BOLIVAR, Mo. — Joao Vitor Silva de Almeida, an exercise science major from Campo Grande, Brazil, and Tali Rose, a social work major from Gainesville, Mo., won the titles of Mr. and Miss Southwest at the annual pageant on Friday, March 2, at Southwest Baptist University.
Eight candidates were nominated by SBU faculty and staff and voted upon by the student body for the purpose of selecting a pair of students to represent the Bearcat family for the next year.
This year’s candidates also included: Austin Acosta of San Antonio, Texas; Callie
Chenoweth of Van Buren, Ark.; Maggie Evans of Pittsburg, Kan.; Josie Linder of Macon,
Mo.; Phillip Sneed of Bolivar; and Blaise Torrence of Festus.
A surprise visit from the 1968 Miss Southwest winner, Sandy McDonald Jones, turned into a second coronation for Jones, as she was presented with a crown and bouquet of flowers. In 1968, Jones received a plaque for being named Miss Southwest.
The pageant featured introductory videos and a talent presentation by each candidate, followed by a round of text-message voting to determine the top four candidates, who then participated in question-and-answer sessions. A final round of voting determined the winners.
During the talent competition, Rose and several friends performed the song “Flashlight” from the movie “Pitch Perfect 2.”
Rose said she loves the beat of the song, but there was more to the reason she chose
to perform this particular song.
“If you listen to the lyrics it says, ‘I got all I need when I got you and I. Look around me and see a sweet life. Stuck in the dark, but you’re my flashlight. You’re getting me through the night,’” Rose said, “which signifies the experience I have had at SBU. I have seen Christ the most clear and the body of Christ, too.”
Rose, who plans to go to Hong Kong after graduation and “show them Christ,” said that winning the title of Miss Southwest is a “huge honor.”
“To be able to represent something I hold so dear to my heart and that has formed the person I am today, is the kind of stuff that happens in movies or dreams,” Rose said. “I am super-thankful for the experience and my hope is that if it is a dream, I never wake up.”
Almeida had a few friends join him on ukulele and kahone as he sang “I’m Yours,” by Jason Mraz, and the Brazilian song, “Dona Maria” in both English and Portuguese.
“Music is a huge part of my life. I listen to it all the time,” Almeida said. “Friendships are also extremely important to me, and finally, I wanted to show my roots in (music). I just thought it was a cool thing to mix English and Portuguese in the same song, since the chord arrangement of both of them were the same.”
Almeida, who plans to go to exercise physiology graduate school and work as a lab assistant, said he is honored to be named Mr. Southwest.
“It definitely means a lot to me, since I am an international student, and I bet there are not many foreign students who can say the same,” Almeida said. “It is an enormous honor to represent SBU as Mr. Southwest. SBU is my home in the U.S.; therefore, I am really pumped to see what’s to come.”
The beginnings of the “Miss Southwest” pageant date back to the 1930s, with “Mr. Southwest” being added in 1963. The pageant, which was organized by the students of SBU’s University Activities Council, was one of the keynote happenings of Bearcat Days, a visit event in which admitted students considering SBU attendance were hosted on campus.
For more information, contact student activities director Nathan Penland at (417) 328-1828 or npenland@SBUniv.edu.
CUTLINE 1: 2018 Mr. and Miss Southwest candidates (from left): Austin Acosta, Maggie Evans, Phillip Sneed, Miss Southwest Tali Rose, Mr. Southwest Joao Vitor Silva de Almeida, Callie Chenoweth, Blaise Torrence and Josie Linder.
CUTLINE 2: 2018 Miss Southwest Tali Rose (left) and 1968 Miss Southwest Sandy McDonald Jones.
*Published: 3-5-18