Kinsey Shelton, an English education major from Highland, Ill., and Hunter Smith,
a biblical studies major from Kansas City, Mo., won the titles of Mr. and Miss Southwest
at the annual pageant on Friday, March 4 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 Brice Benham of Webb City, Mo.; Aric Dale Gooch of Bolivar, Mo.; Aleece Kanai of Mount Vernon, Mo.; Natalie O’Keefe of Granite City, Ill.; Lydia Swisher of Fishers, Ind.; and John Taylor of Rogers, Ark.
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 competition, Shelton lip-synced and danced with a group of friends to a parody version they recorded of “California Gurls” by Katy Perry.
“My friend had rewritten the lyrics as ‘Southwest Baptist Girls,’” she said. “It all fell into place as soon as we picked the song. I had a lot of incredible girls—people who live or have lived on my hall, been resident assistants with me, or served on past mission teams—who stepped up and helped make this such a fun experience. This was a really neat way to combine all of the different people whose friendships have meant so much to me.”
Shelton, who hopes to teach overseas after graduation, remembered attending the event as a prospective student, and felt honored to be selected as one of the candidates. “It seemed surreal,” she said. “One of the first experiences I had at SBU was going to Mr. and Miss Southwest. I remember thinking how awesome it was and that I would like to be a part of it. It felt great to show how much I love my school and my class.”
Smith drummed on a drum set while a group of his friends performed a dance similar to the group Stomp, which creates percussion with everyday objects. Although he felt nervous preparing, he enjoyed the opportunity to perform. “It started out stressful while we were still figuring out our talent, but once we started practicing it was really great,” he said. “It was so cool to get to know the other candidates better and to see their talents develop.”
Smith, who plans to either attend seminary or go into youth ministry after graduation, felt encouraged by the experience. “I never thought I’d be asked to do this—I didn’t see it coming,” he said. “It was really awesome how the students supported me and being recognized for the hard work I’ve done at school, especially being nominated by faculty. I am glad everyone had fun and enjoyed the performance. It made me really joyful.”
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.