When Taylor Nicks found out she’d been chosen to be the queen of the Mobile Mardi Gras Association for 2024, one of the things she began looking forward to the most was spending the season with her royal court. But as a St. Paul’s Episcopal School graduate pursuing a law degree, her proclivity to public service is always near of mind, so she combined the two.

The result was the Crowned and Loved event in Mobile’s Cathedral Square in November of 2023, benefitting the city’s homeless population and involving the MAMGA court and several of its passionate members. Held the week before the Carnival season started in earnest with the Camellia Ball, the event not only provided food and clothing for those who need them the most, it also provided medical personnel and hot showers for those participating.

“I like being able to hear their stories and then share them with friends and family,” Nicks said. “Just meeting a new soul and hearing about their life, it’s beautiful.”