By Kayla Del
Correspondent
The Hollywood-themed Ms. IFC 2022, on March 30 at 7 p.m. in Kendall Hall, allowed a representative from each Panhellenic Organization on campus to show off their talents and passion for service, competing against one another in an effort to raise money for their respective philanthropies.
The Panhellenic Association consists of all recognized sororities on campus, including Sigma Sigma Sigma, Sigma Kappa, Kappa Delta, Delta Zeta, Zeta Tau Alpha, Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Phi Epsilon and Theta Phi Alpha. The Interfraternity Council (IFC) is made up of all campus-recognized fraternities, including Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Chi Rho, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Tau Delta, Delta Epsilon Psi, Kappa Delta Rho, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Phi Alpha Delta, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
The event included a Q&A section, individual performances of each competitor's talents and a brief information session about each philanthropy. The event kept the audience entertained from start to finish, featuring a show-stopping performance of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” a dance-along to “Hoedown Throwdown” from “Hannah Montana The Movie,” and an exclusive reenactment of an intense “Euphoria” scene. The Ms. IFC was held together by the humor of student host, senior secondary education and history major Ben Klug.
The contestants of Ms. IFC were: sophomore English and journalism and professional writing double major McKenzie Collins (Sigma Sigma Sigma), senior speech pathology major Makayla Stokes (Sigma Kappa), freshman political science major Aria Chalileh (Kappa Delta), freshman communications major Leah Macaulay (Delta Zeta), sophomore communications major Jolie Regan (Zeta Tau Alpha), senior music education major Mackenzie Miller (Alpha Xi Delta), senior psychology and criminology double major Kayla Johnson (Delta Phi Epsilon), and senior elementary education and history major Kelly Ryder (Theta Phi Alpha).
Regan won first place, thus sending 50% of all event donations to her organization’s chosen cause, Breast Cancer Education and Awareness. Ryder won second place and 30% of all donations, which will support efforts against homelessness and hunger. Stokes won third place, and so 20% of all donations will go to supporting the Alzheimer’s Association.
Despite the amusement of the event, the main goal was to raise money for important causes. Many organizations on campus work diligently to create change and engage in service work.
“I would definitely recommend all students to get involved in philanthropic events because giving back to these causes and making a difference is an experience I will always remember,” Regan said.
Stokes agreed with this sentiment, describing the possibility for young people to make a direct impact on the world and the benefit of seeing the world from different perspectives.
“We do what we can to serve local and national philanthropies which helps us become more socially aware and recognize the privileges we may have,” Stokes said. “It’s important as college students to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.”
While the College’s community is committed to supporting people across the country, they are also committed to supporting each other, right here on campus. During the event, the audience was filled with members from each organization cheering on those in their own sorority and those in different sororities alike.
“Seeing all of my sisters in the audience was so amazing,” Regan said. “Hearing them cheer for me and showing their support really touched my heart.”
Stokes expressed her gratitude for being able to share the stage with the women she can now call friends.
“By the end, we were all hugging on stage and making plans to get together after our pageant days were behind us,” Stokes said.
Ms. IFC 2022 raised money and awareness for the philanthropies that many College students are devoted to.
The philanthropies that sororities raised money for at the Ms. IFC were: Sigma Serves Children, which raises money for March of Dimes and the Robbie Page Memorial (Sigma Sigma Sigma), Alzheimer’s Association (Sigma Kappa), Prevent Child Abuse America (Kappa Delta), Starkey Hearing Foundation, which supports better speech and hearing (Delta Zeta), Breast Cancer Education and Awareness (Zeta Tau Alpha), HomeFront, which works to end local homelessless and those affected by Covid-19 (Alpha Xi Delta), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (Delta Phi Epsilon) and Theta Phi Alpha Foundation, which works to end homelessness and hunger.
Beyond just a fundraiser, this event was a display of Greek unity and the togetherness of the College’s campus.
“Being with girls from each of the sororities was such a great experience and we all got along so great,” Regan said. “The girls and I all found new friends that we might not have been introduced to without this event.”
