'Queen of Nile' pageant

The Eta Gamma and Epsilon Tau Lambda chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. held the 28th Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant on Oct. 11 in the Memorial Student Center.
The "Queens of the Nile" inspired event gave 10 young women the opportunity to grace the stage and compete to win scholarships and the ability to take part in the regional and national pageants for the fraternity. The contestants competing for the crowns included Chasity Burnside, Briana Clark, Imani Coney, Mikaela Dulan, Elizabeth Ekpo, Amber Gary, Nadia Grier, Denise Henderson, Shatoya McMillan and Ivy Walls.
Each contestant represented a famous queen of the Nile and vied for the opportunity to be Miss Black and Gold. The women went through a rigorous process of multiple applications, which included sending in videos for talents and answering a series of essay questions for a few months.
"We look for women with the total package. This includes strength, beauty, grace, talent, diversity and intelligence. The women who have been Miss Black and Gold have always been charismatic, professional, and have always represented the fraternity of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc. with the upmost class. Our contestants tonight meet all of those standards and I look forward to being represented by any one of these ladies," said Connor Beskin a senior computer science major and pageant committee member.
Issa Joseph a junior civil and environmental engineering major and host of the night's event, introduced the judges and the categories the ladies were judged on.The judges included, vice president for administration at Prairie View A&M University Michael L. Fraizer; Tiphany Cull a PVAMU alumna and Pre-K private school teacher; Christopher Harvey, the communications and legislative affairs coordinator of Fort Bend County, Fort Bend county commissioner Grady Prestage; Cheryl Daniels a PVAMU alumna; and senior vice president of business development for Synergy Systems and owner of Carroll Consulting & Project Management Thomas Carroll IV.
 The judges were responsible for interviewing the contestants and scoring them on achievement and projection, swimwear, talent, eveningwear, and onstage impromptu questions. 
 By the end of the night, the young women had shared with the audience the bright futures they have ahead of them, showcased their talents, and presented themselves with poise as they graced the stage in swimwear and evening gowns. 
 The awards for selling the most ads for the souvenir booklet, swimwear, and interview went to contestant Amber Gary. 
 Contestant Mikaela Dulan became the first runner up to each Miss Black and Gold. She was awarded a scholarship, and in the event that one of the Miss Black or Gold winners cannot hold their positions, she would step in to become the new holder of either title. 
 Briana Clark walked away with the awards for Miss Congeniality, talent, and the title of Miss Black and Gold for the Epsilon Tau Lambda chapter. 
 Nadia Grier was awarded for oral expression and the title of Miss Black and Gold for the Eta Gamma chapter. 
  "I have a lot of motivation and people behind me that will help me institute a lot of things on this campus that will motivate our women, change the perspective of women, and teach women to respect themselves and how to be seen in a better light," said Grier.
 When the winners were announced audience members swarmed the stage to congratulate all the ladies who competed in the pageant. 
 "I loved the show," Jasmine Thombs, senior psychology major said. "I thought the pageant was so elegantly put together and each of the 10 contestants was ravishing."
 At the end of the pageant the host thanked the sponsors, special guests and invited the audience to a special reception upstairs with the contestants.