Miss Alabama's visit highlights Black History Month events at Gadsden State
A visit from Miss Alabama 2023, Brianna Burrell, will highlight Black History Month events at Gadsden State Community College, according to a news release from the college.
Burrell will appear Feb. 26 at Wallace Hall Fine Arts Center on the Wallace Drive Campus. She will be available for a meet-and-greet at 10 a.m., and a musical performance featuring her vocals as well as the Gadsden State Show Band and A Cappella Choir will follow at 10:30.
She will then speak on her platform, SAVE-A-STEM, and will be available for photographs from noon to 12:30 p.m. afterward.
Burrell, of Mobile, was crowned Miss Alabama last summer in the pageant held last summer in Birmingham. Competing as Miss Baldwin County, she is the third Black woman to receive the honor.
She competed in the Miss America pageant last month in Orlando, Florida, earning a preliminary award in the Evening Gown category.
Burrell holds a degree in political science and philosophy from the University of South Alabama. She's been honored by STEM Sports and the Boys and Girls Club of Alabama for her efforts in STEM education, which include authoring a children's book: “Investigation Nation: Who Made It? Exploring Diversity in the World of STEM.”
Her platform, according to Pam Clough, Gadsden State's Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator and liaison of the Equity and Inclusion Committee, “encourages students of color and underfunded schools to engage in programs focused on STEM. It is important to promote engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”
The other local Black History Month events are slated at Gadsden State's Valley Street Campus, a Historically Black College or University. There will be Financial Literacy Lunch and Learn events on Wednesday for Dental Assisting and Construction Technology students; Feb. 12 for Certified Nursing Assistant students; Feb. 14 for Licensed Practical Nursing students; and Feb. 19 for students in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program.
Set for Feb. 28 is the Gadsden Job Corps' second Black History Month Celebration, which will take place at 12:30 p.m. in the Job Corps gymnasium on the Valley Street Campus.
Litchfield Middle School Principal Charlie Parker will be the keynote speaker, and the GSCC Show Band and Litchfield Middle choir will provide music.
Clough said the events “will recognize the amazing achievements of Black Americans. We are excited to bring our communities to our campuses in celebration.”
Email Keana Howze at khowze@gadsdenstate.edu for more information on the Valley Street events.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Miss Alabama to perform at Gadsden State Black History Month event
