She’s beauty and she’s grace but do you know what it really takes? Many people think the road to winning a pageant is a simple task but for junior multimedia film and productions major Kieanna Stallcup, the journey was anything but easy.

“This year I made it one of my resolutions to do things that I always wanted to do and not let my insecurities get in the way,” Stallcup said.

One of those resolutions was to enter into the Miss Purple Essence Pageant.

Pageant Information

The annual Miss Purple Essence Pageant hosted by Zeta Delta Delta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi selects contestants which compete for a scholarship and crown. This year’s contestants consisted of eight young ladies.

The pageant first began here at Georgia Southern in 2004 and continues to promote the excellence of young ladies. It requires students to be enrolled full-time, maintain a 2.7 GPA or higher and in good standing conduct at GS.

2017 Pageant

This year’s theme called “Idlewild” brought a small reminisce of the Harlem Renaissance.

With eight contestants and only three winners, the stakes were pretty high. The first place winner (Miss Purple Essence) takes home the crown and a 750 dollar scholarship, second place (Miss Pure) receiving 500 dollars and 250 dollars for third place (Miss Gold).

The pageant also gives out awards for highest GPA, best talent, miss congeniality and best swimwear.

The journey to the crown

Prior to entering the pageant, Stallcup struggled with self-doubt, perfecting grades and high esteem but decided to persevere and not let those struggles withhold her from competing.

“I didn’t feel like i was pageant material cause i didn’t have the body and was scared to talk in front of large crowds,” Stallcup said. “As I continued with the pageant I learned a lot about, not only myself but other girls as well because I realized I wasn’t the only one going through those things.”

The purpose of the pageant is to empower young women, promote self-love and to help their community in various ways. It also requires each contestant to showcase their talents and build a platform. The platform, typically a passion, of the contestant’s choosing is used to raise awareness on an issue.

Stallcup chose the platform of healthy living. With her personal initiative “Get-it-right, Get-it-tight,” she used the platform of healthy living to provide motivation and help encourage simple daily lifestyle changes such as food prepping and exercise habits.

Each of the contestants go through four categories before the winner is selected. The categories consist of platform, swimwear, talent then evening wear and a question. The winner of the pageant is chosen to best represent the organization in a positive light.

“I would tell other girls to not be afraid and to try,” Stallcup explained. “If it is something that you really want to do and you have a passion about it and you can’t stop thinking about it, just go for it because you never know what you will learn from it.”

Stallcup is also involved in the Dyverzion dance team where she serves as the productions coordinator.

What’s next

As the 2017 Miss Purple Essence Scholarship pageant winner she has the duty of carrying out the platform which she built.

During her reign, Kieanna plans to use her healthy living platform and personal initiative “Get-it-right, Get-it-tight” to get college students active and motivated to continue a healthy life best suited for them.