HANNAH ADAMS
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​​​MY JOURNEY 

Hannah is a sophomore at The University of Alabama from Birmingham, AL, as an honors student double majoring in Public Relations and Political Science. She is a member of The Blackburn Institute, Student Government Association's Director of Programming and Advancement for Student Affairs, the Carl A. Elliott Society, Alpha Gamma Delta Psi Chapter Director of Involvement, Secretary of AEI, Vice President of the Lambda Sigma Honor Society, and Campus Outreach. 
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​A classically trained dancer since the age of three, Hannah has performed in over forty recitals and events. She enjoys having the opportunities to share her love of the art across the country at events such as CureFest USA, Miss America's Outstanding Teen, the Daytona 500, and Relay for Life. She has danced with the Radio City Rockettes in New York City, New York along with taking classes from Rockette alumna. 

When Hannah was five and a half years old, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Nephroblastoma, which meant that a softball sized tumor was enveloping her left kidney. To combat the diagnosis, she had radiation treatment, twenty-eight weeks of chemotherapy, and two blood transfusions. Following treatment, she had to have an eight hour surgery to remove her left kidney and the tumor. After continuous chemotherapy and radiation treatment, she was declared cancer-free and has remained cancer-free for thirteen years!

Hannah’s battle with pediatric cancer has inspired her to share her personal story, raise awareness, and spread hope to all children fighting cancer. Due to her dedication to community service, Hannah was awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award Gold in 2017, 2018 and 2019. She has also been inducted into Congressional Record  in honor of her instrumental work done as a pediatric cancer activist in Washington D.C. In addition, Hannah has a display at the Florida House in Washington D.C. that shares her story and accomplishments. 

Hannah has been an activist since she was eight years old, first becoming involved with the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life. In 2011-2013, she was considered the youngest Relay for Life team captain in the state of Florida. Currently, Hannah is an ambassador for the nationwide Gold Together for Childhood Cancer initiative, which allows Relay for Life teams to restrict their fundraising solely to pediatric cancer. In total, Hannah has raised $50,000 through the American Cancer Society. She accomplishes her fundraising efforts through hosting events, sending letters to families and friends, having local press attend her events, and gaining sponsorships through companies like PDQ and programs such as Cub Scouts of America.  In September 2020, Hannah helped create digital content to inspire others during the inaugural #GoldTogether Champions fundraising campaign, which helped raise $300,000 for childhood cancer research. This champions campaign has expanded over the past two years totaling in millions of research dollars raised.

Another non-profit organization she works closely with is Hyundai Motor America Hyundai Hope On Wheels. In 2016, Hannah was announced as the National Youth Ambassador  for the program. In her time of being the ambassador and remaining involved, she has traveled to 40 different children’s hospitals in 26 states, helping raise and present a total of $30,000,000 in pediatric cancer research grants. Not only is she able to visit children’s hospitals, but she conveys her platform of pediatric cancer to thousands of people at events such as the New York Auto Show, Hyundai Hope On Wheels 5k/10k, DC Days, and a New York City Times Square Billboard. Hannah has participated in 210 media (radio and television) and print media interviews viewed across the country. She owes so much to Hyundai Motor Company for all that they do in this fight.

One of Hannah’s main focuses of finding a cure for pediatric cancer is through raising legislative awareness. Hannah has lobbied and spoken on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. over the past six years. She helped research and pass the STAR (Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research) Act and RACE for Children Act..  ​She has advocated for legislation such as the Gabriella Miller 2.0 Act, Give Kids A Chance Act, Fairness to Kids Act, and Gives Kids a Chance Act. During September, Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, Hannah and her family travel to Curefest USA. This is an event where pediatric cancer activists from across the world come together and rally to end pediatric cancer. Hannah has presented and hosted Curefest USA six times. 

In addition to making a federal legislative impact, Hannah has partnered with the American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) to create change at a state level. Seeing Hannah's passion and skills, ACCO hired Hannah as a Regional Advocacy Ambassador to coordinate lobbying meetings, advocacy trainings, and much more. She has helped create over $77 million in pediatric cancer research funding in four respective states. In addition, Hannah became the first pediatric cancer survivor to join the Alabama Cancer Control Coalition as well as has worked with Alabama's Department of Public Health to include pediatric cancer in the 2022 State Action Cancer Plan and create pediatric cancer research funding legislation. She has presented to the Department and Coalition numerous times. 

At the beginning of 2019, Hannah and her family launched their nationwide 501 (c) (3) non-profit H.U.G.S. 4 Childhood Cancer. The meaning behind H.U.G.S. (Helping U Get Stronger) is that you can help families going through their journey with childhood cancer get stronger one hug at a time. The three main focal points of the foundation are legislative awareness, community awareness, and family support. They have provided family support gifts, lobbied, hosted #GoGold awareness days, and given hope to others. Through a partnership with the Alabama Department of Public Health, they will be creating awareness and support videos for the state. 

As Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen 2019 and 2020, Hannah traveled across the state of Florida speaking, volunteering, and impacting thousands of peoples lives serving as the longest reigning titleholder due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She accomplished 215 appearances during her years of service, breaking the record number of appearances ever made. She was the first pediatric cancer survivor to hold this title and hopes to show kids that they can do anything despite their diagnosis. In addition to winning Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen, Hannah received over $300,000 in cash and in-kind scholarships. At Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2020, Hannah walked away with over $2,000 in scholarship money and was granted the Teens In Action award for her exemplary service to the community.

 Hannah competed as Miss Covered Bridge 2022 at Miss Alabama 2022 where she placed as a Top 12 semi-finalist, won the Preliminary Red Carpet Award, and won the Catherine Crosby Community Service Award. In November 2022, she was crowned Miss Birmingham 2023 and will be returning to the Miss Alabama stage this summer! Hannah is dedicated to spreading the message that you can overcome any struggle by being confident, fearless, and positive!
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  • HOME
  • MEET HANNAH
  • HANNAH'S LIFE
  • HANNAH IN ACTION
  • HANNAH'S PASSIONS
  • HANNAH'S PRESS CLIPPINGS
  • HANNAH'S BLOG
  • CONTACT HANNAH