaninoff's "Polichinelle"and also won the Spirit of Samford award. Hamm won the lifestyle and fitness category. Jenna Tanner of Hoover, Ala., was voted Miss Congeniality.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.