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BOLIVAR, Mo. â 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 ±«Óătv 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 yearâs 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 âFlashlightâ from the movie âPitch Perfect 2.â
Rose said she loves the beat of the song, but there was more to the reason she chose
to perform this particular song.
âIf you listen to the lyrics it says, âI got all I need when I got you and I. Look around me and see a sweet life. Stuck in the dark, but youâre my flashlight. Youâre getting me through the night,ââ Rose said, âwhich signifies the experience I have had at ±«Óătv. I have seen Christ the most clear and the body of Christ, too.â
Rose, who plans to go to Hong Kong after graduation and âshow them Christ,â said that winning the title of Miss Southwest is a âhuge honor.â
âTo 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,â Rose said. âI am super-thankful for the experience and my hope is that if it is a dream, I never wake up.â
Almeida had a few friends join him on ukulele and kahone as he sang âIâm Yours,â by Jason Mraz, and the Brazilian song, âDona Mariaâ in both English and Portuguese.
âMusic is a huge part of my life. I listen to it all the time,â Almeida said. âFriendships 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.â
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.
âIt 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,â Almeida said. âIt is an enormous honor to represent ±«Óătv as Mr. Southwest. ±«Óătv is my home in the U.S.; therefore, I am really pumped to see whatâs to come.â
The beginnings of the âMiss Southwestâ pageant date back to the 1930s, with âMr. Southwestâ being added in 1963. The pageant, which was organized by the students of ±«Óătvâs University Activities Council, was one of the keynote happenings of Bearcat Days, a visit event in which admitted students considering ±«Óătv attendance were hosted on campus.
For more information, contact student activities director Nathan Penland at (417) 328-1828 or npenland@±«Óătvniv.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