The girl with the fiddle wowed the crowd for four years with her talent and poise, but it wasn’t until now that she finally received her crown.

Senior Lauren Ford is still pinching herself to make sure it’s real. Making it in the top five for the last three years kept her dream alive and now she’s ecstatic to finally represent her university as Miss ULM 2015.

“Everything seemed like imperfect timing in the years before,” said Ford. “I’ve found that I’ve grown and matured. I’ll be able to represent ULM right.”

Despite her shiny new crown, Ford said the most meaningful thing about the pageant was being selected Miss Congeniality. She had the time of her life getting to know the other girls.

“That’s something that I’ll really cherish from this year, all the memories and relationships with the girls,” Ford said.

Ford’s mother, Karen, felt emotional watching her daughter finally get crowned. She knew how much this meant for her daughter.

“Becoming Miss ULM was something that she dreamed of for years and worked very hard to achieve, so it was an exciting time for us all,” Karen said.

Years ago, they watched a friend, Hope Anderson, get crowned as Miss ULM. Ford was just a sophomore in high school then.

“That’s when she decided that she wanted to be Miss ULM one day,” Karen said.

Are You The Fiddle Player?

It’s funny to Ford how many times people around campus stop her and ask if she’s the fiddler who plays “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”

Ford is classically trained, but lately she prefers fiddle music and it’s her favorite song to play. 

Ford looks forward to playing music for people that she loves so everyone can love it with her. The talent portion of the pageant is the best part for her. 

She got her start through a strings program at her elementary school and developed her talent over the past 12 years.

But fiddle playing isn’t the only thing Ford has been practicing.

“I have practiced my cry a little bit every once in a while. I practiced it a lot at Miss ULM, so If I’m crowned Miss America I’m prepared,” Ford said.

Ford has competed in Miss Louisiana for three years, but nothing made her more excited than competing in the Miss ULM Pageant. 

“I want to thank everyone for their support over the years and just over the past week,” said Ford. “I’m really looking forward to being involved on campus, and also in local schools and the community.”

Ford isn’t the type of woman to give up on anything and is determined to take the pageant world by storm. She’s already met with her directors and has begun planning for her fourth year in the Miss Louisiana Pageant.

Making Her Character Count

Ford’s platform, Character Counts, is a nationally established program that she hopes to get more ULM students involved in. 

Ford believes a strong character is one of the most important things in an individual’s life and she wants to help develop that in not only college students, but in children as well.

“I enjoy speaking to younger children in elementary schools so I’ll be going to schools and speaking about what character is and why it’s so important,” Ford said.

Ford got involved in the program back in her elementary school days.

“I saw that it was something important and made a difference in my life. It was something I wanted to share with other students,” Ford said.

“I’m really excited about this year and I can’t believe I have this opportunity to represent ULM and the Warhawks,” Ford said.