Zahara
Pruitt
Miss Bronze 2014
The 39th Annual Miss
Bronze Scholarship Pageant was thrown by the Phi Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity Inc. and took place on April 5, 2014. This year’s pageant focused on,
The Essence of a Queen.
This event was quite a success. The
eight contestants varied in age, talents, and unique beauty. Freshman, Alexis
Apparicio was crowned the 2014 Miss Bronze. Junior, Joshelyn Smith won 1st
runner up, with Sophomore, Aunjanna’ Million winning 2nd runner up,
and Junior, Tiarra Comer winning Miss Congeniality.
The event highlighted their
professional eloquence, their impressive talents, and their feminine elegance.
All of the contestants were extremely well spoken, which could be seen when
giving their 90-second platform of their on-campus and off-campus involvement
and their philosophy on life.
The talent portion was my personal
favorite. Each of these young ladies is incredibly talented. Talents included
spoken word, dancing, singing, a choreographed fashion show, and performing a
self-written manuscript. It was clear that each contestant put a great deal of
time into preparing their talent, yet more importantly many of the talents had
a message in them that touched many audience members.
Aunjanna’ Million performed a touching
manuscript inspiring women to treat one another with more respect and to
respect themselves, while simultaneously taking pride in themselves and where
they come from.
Alexis Apparicio performed an
audacious poem criticizing the upkeep of female African-American hair. She
spoke of how she doesn’t feel herself when she sees straight her. She urged
women to embrace the natural hair that God has given them.
Joshelyn Smith awed many as she
performed an opera piece. Her angelic tone and stringent execution combined to
bring the crowd to heavy applause, as it was surely unlike anything I have ever
experienced before.
The contestants later wowed in
the Poise and Appearance portion of the pageant. The several floor length gowns
varied in style and color, yet complimented each of the contestants in a very
tasteful way.
The contestants were faced with
some tough questions in the Oral Expression portion of the competition. The
contestants had to answer one of three questions involving women leaders who
have impacted their life, reform that you impact on this campus, and how you
plan to continue your leadership on campus. The true intelligence and eloquence
of the contestants showed through here.
More events like these are needed
on campus. There is an incredibly smart, well-spoken, passionate, creative,
driven group of young African-American women on Ohio University’s campus.
Unfortunately, there are not enough great events like these highlighting that.
I applaud the Alphas for putting on this event and doing such a good job with
it. It was a nice evening to see our fellow sister bobcats in all of their
glory and I look forward to next year’s pageant.
No comments:
Post a Comment