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Best "Beauty" Pageant
     The lights dim, the crowd settles, and before your eyes the stage curtain opens to reveal the final students competing for the title of "Miss Uhuru," the Black Student Union’s annual pageant at the University of South Florida. This may seem like your average beauty spectacle, but the "Miss Uhuru Pageant" boasts no losers with a category for each competitor to win, including Miss Uhuru, Ms. Poise, Ms. Sisterhood, Ms. Congeniality, and Ms. Pride. "The overall theme isn’t winning, but fostering sisterhood and recognizing inner beauty," says Tamasha King, coordinator.
     Before the competition, each contestant attends workshops on how to dress for success, important interview techniques, and writing improvement.
Contact King at tking2@collegeclub.com.

Best Block Party with a Cause
     Music constantly uses its power to bring people together, so why not use it to cure cancer? Stetson University’s Matt Smith knows first hand the drastic toll the disease can take on one’s life. After winning a long battle against cancer, Smith, along with fraternity brothers Joey Giunta and Chris Zebro Rock Against Cancer to benefit the American Cancer Society. Some of the other fraternity brothers had cancer-related tragedies in their families. "The disease really hit home at our fraternity, and we wanted to do a cool social event in order to get the entire community involved," Smith says.
     The free festival featured six local and state rock bands, who played for almost eight hours. T-shirt sales, raffles, and donations raised more than $1,400, while Stetson and Pepsi provided free food and drinks. Next year, Smith is hoping for one big-name band along with two other opening acts, as well as a larger location to accommodate the growing interest in the event.
Contact Smith at mtsmith@stetson.edu.

Best Disability Awareness
     Ever wondered what’s it’s like to be disabled? Students, faculty, and staff at Brevard Community College, Cocoa Campus, learned first hand through the annual "Experience a Disability Day", in celebration of National Disability Month (October). The day included a team relay wheelchair obstacle course, involving going on an elevator, using a van lift, and just trying to get around campus. "I see the event as an eye opener that allows people to advocate and empathize with the disabled community," says Dr. Lyndi Fertell, director of the office for students with disabilities. "We need to be aware that a majority of disabilities are invisible and that they could happen to anyone."
Contact Dr. Fertell at feretell@brevard.cc.fl.us.

Best TV Replay
     Could that host be Jenny McCarthy from MTV’s Singled Out? No, "MTV Night" at orientation helped Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University freshmen ease the fears of leaving home for the first time, says Collins Nelson, former president of the Embry-Riddle Resident Student Association. ERRSA’s executive board searched through residence halls and dining facilities to find students willing to participate. After advertising on the campus channel and by word of mouth, the show produced a huge turnout filling the Student Center to capacity. ‘MTV Nights’ have increased enrollment in campus activities because the show is hosted by various on-campus organizations," Nelson says.
Contact Nelson at tommyboys57@hotmail.com.

Best Weather Report
     Normally, the sight of snow on a cool December day is no surprise—but in South Florida? At Miami-Dade Community College, Wolfson Campus, the Student Allocation and Programming Board, along with the African Student Union, sponsored the second annual "Winter Wonderland." Ten tons of ice were shipped to campus and then shaved to create snow. "We had music and food for those that attended. It was a nice change for everyone around here because we usually have such hot weather and snowmen are a rare sight," says Sherryma Smith, a student volunteer.
     Students set up a mock North Pole for Santa to greet all the good little children. They also collected toys to benefit a children’s center in the community.
Contact Smith at carib36@hotmail.com.

Best Scholarship Program
     Neither beauty nor brawn matters when you enter the Mr. and Ms. CFCC scholarship competition at Central Florida Community College. "We want students who go a little bit above and beyond," says Vanessa Baxley, student leadership coordinator. Any campus club can nominate representatives, as long as they maintain a 2.5 GPA, take 12 credits, and are involved on campus.
     "It’s not a pageant and we stress that. We include all students who represent our population," says Baxley, herself a former CFCC homecoming queen. "We have all ages, shapes, sizes—you name it, we’ve got it. They can be 18 or 40. They can be married or have families. They don’t have to be 18 to 25."
     Baxley says all nominees go through a series of interviews with community leaders, then appear in a campus show. "They’re allowed to be as creative as they want in their attire and what they do," Baxley says. During the program, potential honorees change into career wear, then pick from a fishbowl and answer a random question. Mr. and Ms. CFCC each win a $1,000 scholarship, while the runners-up pocket $250. Contact Baxley at baxleyv@cfcc.cc.fl.us.

Best Service Program
     Seniors at Nova Southeastern University found a new way to SCORE. Through the "Service to the Community Opportunity, Responsibility, and Excellence" program, students get involved their freshmen year by completing at least nine service hours monthly. Each participant must attend monthly meetings and complete group projects from starting a back-to-school supplies drive for children to creating a web site that promoted college involvement in the presidential election, says Madeline Hugh Penna, coordinator of orientation and community service. Later, in their junior year, students are required to take a service-learning course.
Contact Penna at pennam@nova.edu.

Best Specialty School
     Students are coming from all over the country to attend Beacon College, one of two colleges in the United States exclusively for students with learning disabilities. Teachers train to deal with individual students needs, which are usually language based problems such as dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. 60 students now attend the college, which offers degrees in Human Services and Liberal Studies. "We’re working on starting a new major in information technology," says Betsy StoutMorrill, director of admissions. Beacon also offers its students a mentor program to promote goal setting, individual learning, and improve time management.
Contact StoutMorrill at admissions@beaconcollege.edu.

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