Carrying Home with Her

From her upbringing to the Miss America stage, and to life today, Leigh Sherer Seirafi remains grounded in the warmth and gratitude of her roots.

Words by Jenny Lynn Davis | Images by Al Blanton

There are people whose presence lingers softly, not because of fame or titles, but because of the grace with which they’ve carried each season of life. For Leigh Sherer Seirafi, that grace took root in Jasper, Alabama, and has continued to steady her through decades of change, growth, and purpose.

She remembers her childhood in Jasper with a kind of warmth and fondness that feels like sunlight shining through kitchen curtains. She attended T.R. Simmons Elementary, Maddox Middle School, and Walker High, each leaving its mark. But it was the piano keys in the high school auditorium that became her compass. While other students lingered in the lunchroom, Leigh often slipped away to practice scales and sonatas, already sure that music would shape her future. That passion carried her to Samford University, where she double majored in piano and vocal performance.

Jasper, she says, gave her something rare: a sense of belonging. She treasured the steady presence of her parents and grandparents, as well as the way teachers, neighbors, and church friends took an interest in one another’s lives. “In Jasper, people stay connected,” she says. “They follow your progress and encourage you along the way.”

Those early affirmations of teachers cheering her on, family attending piano recitals, and the feeling that her community believed in her became the foundation for everything that followed.

It was that same encouragement that carried her onto a much bigger stage. During high school, Leigh entered her first pageant, performing a piano piece that left the crowd in awe. At the time, it was just another opportunity to share her love of music, but it soon opened a new door. Guided by mentors who saw her potential, she began competing in the Miss Alabama program, embracing its focus on scholarship, service, and personal growth.

For four years, she returned to the stage poised, persistent, and prepared by the lessons that growing up in Jasper had taught her about the value of hard work and humility. In 1995, representing her home community as Miss Walker County, Leigh was crowned Miss Alabama. The title carried prestige, but more than that, it brought a sense of homegrown pride. “It was exciting for Walker County to have a Miss Alabama,” she says. “Winning as Miss Walker County made it even more meaningful.”

That summer, supporters from Jasper filled the audience at the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, waving signs and wearing smiles that mirrored her own. Leigh says that the small-town support gave her the confidence to carry the values of her upbringing - grace over glamour, gratitude over grandeur - into the national spotlight. She went on to place in the Top 10 at Miss America, an honor that allowed her to perform her talent on national television. “I was proud to represent Jasper and to show that someone from a small town can accomplish big things,” she says.

Music remained her steady thread. Through the whirlwind of appearances, interviews, and travel, Leigh returned to the piano as both anchor and refuge. Her early training under Patty Kirkley at the Birmingham-Southern Conservatory had instilled in her a deep respect for discipline. “I practiced three to four hours a day,” she says. “It sounds like a lot, but when you love something, it’s not work. It’s fun.” That same joyful discipline, learning to show up, to polish, and to persevere, would later shape her approach to parenting, teaching, and daily life.

Today, decades removed from the pageant stage, Leigh lives in Jupiter, Florida, with her husband and their three sons: Peter, Nicholas, and Anthony. Between school, baseball practices, and games, their days are full, but still soundtracked softly by the piano in the background. Leigh has passed her love of piano on to her boys, teaching them to play and even performing duets together at assisted living homes. “I wanted to show them that when you have a gift, you should share it,” she says. “Music is something that brings peace, and it’s a beautiful way to connect.”

Her days are a blend of family, faith, and the quiet fulfillment of giving back. She is often found volunteering with the PTO at her sons’ schools, helping in classrooms, teaching piano and voice, and occasionally stepping back into the public-school setting as a teacher. She runs, bikes, cooks, and invests in her friendships, finding beauty in ordinary moments.

Life in Jupiter feels both familiar and new. Leigh says that, like Jasper, Jupiter is a tight-knit and family-centered community. Still, she sometimes misses the way Jasper wraps around you, like how every trip to the grocery store could turn into a reunion. “In Jasper, you always run into someone you know,” she says. “Here, people are more spread out.” Still, she has connected with neighbors, church friends, and baseball families, and continues to foster that sense of communitywherever she goes.

Leigh returns to Alabama at least twice a year, once to spend the holidays with family, and once each summer for the Miss Alabama pageant, which still holds a special place in her heart. She now serves on the board of directors for the Miss Alabama Pageant, continuing to support and mentor young women who are walking the same path she once did. 2025 marked the 30th anniversary of her crowning, a milestone that she says feels both surreal and sentimental. “I spoke to the contestants before the show,” she says. “I told them to be present and enjoy the moment.” Her advice carries the weight of experience, and she knows very well the months and years of work that lead to that single week on stage, as well as the friendships and lessons that last far beyond the crown.

“They’ll come out of it stronger, no matter what,” she says. “I know I did.”

For Leigh, success has never been about stages or spotlights; instead, it's about showing up fully as a daughter of Jasper, a wife and mother, a teacher, and a woman of faith. She embodies the quiet strength that small towns are known for, and a steadiness that doesn’t fade, no matter how far she goes.

When asked what she hopes people remember about her, Leigh doesn’t hesitate. “That I’m thankful,” she says. “Thankful for my life and thankful for the opportunities I’ve had. I feel very blessed.”

It’s the kind of answer that says everything you need to know about who Leigh is. Still that girl from Jasper, still finding harmony in every season, and still carrying home with her, wherever life leads. 78