[youtube width=”475″ height=”394″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKnMsx-oiwM[/youtube]
Alisha Lee, a sophomore from Salt Lake studying social work, was crowned Miss UVU at the Miss UVU Scholarship Pageant Friday, Oct. 7, at 7pm in the UCCU Center. With 20 contestants, the pageant was the largest in UVU history.
Her new court includes; Samantha Cummings, first-runner up, Bri Sorenson, second runner-up, Shannon Oveson, third runner-up and Rachel Kearl, fourth runner-up. Other awards were Miss Congeniality or “Spirit of Pageant” earned by Haelly Kirk, “Miracle Maker” went to Shannon Oveson, and the People’s Choice award went to Bri Sorenson.
Alisha Lee will represent UVU for the 2012 school year, and will receive $3,800 scholarship and a gift of $200 from the UVU Bookstore. The runners-up will each receive a $1,600 scholarship and a $100 gift from the Bookstore.
To begin the show each contestant, decked in sparkling silver and white, participated in a dance on stage. The audience then watched a pre-recorded video of each girl sharing a little about herself. The comments that stood out were service oriented or about UVU.
Lee talked about having great teachers and fun learning opportunities, like attending a “Bill Nye the Science Guy” presentation. Another contestant, Kimberly Frandsen, talked about the great open enrollment policy at UVU.
Next the ladies completed the swimwear portion of the competition. It’s not easy to wear a swimsuit and heels in front of hundreds of people, but the girls smile and looked fantastic.
After swimwear, each competitor got a chance to showcase her talent. Lee performed an impressive jazz dance to the song “Proud Mary.” Cummings hit notes as high as Mariah Carrey in her vocal talent. Sorenson danced beautifully in a flowing white costume. Oveson performed amazingly on the marimba, and Kearl played a complicated piano piece.
Other talents of interest included an artistic showcase by Jorden Hobush where she sketched Michael Jackson to the tune of “Smooth Criminal” and Megan Palhum’s impressive tumbling routine to “Thunderstruck”.
After the talent portion the contestants answered questions involving current events. When Lee was asked how she could help others dealing with domestic violence, she talked about giving women empowerment, letting them know that they are of worth and are strong enough to break the cycle. “I realized this was how I can make a difference.” Lee said, referring to the competition.
Lee also said she would love to graduate with a degree in social work and take her platform of helping others in domestic violence relationships to the next level. She wants to “make a difference in the life of teens.” Lee was sincere, with her eyes sparkling and a fabulous smile, she says to the student body and to the world for that matter, “Get ready, I’m coming!”
