Oracle The
MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2013
HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY
VOLUME 15, ISSUE 23
Talent shines as Miss HSU comes to a close Zachar y Noga Staff Writer Freshmen are taking all the major awards this year, from Johnny Manziel winning the Heisman to a freshman from Fort Smith taking the Miss HSU crown and winning an opportunity to compete for the Miss Arkansas title. The Miss HSU pageant had it all, from a huge turnout, entertainment, student involvement and a group of competitive contestants. Arkansas Hall was so packed that Henderson staffers had to open up the second floor seating so people could watch the pageant. “The pageant went really well,” Ricki Rebollar, the host of the pageant, said. “All the ladies did a great job.” The first segment of the pageant was the Parade of Contestants. All of the contestants were introduced to the audience for the first time. Each one of the shirts that the contestant wore matched and was provided by Cameron Magee and Michael Curtis from Avad3. The next segment of the pageant gave the contestants the opportunity to do their first dress change while Miss HSU of 2012, Miranda Johnson, escorted little Miss Jacee Martin to the stage for an audience introduction. Miss Jacee Martin is six years old and loves competing in pageants, singing and going to church. The extemporaneous questions were the next event for the contestants, who demonstrated true bravery while answering difficult questions in front of a thousand or more spectators.
GOLDEN THROAT
Photo by Ryan Klare
Kendreka Myles sang “At Last” to clinch her victory at the Miss HSU pageant last Thursday. The pageant was decided by a panel of judges. “I believe that anyone who is in love should get married,” Sarah Williams, sophomore mass media major and fourth runner up, said in response to her question about the Supreme Court case to allow gay marriages in California. Other contestants had ques-
tions ranging from their opinion on whether or not traditional colleges will still exist to their opinion on whether or not trained faculty should be allowed to carry a concealed hand gun. The judges were then introduced to the audience while the
Miss HSU hopefuls went off to change into their bathing suits. Jim Collins, Carol Martin, Amanda Pharr, Rikki Tweedle and Julie Fuhrmann Hensley were the judges for this year’s pageant. Some of their qualifications included being a delegate to Miss America or being a former Miss HSU. The swimsuit portion of the pageant produced a big roar from the crowd. Many of the women chose a two-piece swimsuit, but seven of the contestants chose one-piece swimsuits that suited their individual tastes. When the swimsuit portion of the contest ended, audience members cheered for Miss Arkansas, Sloan Roberts, who then took the stage. Miss Arkansas shared stories about her days at Miss America and joked about Miss Iowa and her slip of words while answering a question about medical marijuana in last year’s Miss America competition. Talent was next, and the Miss HSU hopefuls didn’t disappoint. There were singers, dancers, violinists, poets and even a color guard routine, which led into intermission. Jacob Flores re-energized the crowd after a ten-minute intermission with a medley of songs. The evening gown segment of the competition produced loud cheers from the crowd as each participant showed off their elegant gowns on stage. The colors varied from creamy white to glittery pink. All the contestants showed poise and elegance while presenting their vibrantly colored gowns on stage. While the judges were tallying the votes for a winner, John-
son and Michael Ordonez sang a duet. Jacob Flores joined the two performers to sing another song. Last year’s Henderson Idol winner, Connor Rayburn, then joined the trio. After the scheduled acts were concluded, the judges had now reached a decision for the new Miss HSU. Miss Arkansas then came on stage and shared additional stories concerning her pageant competition, which included quotes from “Miss Congeniality.” When the judges finally reached a decision on the new Miss HSU, they brought all the contestants out on the stage and announced the winners of the other awards, which were competed for throughout the week. The award for Miss Photogenic was presented to Sarah Williams, while Kendreka Myles won the Best Talent award. The Miss Congeniality award was presented to Alyson Morrison. The evening’s host then announced Kendreka Myles as the winner of the 2013 Miss HSU competition. “She will do well representing HSU,” Leah Sexton, former Miss HSU, said. “Kendreka has a great personality. She’s funny, has a great talent and just gorgeous.” “I’m a freshman, and I just wanted to place,” Myles said. “To prepare for Miss Arkansas, I will freshen up my talent and hit the gym a lot more.” Myles’ family wasn’t able to attend event due to travel distance, but there is no doubt that her family and friends back home will be ready to cheer her on in the Miss Arkansas competition, which will be held in Hot Springs this summer.
Non-traditional student wins awards Cherith Cobbs Staff Writer
Index
It was the middle of the summer term. Jay Orr walked into Lonnie Jackson’s office and looked up at the pictures on the wall. He wasn’t sure what he was getting himself into, but he saw people holding checks. Money is what motivated him to participate in the competitions that earned him recognition and the grand prize. “Money will motivate almost anybody to put out a little work,” Jay Orr, senior aviation management major, said. Orr was close to giving up during the middle of the semester of his marketing class. He felt he was behind the other students in making his plans for the competition. He would start with an idea and then come up with another, changing his whole idea. Jackson would not let him give up. “He told me ‘Man keep going, keep pushing through,’ and luckily I did,” Orr said. Orr participated in the Business Plan Competition and the Business Battle of The Ravine.
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These competitions awarded him a total of $7,000. Orr placed first in the Business Plan Competition and second in the Business Battle of The Ravine. He was excited to win the competition. He admits he is competitive, and he was not too happy that he placed second in the Business Battle of The Ravine. “When we went to Battle of The Ravine, I came in second,” Orr said. “I was crushed, but I knew I did as good of a job as I could have done.” His determination to succeed and take advantage of his opportunities rewarded him. “I would describe myself as leadership oriented, an entrepreneur, go-getter, motivated, driven, lucky and thankful,” Orr said. He is a non-traditional student from Jonesboro who is not afraid to say he is thankful for second chances. He takes pride in his work and takes advantage of his situation every day. “I graduate with a 3.7 GPA in May,” Orr said. “I owe that a lot to having a second chance.” Orr graduated from high school with a $40,000 scholar-
ship in ROTC. He attended Rhodes College in Memphis, where he played baseball, joined a fraternity and enjoyed the social life. These things distracted him from his school work. He lost his scholarship as a result of his continuous social life. He then decided to transfer to Ole Miss. He did not adjust well, and returned to his home town to attend Arkansas State University. Orr did not get to complete his degree and began to work with his father on aircraft. “I worked out in the job force a little while, and finally said this is something that I enjoy,” Orr said. Airplanes are not the only things that Orr enjoys in his spare time, even though school is his first priority. “I love playing sports and playing with my puppy,” Orr said. “He takes up a lot of my time. Other than that, I am doing school work.” Orr is also involved in organizations on campus. He is treasurer of Alpha Eta Rho and a member of Phi Beta Lambda. He has also been invited to join
Photo by Sarah Williams
RAISING SPIRITS Emmit Knowles, freshman biol-
ogy and pre-med major, and Kellye Brown, freshman mass media major, sell orange ribbons for 25 cents in the Garrison Center to donate to 5-year-old Ayden’s family for the young boy’s leukemia treatments. Noel Garling, communications major and Garrison Information Desk worker, got the idea to raise the money for the upcoming week. the National Honor Society, Alpha Chi. Through the adversity, being involved on campus and social life, he still managed to take advantage of his second chance. Now that Orr is in graduate school, he wants to focus on the financial part of aircraft. He is also considering working for himself doing aircraft sales. “I ultimately want to find something I can do and work
for myself, or even do a full circle and go back into aircraft sales,” Orr said. Orr is not ashamed that he is proud and thankful for the second opportunity he had to do things right. “I am lucky that I am able to do now what I’m sure a lot of students are capable of at a younger age, but they just don’t put forth the mindset,” Orr said.