Freshman Jacob Stewart won the title of “Mr. Samford” at the Zeta Tau Alpha fundraiser on March 27 in the Wright Center. Stewart represented the host sorority, taking the crown from 2017’s Mr. Samford, Corbin Meredith, who represented Alpha Omicron Pi.
“We really wanted to take Mr. Samford to the next level this year and that’s why we brought it to the Wright Center stage,” said Zeta Philanthropy Chair Hannah Manis.
In the opening number, each contestant, representing a different sorority on campus, had “pageant personality” that would be presented throughout the competition. Personalities included stereotypes including the nerd, the smooth talker, the jokester and so on.
Portions of the competition included a swimsuit competition, a talent section and an interview portion.
After the contestants finished their performances and while the judges were scoring, Zeta presented two videos and one live testimony.
The videos discussed breast cancer awareness, Zeta’s philanthropy.
Sophomore Allie Woodside shared her experience of her life when her mother had cancer when Allie was just 17. But Allie proudly ended her testimony with saying that her mother is now cancer free.
Judges this year included 2018 Miss Samford Thomason Bryan and Tito the bus driver.
Manis spoke about this year’s event turnout with pride.
“Our turn out was the largest we’ve ever had and we hope that this will only getbiggger and better as the years go on,” said Manis. “Breast Cancer education and awareness is so important to our Zeta chapter and we love sharing that with the campus through Mr. Samford.”
Contestants included the following: Thomas Shaw, Warren Fitzpatrick, Jackson McKinnney, Jack Carroll AJ Peak, Conner Poslajko, Daylan Jhin, Wes Crane, Josh McDonough, Sam Hunsicker and Logan Hammer.
Kathryn Jordan, Features Editor
— Quotes and information received from Noel Espinal
[photo courtesy of Summer Shafer]
Pictured: Standing, left to right: Mr. Samford contestants Sam Hunsicker, Jack Carroll, Thomas Shaw, Daylan Jhin, AJ Peak, Conner Poslajko and Logan Hammer; Squatting, left to right: Zeta members Anna Moore, Julia Conley, Ana Bonilla, Jenna Anderson and Hailey Giannotti.
