Hoover High alumna Kate Hardman named 2016 Miss Homecoming at Auburn

Kate Hardman, a 21-year-old from Hoover who is now a senior at Auburn University, was named Miss Homecoming at Auburn’s homecoming game against the University of Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.

Hardman, who graduated from Hoover High School in 2013, is in Auburn’s nursing school and wants to be a pediatric oncology nurse. Her platform for the Miss Homecoming competition was to help raise money to help Make-A-Wish Alabama grant wishes for 256 children in Alabama with life-threatening illnesses.

“The vision is not just about a number. It is about the real lives and the very real impact wishes can have on those lives,” Hardman said in her platform statement on the Auburn University Student Government Association website page. “’Wish’ kids say the experience of their wish being granted brings back the hope and the ability to fight harder to combat their illness. ‘Wish’ parents say their family bonds are strengthened and repaired. Medical professionals overwhelmingly believe that these wishes enhance a ‘Wish’ kid’s overall health. They believe wish granting is an important adjunct to medical treatment.

“As I am working to attain the skill set and knowledge to help these children regain their childhood as a nurse in the future, I can impact their lives right now by bringing awareness and raising money to grant their wishes,” Hardman wrote. “My heart is burdened for these children, and I know it is the call upon my life to serve them both now and in future.”

Hardman was one of five candidates for Auburn University’s 2016 Miss Homecoming title. Students vote on the winner.

Below is a video about Hardman’s goal to help Make-A-Wish Alabama grant children’s wishes: