Peach Living held a question-and-answer session with Abigail Dy, a Chilton County High School graduate who was named Birmingham-Southern College’s Homecoming Queen.
PEACH LIVING MAGAZINE: What are you studying at Birmingham-Southern?
ABIGAIL DY: I am currently a biology major, with a possible Spanish minor, and on the Pre-Med track.
PL: How many years did you live in Clanton?
AD: My family moved to Clanton in 1994 when I was about three years old, so it’s been somewhere around 18 years now.
PL: What was your reaction to finding out your were selected as homecoming queen?
AD: I was extremely excited and happy, but I was also honestly very surprised! I feel like there are so many amazing girls in my year, and all of the other girls who represented the senior class with me on the court are truly wonderful. So it was a great shock, but a completely humbling experience, that my peers would choose me for such an honor.
PL: Is this your first time being a homecoming queen?
AD: It is! I had been chosen to be on the Homecoming Court a few times in high school, but I had never been chosen as the Representative or the Queen, so being Birmingham-Southern’s Homecoming Queen is a new and very exciting experience for me.
PL: What was the most enjoyable part of being crowned?
AD: I really enjoyed the crown itself. I know it sounds like such a childish answer, but this is actually the first crown I have ever received! More importantly, though, I loved hearing the cheers from my family and friends, especially my Chi Omega sorority sisters. They had essentially set up their own cheering section in the stands, and it was so wonderful to experience their love and support in such a way.
PL: Where do you see yourself in five years?
AD: In five years, I hope to be further pursuing my dream of becoming a doctor.
PL: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Wow, ten years, by the time I am 31 years old, I hope to be successfully practicing medicine as either a family physician or an oncologist. Maybe, too, if I’m lucky, I’ll be happily married and have a loving family! That would be nice.
PL: What do you enjoy doing for fun?
AD: I love to shop. I am a firm believer in retail therapy. Along with playing the piano, I often use shopping to help relieve stress! I also love to take pictures. I find such joy in capturing the beauty of my surroundings, whether I’m just in my backyard or admiring the wonders of the world. Furthermore, ever since I took my older sister’s engagement pictures, I’ve wanted to make photography one of my serious hobbies.
PL: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
AD: I have been blessed to have already traveled to many different places with my family, but I would really love the chance to go back to Switzerland! The air there is so crisp and clean, and nearly everywhere you go, the view is breathtaking. I would love to again take a peaceful drive through the country and see the beautiful waterfalls cascading from the Swiss mountainside.
PL: What is one piece of advice you have received that you valued?
AD: My parents have been a constant source of encouragement to my sisters and me. I have always striven to live by their lesson of “being true to oneself.” They continually remind us to not compare ourselves to others, but to instead simply strive to be the best that we can be. I truly value their words of wisdom. Being yourself seems to be such a simple task; however, in our society today, it is becoming more and more difficult. Through the years, I have had to learn that perfection is but an idea, and that as long as you are happy with yourself and what you are doing – and hopefully making a positive impact on the world at the same time – things will fall into place as they were meant to. We should also never take anything for granted. Hard work, perseverance, and faith are what can get us far in life, and we should never forget to give back to others and to God along the way.