Thursday, February 14, 2002

By: Elissa Garriss, PR Intern





Wilmington, NC - Ebony Ebron, senior management information systems major, was crowned Miss UNCW on Saturday, Feb. 8. Ms. Ebron was the first Miss UNCW to be named in 12 years and she was awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the Miss Wilmington Scholarship Pageant Association, Inc.

Ms. Ebron is the daughter of Lynwood and Donna Ebron of Knightdale, North Carolina. She is the national communication coordinator for the Residence Hall Association, and part of the National Residence Hall Honorary. Ms. Ebron works in the Dean of Students office at UNCW where she is the Values Education Coordinator. She was also Miss North Carolina Black and Gold, which was an honor of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

The two pageants, Miss Wilmington and Miss UNCW, were held in conjunction with one another because of the many participants from UNCW in the past Miss Wilmington Pageants. “The Miss North Carolina Pageant committee called me and asked if I was interested in doing a dual pageant,” says Sandy Cypers-Bohn, executive director of the Miss Wilmington Pageant. “Since there had been so many UNCW participants in the past, I thought it was a great idea.”

Five women competed in the Miss UNCW portion. Each contestant was asked to participate in a private interview, swimsuit, talent, evening gown, and final onstage question. During the interview, contestants were quizzed on current events locally and nationally. Ms. Ebron won first place in both the talent and swimsuit portions. “I was very shocked; I didn’t think I would win swimsuit,” said Ms. Ebron.

Ms. Ebron decided to participate in this, her first preliminary pageant, because she saw it as a way to promote her platform, Creating Experiences for Life: Learn and Serve America. “Service learning combines service to the community with student learning,” explains Ms. Ebron. “It is like volunteerism except it actually puts an emphasis on what students are learning inside the classroom through community service.”

Ms. Ebron wants to use her position as Miss UNCW to be an ambassador so she can raise school spirit. “I would like to emphasize student involvement and campus activities as well as community service projects,” says Ms. Ebron. She would also like to see more students wearing UNCW paraphernalia around campus.

Winning this title enables Ms. Ebron to participate in the Miss North Carolina pageant on June 20. “If I win Miss North Carolina, I will compete in the Miss America pageant, which is my ultimate goal,” Ms. Ebron says. The Miss America Organization is the world’s largest competitive scholarship program for young women and one of the nation’s leading achievement programs. “There is no doubt in my mind that Ms. Ebron will make top 10 and top five at Miss North Carolina,” comments Cypers-Bohn.

Ms. Ebron has applied to graduate school at North Carolina State University and hopes to get her master’s in higher education administration.

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For more information on the Miss North Carolina Pageant or tickets to the event, contact Sandy Cypers-Bohn at (910) 799-4867. Tickets are $65. Ebony Ebron can be reached at (910) 962-5858.