A night of elegance and glamour was held the night of March 13.
The National Residence Hall Honorary, or NRHH, came together to host a formal masquerade event called “An Evening in the Garden” in honor of Women’s History Month.
President of Operations and Administration for the organization, Ella Garner, credited Vice President of Service and Finance, Anthony Goldsmith, for coming up with the idea for the event.
She said, “He came up with the idea to do this whole shebang during Women’s History Month, to honor women.”
NRHH as an organization focuses on three pillars: leadership, service and recognition.
Garner said, “We host events on campus… where we donate money to a local non-profit.”
An Evening in the Garden had the same goals of previous events NRHH has hosted, to raise money for those in need.
“We sell tickets and all the proceeds go to a local non-profit organization that supports women,” Garner said, “and [the event] is all surrounded by women’s history.”
The proceeds from An Evening in the Garden were donated to a Conway women’s shelter.
The gala had multiple tables filled with people in glamourous dresses and fitted tuxes, and was soundtracked by a string quartet of UCA students playing covers of popular songs.
There were rounds of games played to win various prizes. One was a lively game of bingo, where the first person to yell bingo and stand up won the prize.
The prizes awarded were a lotion kit, a set of Paris Hilton perfumes, a blanket and several others.
Miss UCA, Ana Brandon, gave a speech sharing her perseverance throughout her life and what she learned in her journey to winning her title.
“I learned how to show up again after disappointment, and I learned that sometimes persistence is less about confidence and more about deciding you’re not finished,” Brandon said.
She emphasized the importance of community, leadership and the idea that you are never alone.
“That’s why I respect organizations like this today so much, because people in this room understand that leadership is often quiet… It’s investing time and energy into making students feel like they belong here,” Brandon said.
Brandon finished her speech with a note of encouragement.
“Don’t be afraid to step into spaces that challenge you…[you belong in them] no matter what you’re going into,” Brandon said.
Following the speech was social hour, where each table got to help themselves to refreshments and food while conversing with one another.
Freshman Natalie Nolte said, “I haven’t been to many events through UCA this year, so I decided to branch out, and I thought this was a good organization to do that with.”
At one point in the evening, there was a duo performance from Dancer’s United. The pair danced to a popular Beyoncé song.
Nolte said, “I really enjoyed their dance, it was really cool. It was very connecting [and] was a really good show of emotion.”
Garner said the NRHH plans to collaborate with Living Unleashed, UCA’s volunteer puppy raiser organization, by hosting a dog toy making event in April.
