On Sunday, April 22, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania crowned new royalty at the Mister and Miss Cheyney University Pageant Competition. Hosted by the Office of Student Activities and the Student Government Association (SGA), the annual event attracted family, friends, students, faculty, staff, supporters and a host of former Mister and Miss Cheyney’s.
Mister and Miss Blue and White, Qualyn Meade and Erica-Lyn Russell, served as emcees under the theme, “Cheyney Loves the Arts,” which paid homage to the prestigious performers that have graced the stage of the Marian Anderson Music Center.
The pageant included a talent portion, a question and answer session and an evening attire presentation. The audience was also entertained with singing performances from Cheyney students Natalya Brooks and Jeshiah Nixon and a tuba solo from Keith Cherry.
SGA President Monet Brown also revealed a major announcement to the crowd, unveiling a promotion video for Cheyney’s annual May Week celebration. This year’s festivities will kick off with a cookout cook-off competition and spiral into a week of events including a carnival, a Wild N’ Out style comedy show with special celeb guest comedians, Chico Bean and Karlous Miller, a fashion show and Greek Yard Show.
Once the judges tallied all votes, junior Jaymi Phillips won the title of Miss Cheyney and Nehemiah Revell, a junior from Philadelphia, was selected as Mister Cheyney.
Revell, who serves as the current President of the Cheyney chapter of the NAACP, is a member of the National Honor Society of Leadership & Success, the TRIO Scholars Program and the CYPHER mentoring program, beamed with pride after being announced as the winner.
“Being selected as Mister Cheyney was truly an exciting moment, however I know the importance of this platform and cannot take it lightly, so I look forward to serving the University,” shared Revell.
Phillips, a Keystone Honors Academy scholar and consecutive Dean’s List honoree, a member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and manager of the Soulful Sound Marching Band, covered her mouth in utter surprise after the emcees declared her the new Miss Cheyney.
“I was completely floored when they called my name. It even took a few seconds for it to register that they had called me,” said Phillips. “As Miss Cheyney I hope to show not only the people on campus, but those off campus as well, how awesome our University is.”
Phillips and Revell plan to use their platforms as Mister and Miss Cheyney to promote academic motivation and success to their fellow classmates, and aim to instill a heightened sense of pride by hosting cultural events that support the historical significance of Cheyney University.
Revell also looks to collaborate with campus organization The Brotherhood to create a mentoring program for freshman males that will assist them with navigating through their first year of college, and ultimately build them to become confident, prosperous and academically sound students.
Though Mister Cheyney hopefuls Adam Engers and Blaine Lewis-Thompson did not take home the title of Mister Cheyney, the judges named Engers as Mister Legend, while former Mister Freshman, Blaine Lewis-Thompson, was voted Mister Blue and White. Miss Cheyney contender Oluwa Yemisi Oresanwo was voted as Miss Legend, while her running mate, Antonia Wroten, was named the new Miss Blue and White.