Birmingham Baptist, Samford graduate crowned Miss America

Birmingham Baptist Deidre Downs was crowned Miss America 2005 in Atlantic City Sept. 18.
   
The Samford University graduate earned a history degree and was accepted by the University of Alabama School of Medicine to begin studies this fall.
   
Downs postponed her education after winning the Miss Alabama pageant June 12 in her fifth and last year of eligibility.
   
Downs now begins an exhausting schedule of public appearances, and although medical school will wait another year, her campaign against childhood cancer likely will get a boost from her fame and its role as her national platform.
   
The Miss America Organization, the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women, said Downs will log approximately 20,000 miles each month in the next year as she works to raise awareness of her platform.
   
The aspiring pediatrician already has spent many hours promoting the cause through the Making Miracles organization (www.curingchildhoodcancer.org) she founded in 2002 to raise awareness of and research funds for the fight against pediatric cancer.
   
Through her organization, Downs established a program to sell automobile license plates to support the Alabama Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. The plates cost $50 each, of which $41.25 goes to the hospital. Downs’ organization had to sell 1,000 plates by July 31 to qualify for the state to manufacture the tags.
   
The organization sold 2,059 by that date, the largest number of pre-sold specialty tags in state history.
   
Her desire to medically care for children started through her experiences at Camp Smile-a-Mile, a camp for children with cancer, and as a volunteer at Children’s Hospital. 
   
“I want to become a pediatrician because I love kids,” she said.
   
Downs’ faith in Christ also motivated her decision to pursue a career in medicine as did her involvement in community service.
   
She became a Christian when she was 8 years old but feels she has grown in her faith over the years.
   
“I’ve come to realize what it means to devote (my) life to Christ,” Downs explained. “I hope to always live my life in a way that reflects my faith and to be someone who really walks the walk by putting my faith into practice every day.”
   
The 2002 Rhodes Scholar finalist puts her faith into action not only through raising awareness of pediatric cancer but also as a role model for young women.
   
Carol Ann Vaughn, director of Samford’s Christian Women’s Leadership Center, said, “I’ve known Deidre outside of the pageant culture for several years, and that is where, in my opinion, she shines.
   
“She is a brilliant, mature, compassionate, classy young woman without pageant titles,” Vaughn said.
Suzanne Martin, Samford’s director of leadership education and service, also has known Downs for many years.
   
Martin and Downs are members of Birmingham’s Baptist Church of the Covenant and Martin was even Downs’ Sunday School teacher at one point.
   
“I am thrilled for her. … She is a fantastic human being and I believe deserves this opportunity and the scholarship money that will come with it,” Martin said.
   
Martin added that her football-fan son was impressed that in addition to Downs’ other achievements she “can throw an almost perfect spiral pass.” (SU,TAB)