Alpha Phi Alpha award Miss Black & Gold 2009

Kailyn Stovall was crowned winner of the 2009-2010 Miss Black & Gold Scholarship Pageant on Wednesday April 22, after an intense competition with five other girls.

The 18-year-old freshman pre-nursing major, Keilah Johnson, edged out first runner-up and was named Miss Black and second runner-up was awared to Miss Gold Tenay Carty.

“I am so excited and surprised, this could have been anybody’s night and I am so grateful to my family, supporters and these lovely contestants because I couldn’t have done it without them,” Stovall said.

The Miss Black and Gold Pageant which started in 1976 is an annual spring event organized by the Mu Gamma chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Three ladies are voted Miss Black, Miss Gold and Miss Black and Gold. All three girls are awarded scholarship checks, trophies and sashes. The winner goes on to compete against winners from other schools at the state level.

Six contestants from GCSU competed in the pageant, and contestants were judged by their performances in sections such as the health and fitness swimsuit section, evening gown section, talent show and an on-stage interview.

The contestants also had to meet requirements such as a certain GPA and community involvement to take part in the contest.

“The Miss Black & Gold Scholarship Pageant is something our fraternity has been putting on for a number of years. The pageant is basically a way to help mentor and motivate the young ladies at the college campus,” said Ajayi Monell, who was in charge of putting the show together. “This is not a beauty pageant; it is a scholarship pageant, so we help motivate our students and contestants to keep their grades up, while staying active in their college and community.”

The six contestants started off the night with their performance of the Ying Yang Twins song “Dangerous,” followed by an introduction of each girl and their chosen platform by the Mistress of ceremony Karla Monique White. The girls took the stage, each explaining the reason behind their platforms. Some were inspired by their family members, like first runner-up Johnson.

“I chose Lupus awareness as my platform because a large percent of our black population is infected by this- yet only few are aware that it exists,” Johnson said. “I have had a one on one encounter with it since my sister found out that she had it, and I would like to use this opportunity to bring to everyone the awareness of Lupus.”

There were other awards given at the show besides that of the winner, first and second runner-up. The awards for Miss Congeniality and People’s Choice Award went to Ashleigh Samuel, a freshman who was sponsored by Delta Zeta sorority. The award for the best evening gown went to the first runner-up, Johnson, who tied with Stovall for the Fitness and Health award. A new award for the best GPA was added to the pageant this year and Natalie Powell, a sophomore marketing major, won the award. Just before crowing the winner, Kelsey Croyle, the 2008-2009 Miss Black and Gold took her last walk.

“My reign as Miss Black and Gold can be described as eye-opening as well as a life changing experience. I learned so much and made lots of friends along the way,” Croyle said. “Being able to watch these girls grow for the past couple of months, has been such a privilege. They are all really great girls.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on May 1 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry