You don't need blood, sweat and tears to win a beauty pageant - all you need, as proven by the 10 contestants of Kappa Delta's eighth annual Miss Longwood Pageant, is to truly understand and represent the Longwood spirit. Each contestant was not only to represent herself and her abilities, but also her chosen Longwood organization. This year, the Miss Longwood Pageant was bigger and bluer. Longwood blue, that is.
The event occurred on Wednesday, March 28 in Jarman Auditorium at 7 p.m. Ticket prices for the event were $4 in advance and $5 at the day of the event. Proceeds went to Kappa Delta's philanthropies, Madeline's House and Prevent Child Abuse America.
The event was sponsored by Caryn's Bridals, Formals and Tuxedos and featured performances by senior Nancy McDonald and alumna Taylor Hines, both who had won the title of 2011 Miss Longwood by a tie.
McDonald performed her Longwood-themed parody of Wiz Khalifa's song, "Black and Yellow," renaming it "White and Blue." Hines performed the song "Hometown Glory" by Adele.
The judges for the event included Director of Residential and Commuter Life Angela Jackson, Area Coordinator for West Campus Josh Blakely, Julie Howerton as a representative of Madeline's House and Caryn Kayton as a representative of Caryn's Bridals, Formals and Tuxedos.
The contestants participating in the event included Ericka Godwin representing Longwood Ambassadors, Mary Paige Ciucci representing Sigma Kappa sorority, Brianna DeWulf representing Delta Zeta sorority, Samantha Lewis representing Beta Phi Beta, Inc, Nicole Bird representing Longwood Women's Rugby, Katherine Ferrell representing Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, Emily Spady representing Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, Lauren Irby representing Alpha Sigma Tau sorority, Crystal Willoughby representing Longwood Company of Dance, and Kelsey Leach representing Alpha Delta Pi sorority.
Contestants were judged on a five-point scale for three categories: their introduction, their choice of performance (talent) and their skill of answering questions meant to reflect "on the college experience, Longwood University spirit and Longwood University as a whole," as stated by Kappa Delta Philanthropy Chair Emily Flint in the March 28 issue of The Rotunda.
For the talent portion of the event, the performances varied widely between dancing, singing, stand-up comedy and more.
The most difficult part of the competition ended up being the question and answer round, but it also allowed for the most noteworthy and memorable moments of the competition.
One example of this is when Spady was asked what life-long lessons she has learned as a student at Longwood, she answered, "One of the most important lessons I've learned while at Longwood is to do things not for recognition, but just because I want to ... I want to give back so much to this school because it does so much for me, and I am a firm believer that you get back what you put into an organization and to your experiences."
Another example of a notable and well-spoken answer was when Bird was asked what the spirit of Longwood meant to her. Bird answered, "To me, the spirit of Longwood relies in everyone's spirit. It's a feeling that you get when you come onto our campus and you feel the spirit in our community. It's a knowing that though Longwood's not perfect ... we love it anyway."
The contestant to raise the most money through Penny Wars preceding the event was eligible to receive an extra five points to her final score. The total amount of money raised through Penny Wars totaled to $186.76 with Bird achieving the highest contributed amount.
By the end of the night, Bird won Miss Congeniality 2012, second runner up for Miss Longwood 2012 ended in a tie between Leach and Godwin, Irby won First Runner Up 2012 and Bird won Miss Longwood 2012.
Special thanks were given to Flint, Assistant Philanthropy Chair of Kappa Delta Liz White and Kappa Delta Advisor Sarah Whitley.
