The Mister and Miss Orange and Blue pageant, held on Wednesday, September 11th, crowned the 18th Miss Orange and Blue Dea’Ana Long and the 16th Mister Orange and Blue Rogdrick Manor II.
Historically, the Mister and Miss Orange and Blue pageant is a scholarship pageant that gives the winners of each title a $1,000 scholarship. Whichever two freshmen win out of their peers are also are granted the opportunity to receive mentorship and opportunities that might not be available to others. Experiences like these can be impactful for freshmen and can help them with the rest of their college life.
The previous Miss Orange and Blue, Brooklyn Stampley, is a sophomore business major.
“I was very shocked because I had been prepping so hard and I felt like I didn’t perform my best, but when they announced me as the 17th Miss Orange and Blue I was crying because I was shocked that all my hard work paid off.”
There are times when the impact of a title goes beyond the college itself. For Stampley, the impact of her title reached all the way to her old high school.
“I was able to give back to my school, basically teaching them about the importance of financial literacy and also making that impossible possible while they’re at school, and also carrying that back to college so they can pursue even better things here.”
A good mentor can help you with challenges you face and for Stampley, her former Ms Langston helped her figure out what it means to be Miss Orange and Blue. “So to be Miss Orange and Blue, especially as a freshman, I felt for me, was to be a standard of grace, if that makes sense. So with my 77th Miss Langston Kayla Robinson, when she was teaching me, or she was my mentor, she definitely taught me to show up in rooms and not to mitigate myself when it comes to certain opportunities. So basically, just showing off and just showing up for yourself is really what it meant to me .”
Brooklyn felt her best moments as Miss Orange and Blue were “definitely every time I would just be around Kayla the most. It was never a dull moment with Kayla. We cried together, we laughed together. I would definitely call her my big sister. With me being the oldest sister, she definitely came in as that support system that I really did need coming into college.”
When asked what she would change about her reign Stampley answered, “One thing I wish we could have changed, definitely coming into the royalty aspect, with Langston being so small and us being so mighty at the same time, I wish we would have connected with more HBCU royalties, just kind of getting their insight about how they run their court, and also we kind of implementing some of those resources into ours.”
In her closing remarks, Stampley gave advice to the 18th Miss Orange and Blue “To my dear 18th Miss Orange and Blue, definitely make sure that when you step into this position, you are making the impossible possible for you, and also for the 19th Miss Orange and Blue to come along in your way, so be mindful, for sure. And just to carry out that legacy.”
The 16th Miss Orange and Blue, Jaiah Vicks, is now a junior public health major.
”I was glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and did something that I’ve never done before, and then that just set like a whole new goal … for the rest of the years that I’ll be here, like, it’s made my goals want to just keep going harder and harder every year.”
Vicks focused on being able to make an impact in his community and on those who are younger than her.
“I would definitely say, I feel like I inspired a lot of people to want to come here, want to come to Langston, and just do groundbreaking things as a freshman, and I feel like that changed the whole trajectory for the people in my community that are just younger than me and about Langston and just setting that picture to let them know that they can come here and start breaking change soon as they walk into the door as freshmen.”
Vicks described Orange and Blue as ”being one of the faces of the school, taking pride in everywhere you go and representing Langston University in a positive light.”
When asked about what she enjoyed most during her reign, Vicks said “making those connections with Mister and Miss Langston and hosting the next pageant for Mister and Miss Orange and Blue.”
When asked about what she could change Vicks said “Being able to have more events. I will say, as a freshman, it is hard because you’re getting used to college now, you come in, taking this big leadership role, and you’re wanting to do stuff, and it’s kind of hard, but I’ll say, like, for my reign with me and my mister, I feel like we did great for what we had, for what we knew as freshmen like we worked with what we had.”
Finally, Vicks finished by giving advice to the 18th Miss Orange and Blue. “To the newest Miss Orange and Blue. Just advocate for yourself. Always be you and stay true to yourself. And if you need any help, I’ll always be here for you.
Tthe 15th Mister Orange and Blue, Christion Gause, is a sophomore agriculture business major with a minor in computer science. Gause can attest to the overwhelming feeling when he won his title. He described the night he won as “surreal” and said, “Even though I thought I had the ability to win the title, I didn’t think I would.”
He also experienced a quick anxiety attack on stage but also said after winning that he “…was very excited to put in the work and become the next Orange and Blue.”
The title made a significant impact on Gause’s life. “It has opened doors for me that I didn’t even know were possible, I’ve been offered internship and scholarship opportunities, and it has elevated my college experience.”
Many Langston students take pride in repping their orange and blue and it’s no different for him. “It means school pride and humility in school pride, learning how to juggle problems that happen not only in your personal life but also your royal court life, and being able to be approachable by the student body but also not being afraid the student body for help as well.”
Gause points to the people as being the best part of his role. “The best thing was definitely the connections and the mentorship I had received from the members of elite connection who were pouring into me life lessons that I can pass onto others. If I could redo my reign I wish I could have done more. I didn’t realize some of the back end ins and outs that you have to navigate through to actually get some of the things you want to accomplish.” In his closing remarks he said “very proud and happy for the new Mister and Miss Orange and Blue to come in.”
Joseph Dickson
Joseph Dickson is a sophomore broadcast journalism major
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The Gazette serves as the student voice of Langston University. It is produced within the Department of Communication as a teaching tool and local news source for the campus community. The views and opinions expressed within are those of the writers whose names appear with the articles and do not necessarily represent the views of Langston University.
