Alaina Malcolm Crowned Miss UNCP 2019
The UNCP Pageant had finalists from third runner-up, to second runner-up, first runner-up and Miss UNCP.
The third runner-up will receive a $250 scholarship, the second runner-up will receive a $500 scholarship, the first runner-up will receive a $750 scholarship and the title of Miss UNCP will receive a $2,000 scholarship.
Contestants who don’t make the finalist will receive a $200 scholarship each.
The pageant consists of eight contestants, all students who have different skill sets. The contestants are; KaylaVera McBride, a freshman with a biology major, Destiney Chavis, a sophomore with a criminal justice major, Amanda Smith, a sophomore who’s in the nursing program, Omega Cogdell, a freshman with a psychology major, Lyasia Hazzard, a freshman who is undeclared, LaRuth Anderson, a junior with an elementary education major, Anna Campbell, a freshman with a biology degree with a concentration in biomedical and Alaina Malcolm, a senior with a sociology major.
Masters of Ceremony Adrian Hammonds and mistress of ceremonies Angela Revels announced the winner of the Miss UNCP Pageant. Special performances were from Robert Williams and Joshua Oxendine.
“This show was something that if you missed it you would never experience it again,” Revels said.
The first contestant who performed was McBride who showcased her vocal skills with a song; her platform was on dating violence. Then Chavis, with her platform on saving our service members, performed a monologue.
After Chavis came Smith who played a song on the marimba. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the marimba is one of many African names for the xylophone, and, because African instruments bearing this name frequently have a tuned calabash resonator for each wooden bar, some ethnomusicologists use the name marimba to distinguish gourd-resonated from other xylophones. Smith’s platform was about body diversity and to say “no” to body shaming.
Cogdell, with her platform on mentoring foster youth, performed a contemporary dance. Hazzard performed through spoken word with a platform on skinning shaming. Campbell did a vocal piece and her platform was to bring awareness to those with Down Syndrome. Anderson, with her platform on suicide not being a solution, showcased her dancing abilities with a smile.
Finally, Malcolm performed a tap-dancing routine which went along with her ‘tapping for kids’ platform.
“I’m proud of every contestant and if it was an option every contestant would’ve went home with the crown,” Hammonds said.
The winners of the 2019 were announced as following; Anderson was awarded Miss Congeniality and the Kelsey Cummings spirit award, Chavis was awarded the community award, third runner-up was Campbell, second runner-up was McBride and first runner-up Cogdell.
With silence from the audience, it was announced that Malcolm will be Miss UNCP 2019 with the $2,000 scholarship. The contestants were crowned and rewarded with the scholarship money and flowers.
Community Civic and Engagement holds one award for the contestant who turns in the most donations.
The pageant is held annually by the Division of Student Affairs, with Cynthia Oxendine as the executive director, Teresa Bryant, co-executive director, and Zavery McDougald who directed and choreographed the pageant.
