Some people may think that pageants are just about looking your best, showing off beautiful gowns, and giving fake answers to questions while on stage. What isn’t revealed as often is how hard the girls in these pageants work to make their performances flawless and how beneficial the shows can be to people in need.
The 9th Annual Ms. Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant 2009, hosted by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, is one of the most prestigious pageants that take place on campus. This campus show goes on to the national level and this year’s Miss Black and Gold winner, DiAnei DioDonet will keep working hard to be the top dog.
“Tons of work went into the show,” DioDonet explained. “We started practices towards the end of the semester last year and then we had a series of practices during winter break, so if you lived far you needed to find a way to get back on campus. Practices were six hours long and when we all got back to campus, practices began around 8pm and would end at almost 1-2am. All the practices were worth it though.”
As much as it was a competition, the girls in the pageant always helped one another out to improve their performances. DioDonet’s personal weakness during the competition was the question and answer portion.
“You never know what question they might ask you and you have to answer on the spot. I’m usually a good speaker, but remembering how to make it flow and to take pauses when you need to take pauses and make it a real answer instead of it just being computed, it was the most difficult task for me.”
At the beginning of the competition, DioDonet knew that the scholarship money would help her in these hard times, but it became more than just about winning the money but about doing it for fun at the same time. She said she needed to win to feel that all her hard work wasn’t for nothing.
“It was something I knew that I wanted. Not just because of the scholarship, but because of the title and the need to help out with next year’s pageant. As Ms. Black and Gold 2009, I have to plan and assist with choosing the group of girls for next year and it’s something I look forward to.”
Eventually, all of Ms. DioDenet’s focus and effort in the contest Ms. DioDonet paid off and she said winning the pageant was thrilling.
“My mom came all the way from upstate. I heard all the brothers going crazy in the crowd doing the fraternity call that they do, and so many of my friends were there too,” she said. “During the pageant, you’re not supposed to look into the crowd so when I won I looked into the crowd and they all took up half the audience! It definitely moved me in a certain way and if anything, I can only move forward from here.”
DiAnei DioDonet plans on helping out with more competitions and being a part of more fashion shows this year, so look out for her! Congratulations DiAnei!
