Eight women competed in the Miss MSU Pageant Thursday night for a chance to represent the university in the Miss Mississippi Pageant.
Brittainy Childers will represent the university as the 2004 Miss MSU in the Miss Mississippi Pageant in June.
Brooke Shannon placed as the first alternate and Sally Steen as the second alternate.
The competition was held in The Colvard Union Ballroom and consisted of four parts on stage. The first segment was lifestyle and fitness, which counted as 10 percent of the total score. The second segment, a talent competition, was worth 30 percent and had a variety of acts that ranged from dance, song and piano.
An evening wear competition consisted of 10 percent of the total score. The six judges rated contestants on their poise and stage presence. In the last segment of the night, the women answered questions dealing with their platform issues to count for another 10 percent of the score.
To enter the pageant, each contestant had to choose a platform to promote in her Miss MSU tenure.
“I came up with working for the elderly because they need something to keep them feeling young, so I started singing for them,” Childers said.
Childers said her platform issue, “Music is the key to keeping the elderly young,” is something that has been very important to her. She began by singing to the elderly in various places during high school.
In interviews with judges before the competition, candidates discussed their platform issues. The 12-minute interview is the largest factor, counting 40 percent.
Many people helped to prepare Childers for the competition.
“There have been so many people that have helped me. My parents, grandparents, boyfriend and everyone in the county (Monroe) have done a lot for me,” Childers said.
“I am terribly excited and thrilled that Brittainy has this title. We have already started getting ready for Miss Mississippi,” said Janice Childers, Brittainy’s mother.
Childers is a junior in business management from Amory. She attended Itawamba Community College where she was Miss ICC in the 2003 Miss Mississippi Pageant before coming to MSU.
She has auditioned for American Idol and was a member of the Kalidescope Vocal group at ICC. She works at the Cotton District Grill. After graduating from MSU, she hopes to have a career in the music industry.
“I do not think it has set in well. I feel that it is a really big honor to be a representative of Mississippi State and the whole city of Starkville,” Childers said.
“We had a lot of talented students in the pageant. They can all be very proud of their performance on stage,” Hilbun said. “Brittainy is going to be an excellent representative for Mississippi State.”