Under the stage lights of McCain Auditorium, nerves, rehearsals and a month of preparation all came down to the next two hours in front of a crowded audience.
Contestants in the Miss K-State competition stepped onstage to represent their respective organizations, each bringing their own mix of talent, personality and Wildcat pride to the stage. For many of them, the event was less about competition and more about confidence, community and the chance to try something new.
Hosted annually by Delta Upsilon, the Miss K-State competition aims to highlight outstanding women across campus and allow organizations to showcase one of their members through talent performances, skits and onstage questions. The event also serves a philanthropic purpose, raising money for the Delta Upsilon Global Service Initiative, which supports underdeveloped communities abroad.
This year’s pageant, held on April 8 in McCain Auditorium, celebrated 15 women, each from a different sorority at Kansas State.
For the newly crowned Miss K-State, Abbeigh Jo Gibson of Sigma Alpha Professional Agricultural Sorority, the competition was both familiar and new. Having grown up while competing in pageants, stepping onstage to compete again brought back memories — but this time Gibson was representing more than just herself.
“I’ve always loved doing pageants growing up,” Gibson said. “But this one was a little bit more scary to me, just because I was representing a whole organization and I was trying my best to make sure that I represented them as well as I could.”
Preparations for the competition began weeks in advance. For the first round of competition, each contestant was tasked with developing a Wildcat Pride skit and preparing a talent performance. After the first round, half the contestants went on to perform a career/major-focused skit before answering an onstage question.
For Gibson, preparation meant revisiting a skill she hadn’t practiced in years — clogging.
“I had to reteach myself everything,” she said. “All of my people who used to clog are back home, and I live 15 hours away, so I couldn’t just go home for a weekend to practice.”
Despite weeks of preparation, Gibson said hearing her name called as Miss K-State was a surprise.
“I couldn’t even put two and two together that I had won,” Gibson said. “They announced my name, and I looked over at the girl next to me with a shocked face. When they said my name, the whole audience kind of just blew up from their seats and were hollering and screaming.”
Though only one contestant can take home the title of Miss K-State, the contestants were able to build friendships with participants from the other competing sororities.
“All the girls are just so sweet,” third runner-up, Ainsleigh Stout of Kappa Alpha Theta, said. “I really feel like we’ve been able to bond over not really knowing what’s going on all the time.”
Destinee Schaffer of Alpha Omega Epsilon was one of the contestants to advance to the final eight.
“DU hosted tons of rehearsals for us,” Shaffer said. “It was about one rehearsal a week, which really helped us fit into the event and helped our nerves a bit.”
Despite not winning a title, making it to the final eight was a moment of pride for Shaffer and her sorority.
“It felt really good,” Shaffer said. “I was really proud of myself and proud for my organization.”
For many of the women involved, the pageant offered them a chance to challenge themselves, perform in front of a large audience and represent their organizations in a new way.
“I think the biggest thing I got from this experience is just being more confident in myself and to believe in who I am,” Gibson said. “What I already know is just as good as what I continue to learn.”
