Posted on October 07 2024
We loved collaborating with the 2024 Miss New York, Abigail Quammen on our recent photo shoot in NYC. Abigail was the perfect person to showcase our new tall boot plus some other exciting styles like our cap toe slingback. We are always inspired by the women who have been crowned Miss New York and we are excited to share more about Abigail.
ALLY Shoes: What inspired you to compete for Miss New York?
Abigail: I've been part of the Miss America Opportunity for nearly ten years and in July, I was crowned Miss New York. I first joined to earn scholarships and showcase my talent on stage, but the experience has given me so much more. Thanks to Miss America, I received a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Alabama, where I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre—opportunities I couldn't have imagined without Miss America.
While I’m deeply grateful for the scholarships and education, what truly transformed me are the relationships and the sense of community I've found through Miss America. When I moved to New York, it was a natural choice to join the Miss New York family, helping me connect and build community with like-minded women in my new home. Now, I’m fortunate to call many of them my best friends.
As I prepare to represent the Empire State at Miss America in January, it’s an honor to wear New York across my chest and share this journey with the incredible women who have become my support system.
ALLY Shoes: Tell us about yourself.
Abigail: I’m a mid-twenties woman living in New York City made up of a lot of passions and experiences that have made me who I am today. One of my greatest passions is narrowing the literacy gap by empowering kids to read and providing them with resources to do so. I’ve been developing my community service initiative, Read → Lead → Succeed, for the majority of the ten years I’ve been a part of the Miss America Opportunity. When I was 12, my family lost our home, and during this period of extreme fear, the one constant that kept me afloat was reading. I read cookbooks, my grandmother’s sewing books, fiction, non-fiction, and whatever else was on our bookshelves at the time. As a lifelong champion of a child’s right to read, I am living proof that reading is the key to unlocking your full potential, leading your life in the direction of your dreams, and securing the success you deserve.
I’ve earned just over $140,000 through the Miss America Program. In turn, I graduated from The University of Alabama on the Miss America’s Teen Presidential Scholarship completely debt free. This allowed me to save money throughout college and move to New York, where I always felt I belonged, shortly after graduation. The scholarship dollars I’ve earned since are being allocated towards my education at New York University, where I will graduate with an MBA in 2026.
I’m a workout-junkie and I love to go for a long walk! Staying active is one of my favorite tools to calm my nervous system, and it’s a goal of mine this year to walk the length of Manhattan!
I love fashion, especially fall fashion, and I’m a huge fan of layering and bright colors. More importantly, I love a good boot, so I’m stoked about Ally’s new boot drop! I know my chocolate brown leather boots will get a lot of use as I style them this fall.
My favorite book is “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, and my favorite movie is “The Parent Trap”!
ALLY Shoes: What do you plan to do after you receive your MBA?
Abigail: I look forward to utilizing expertise gathered from my work as a fundraising professional at a non-profit, private institution and Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Leadership and Change Management to transition to a major philanthropic foundation and focus on program planning with a goal of providing resources and programming centered on educational equity to public schools and defunct libraries across the country.
ALLY Shoes: Can you share the things you are doing in the community after being named Miss New York?
Abigail: As Miss New York, my mission is to narrow the literacy gap by empowering kids to read and providing them with resources to do so. I currently run after-school programs throughout title one public schools, surrounding kids with a literacy-rich environment and early reading skills so they can ace their reading tests and live the lives of their dreams. I’m a one-on-one tutor through Reading Partners, a children’s literacy non-profit focused on children 6+ months behind in reading level, and I have run a nationwide social media reading challenge called Book Buddies that allows kids to pick a buddy, pick a book, and summarize the story together, providing them with comprehension and conflict resolution skills.
I’ll soon be meeting with the New York Senate Majority Leader as well as the head of the New York Senate’s Education Committee to discuss a revamp to reading curriculums, and what they see as the major issues facing our state when it comes to kids not meeting basic reading proficiency levels.
On top of literacy advocacy, it is such a gift and a joy to be able to travel the state of New York and become immersed in the warmth of the communities of New Yorkers near and far. This state has so much beauty to offer, and I’m honored to be a part of it.
ALLY Shoes: Who is your ally?
Abigail: My ally is and always will be my mom. She inspires me every day to pick myself up and keep chasing after my dreams and achieving my goals, even when they may seem impossible.
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