Members of UCA’s Greek life danced the night away at the Greek Goddess pageant Nov. 12.
Expecting a night of competition, students eagerly filled the seats of Reynolds Performance Hall.
The Greek Goddess nominees were Charlie Newton with Pi Kappa Alpha, Carrington Crafts with Beta Upsilon Chi, Alexis Rudder with Alpha Sigma Alpha, Annagrace Mcrae with Sigma Tau Gamma, Olivia Carson with Delta Zeta, Ella Peppard with Sigma Kappa, Eden Adams with Sigma Phi Epsilon and Kensley Soffos with Alpha Sigma Tau.
Mcrae walked away with two awards — talent and the title of Greek Goddess. Rudder won the canned food drive competition and the strut. Soffos won the best introduction and people’s choice. Peppard won the best formal question.
Mcrae said, “I am just so grateful for the opportunity and all who took time to contribute to it. I’m just so happy I was able to compete alongside such a talented group of girls and I could not be more thankful.”
“We practiced most every weeknight leading up to the competition and spent a long time cleaning the dance and preparing it for the competition,” Mcrae said. “My favorite part was being able to do it all with my best friends. I also loved being able to have practice time to get closer to everyone. It was such a bonding experience and I just loved making memories with my best friends. I also loved how this opportunity allowed me to branch out of my comfort zone and try something new.”
Mcrae said she loved to see the love and support given during the competition.
Mcrae said, “I just love how everyone got to cheer each other on and it is such a special opportunity. We are able to compete with other sororities and fraternities and get to spend that time together practicing. It is just so neat to see the love and support that everyone gives each other, no matter what you are a part of.”
Contestants dressed up as characters from iconic movies and shows like “Hannah Montana,” “Despicable Me,” “Camp Rock,” “Indiana Jones,” “Legally Blonde” and “Teen Beach Movie.” Contestants also dressed up in football gear and as famous female country singers, like Reba and Dolly Parton.
Hosts Emmet Brick from Sigma Nu and Mallory Whitten from Alpha Sigma Alpha pumped up the large crowd and kept the audience engaged throughout the show.
“We volunteered and the chapter ultimately decided to go with us as the emcees,” Brick said.
“It’s fun. It’s actually really fun. I’ve never gotten to work with Mallory on something like this before and I discovered what a hysterical person she is,” Brick said.
The Sigma Nu fraternity holds the event to celebrate Greek life and to donate proceeds to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, its chosen philanthropy.
Logan Whitten, president of Sigma Nu, said, “Greek Goddess is something that we’ve been doing at UCA for a while. We donate all of the proceeds to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. We’ve raised over $5,000 at the past couple of Greek Goddesses, and I hope that fall 2024 is going to be the same way.”
“This event is important to Greek life in particular because it gives every sorority and fraternity an opportunity to work together on one thing. It lets us showcase our talents while raising money for a good cause,” Whitten said.
Freshman Victoria Smith, majoring in health promotion, said she came to the pageant to support Alpha Sigma Tau.
Smith said, “I know that they put a lot of hard work and effort in all their dances, and to see them all come together is really fun because they’re all super good.”
Freshman English major Riley Foley said he attended the pageant to have fun with his friends.
“I like how the emcees are heckling all the fraternities and sororities. I think it’s kind of funny,” Foley said.
Senior public relations major Cade Womack said he wanted to support his friends who were a part of the pageant.
“I think my favorite part was Indiana Jones. They were really good. I also really liked the football one. The football one was really, really good as well. And then I liked the minion one. I thought the girl who did Gru was funny, and the emcees are killing it as well. The emcees are hilarious,” Womack said.
Womack said the pageant is important to showcase the talented members involved in Greek life.
“I think it kind of shows off some of the talent that some of our Greek members have, including dancing, and then including singing as well. It’s kind of cool to see them do something that they love, which is dancing, and then also I think that for the fraternities and sororities, it’s fun to put together a show for all of Greek life,” Womack said.
