The Mr. & Miss Cabrini Pageant is one of the best-kept traditions on campus that brings the community together, says a director of campus activities and programming.
“We truly treasure this event because it symbolizes the spirit of Cabrini as a whole. This [pageant] showcases what Cabrini does best, which is keeping our traditions alive and merging together our diverse campus community,” said Ixchele Ortiz, freshman pre-K to 4th-grade special education major and co-director of CAP (Campus Activities and Programming) Board.
Every year, Cabrini students compete in a series of contests to win the title of Mr. Cabrini and Miss Cabrini. This year, the Mr. & Miss Cabrini Pageant drew a crowd of approximately 200 people Friday evening, Nov. 9. A panel of judges weighed in on the final vote.
Mark Sowinski and Francesca Maslin were crowned as this 2019’s Mr. and Miss Cabrini. All of the contestants supported each other, remaining on-stage for pictures and congratulatory cheers following the announcement.
Some of the highlights of the night included the talent round and the interviews. During the talent round, each contestant was to perform and was scored by a panel of judges on their creativity and quality of performance. Following the talent round, attendees were asked to vote on their choice of this year’s Mr. and Miss Cabrini.
Keziah Landis, sophomore writing major, started out the evening singing an original song called, “You don’t know me.” The audience was captivated and quiet as she strummed her ukulele and sang.
Next, Noel Davenport, junior writing major, performed a step routine and spoken word piece. The crowd was still and attentive as she vocally and physically relayed messages about black injustices.
The whole room was laughing during, Ka’ron Sheffield’s comedy routine when he said his aunt signed off on her text messages with the word “sincerely.” Sheffield’s routine was mostly about his experience as a Cabrini student.
The audience was quiet as Julia Smith, junior criminology and sociology major, showed an original horror film. When the film displayed its final scene, many people in the room let out a fearful gasp.
Next, Kayla Hunt, junior writing major, said the song she would be singing was written by her and that the lyrics were painful for her to write. The whole audience was quiet while they focused on her singing her original song, “Epiphany.”
Tariq Mines Jr., sophomore communication major, did a spoken word piece about black rights and injustices. When he stepped away from the microphone, the crowd leaned in deeper as he continued to speak about individual acts of injustices. The audience cheered loudly upon the end of his performance.
Grace Adams, senior social work major, graced the crowd with her expertise in puns. Her story of her time at Cabrini was weaved with puns.
Amanda Cipollo, sophomore finance major, said to the crowd that she was not allowed to perform her archery skills on-stage so she planned to show a self-made video of them. During the showing of the video, the audience cheered as Cipollo hit the targets with a bow.
Next, Chris Giacobbe, junior communications major, performed a stand-up skit.
Many people in the audience were engaged by Brielle Toff, senior digital communication and social media major, performing “Let it go” in Italian. Many students stood up and waved their phone lights in approval.
Sowinski and Maslin, this year’s winners, concluded the talent round.
The curious audience was quiet and attentive as Marc Sowinski, junior accounting major, painted glue onto a blackboard for over two minutes. Finally, Sowinski stood up, propped the paper up and threw glitter on it. The board revealed a profile of a girl. The audience cheered in a thunderous applause.
It is Sowinski’s first year living on campus and he said within two months of living here, he felt supported, securing his pageant win.
“This means a lot to me. It means I do have abilities and talents that I didn’t really think were as big as I thought…and it means I have a lot of people supporting me,” Sowinski said.
Francesca Maslin, senior writing major, concluded the talent round playing piano and singing a cover of “Good Things Fall Apart” by Illenium.
Maslin later commented on her win.
“I actually did [the pageant] last year and coming back was an interesting experience and I was really nervous to see what the outcome would be, but I love this institution and it’s really exciting to be a more prominent face and name and represent a university in all that I do,” Maslin said.
