–dbaxter2@my.apsu.edu
Pageants have been around for ages and APSU is no stranger to the institution. They act as a platform for women to inspire other young girls and people all over the nation.
APSU had its annual Miss Austin Peay Scholarship Pageant on Saturday, Nov. 3, in the Music/Mass Communications Building Concert Hall, where 12 ladies competed for the grand title. The night started off with the swimsuit portion of the competition.
Next was the talent section, where performances ranged from music and spoken word to performance art.
Some of the dance performances included an interpretative dance by Jennifer Freeland to the song “Hero” by Mariah Carey and a modern jazz dance performed by Jordan Davis to “Show Me How You Burlesque” by Christina Aguilera.
In addition, participant Catherine Hewey performed a religious spoken word piece advocating women to “stop worrying about pleasing men and please the man above.”
Elizabeth Cook sang “Home” from the Disney Broadway show Beauty and the Beast and contestant Jasmine Lowe did a lyrical dance to the song “Who You Are” by Jessie J. Jessica Wimbly performed a tap dance piece to a country tune while Carmen Fowlkes played a Bach piece on piano.
Evening wear was the third and final part of the competition, where the contestants aimed to showcase their poise and grace while walking across the stage.
Last year’s pageant winner, Katie Kennedy, returned during this portion to ask the contestants a few questions each.
Each contestant was involved and active in a certain charity that she found significant. Contestants were asked why they chose that particular charity and why it was important to them. Then, questions were randomly drawn for the women to give a response.
Following this, the judges tallied their votes and the contestants awaited the results. The winner was Lesleigh Stanfill, who performed “Great Smoky Mountain” on piano for her talent portion of the competition.
Kennedy handed her crown over as Stanfill took her first walk as 2013’s Miss Austin Peay.
