Katelyn Vinson was crowned Miss Alabama USA 2022 on Friday and Saturday, 14th – 15th January 2022 at the Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University as she became the official representative of Alabama at Miss USA 2022. She succeeds Miss Alabama USA 2021 Alexandria Flanigan.
On being crowned Miss Alabama USA 2022, Katelyn took to her official social media to reveal her emotions in a post captioned, “I woke up as Miss Alabama USA this morning and had to pinch myself to make sure this is real life. It’s hard to put into words what an honor this is; I have dreamt of serving and representing state of Alabama for as long as I can remember. At times, it seemed like a far-fetched dream that I wasn’t sure I would be able to achieve. I’m here to say that grit, perseverance, and discipline always pay off in one way or another. God’s timing is always perfect.”
Vinson bested thirty-three other contestants to win the state crown. Hailing from Dothan, Katelyn is a senior at Auburn with a major in business administration. Her goal is to become an A&R (artists and repertoire) representative for a Christian record label.
Vinson is no stranger to the Miss Alabama USA pageant; she competed for the title in 2021 as Miss Dothan USA and was named third runner-up. Katelyn believes that winning doesn’t always equal a crown and a banner, or whatever it is that a person works hard to achieve. The real win is the growth that occurs throughout the journey, it is the faith and mental toughness that’s cultivated through overcoming trials and setbacks.
She also encourages people to follow their dreams and believe in themselves. “Oftentimes, when God plants a dream in our heart, Satan will do whatever it takes to stop us from going for it. He places little voices in our heads that tell us that we aren’t enough, that we aren’t worthy. YOU ARE worthy and beyond capable, no matter what lies you have been told. So pursue that dream, and trust that He will guide you, teach you, sustain you, and carry you to right where He has planned for you to be”, she quotes.
During her on-stage question segment for the top five finalists, Vinson was asked: “If you were governor for a day, what is the one thing you would change about Alabama and why?” She replied, “I think people in Alabama can often struggle with accepting diversity,” she said. “Diversity is something that’s to be celebrated. It’s beautiful and I think that everyone in our country should celebrate all of us for our differences and our strengths and our weaknesses. And if we can just all learn to be introspective and really look inward, I think that we can find it in us to accept everyone for their own individual differences.”
Noelia Voigt, who competed as Miss Camelia USA, was named first runner-up on Saturday. Harleigh Lantrip, Miss Hoover USA, took third place. Natalie Lamm, Miss Auburn USA, came in fourth. Samantha Huver, Miss Northport USA, rounded out the top five. Katelyn succeeds Miss Alabama USA 2021 Alexandria Flanigan who represented Alabama at Miss USA 2021 where she remained unplaced.