Miss UCA Scholarship Pageant 2012

Gym Class Heroes Ft. Neon Hitch - Ass Back Home

I had to write about the Miss UCA Scholarship Pageant competition last night, so I told the girls at the front desk that I was representing the Fountain and I got in for free ;)

The event was sponsored by Alpha Sigma Alpha, one of the sororities on campus. There were supposed to be 13 contestants, but one of them couldn't make it so that left 12 of them.

I sat somewhere in the back of the crowded auditorium, aimed my telephoto lens and fired away with my T2i. (Made a mistake by not bumping up my shutter speed. Then I came back and groaned at my blurry pictures.)

Here are some of the finer ones from the lot. Lol. :

Miss UCA 2010, Kerry Hawkins, entertaining the crowd after singing the National Anthem

Taking baton-twirling to a whole new level of... danger! 

For the first stage of the competition, all 12 contestants paraded the stage in their sexy swimwear.

#6 Hannah Billingsley

#9 Rachel Edwards

#12 Morgan Holt

Here's a hint: one of those 3 became Miss UCA 2012 last night. 

And then there was the talent show (my favorite!): 

#11 Holly Culpepper singing to Boogie Man

#4 Christina Huynh playing the piano to "River Flows In You"

#9 Rachel Edwards playing the flute to "I Will Rise"

#6 Hannah Billingsley singing "How Great Thou Are"

#3 Candice Bailey dancing to Alicia Key's "Heartburn"

Next, contestants graced the auditorium in lovely evening gowns and prepared for the question&answer segment.

#4 Christina Huynh (I LOVED HER DRESS!)

#1 Lauren Howell

#3 Candice Bailey 

#5 Sara Willmon

#6 Hannah Billingsley

#8 Alyson Parsons

#13 Brittany Ashmore

Each contestant was asked 2 questions. The first one was something totally random, and the second one related to their platform (Breast Cancer Awareness/Alzheimer Awareness, Bullying, etc.)

And then it was time to announce the winners.

 #9 Rachel Edwards was the 1st runner up and she won a $700 scholarship.

And the winner of Miss UCA 2012 was ... 

#12 Morgan Holt!

Holt also won the swimsuit and talent competitions, and the most Photogenic award. And then she bagged the Miss UCA 2012 title! Lucky girl indeed. :)

 Miss Arkansas 2011 Kristen Glover (left) and Miss UCA 2011 Alicia Haflich (right) congratulating the elated winner

After the competition, I got a quick chat with Holt and asked her what she felt when her name was announced as the winner.

"I was really excited when they announced me the winner," she said. "I didn't expect it. I worked hard, and I'm glad it turned out that way."

Congratulations, Morgan! 

I was back by 11 pm to write the article. By 1am, I had submitted it and was ready for bed. :) Yup, that's the life of a journalism student. But on the plus side, you get to attend a paid events like this for free ;) Haha.

Happy weekend, people! I'll try to enjoy mine while slaving on assignments. :D