After showing off their beach bodies and wowing the crowd with never-before-seen talent, participants in the 2012 Mr. Esquire Scholarship Pageant stood on stage as the award winners were called. Peyton Falkenburg took the top award as Mr. Esquire.
“I was pretty astonished,” said Falkenburg, a senior majoring in finance. “It was great meeting new guys, and it was icing on the cake winning the pageant. I was excited. It’s a huge honor.”
David Tubbs took first runner-up, with Josh Gray coming in as second runner-up. Gray also won best talent. JaQuan Howard took fan favorite, and Alex Raus was named Mr. Congeniality.
The master of ceremonies for the night was Whitney Jones, who kept the audience laughing with jokes throughout the pageant. Student Government Association representative Lisa Elizondo gave a welcome before the contestants did a dance number, introduced themselves and gave their best “mack line” in front of the judges.
“The pageant turned out really well,” pageant coordinator Kyle Frazier said. “The contestants surprised me on the dance number. They added a lot of personality to it, and I enjoyed watching their talent.”
Contestants graced the stage while Erin Dabbs, the pageant’s assistant coordinator, read their ideas of a perfect date. The men then showed off their swim and beachwear. The second half of the show started with talent performances.
Participants performed original poetry and stepping routines. DeMarc Thomas sang a duet, and JaQuan Howard did a praise dance, while Terry Rice performed acrobatic flips and jumps. Falkenburg performed a parody of Will Ferrell in “Old School,” and Tubbs did a number of things before declaring his true talent of being a successful African American male student in college. Gray won for best talent with his rendition of “Big Poppa” by Notorious B.I.G.
“The favorite time for me was seeing the audience’s reactions throughout the show,” said Dabbs, a sophomore majoring in public relations. “The pageant was awesome — everything went perfectly well. I’m really, really pleased with the turnout.”
The question-and-answer portion concluded the competition. While the scores were being tallied, the audience enjoyed a performance by the male acapella singing group, Subject to Change.
Many considered the inaugural pageant to be a success and look forward to more in the future.
“Hats off to Kyle and Erin. I’m glad they had the idea to do [the pageant],” Falkenburg said. “I think it’s a great way to show male expression and also have fun. The crowd liked all the contestants, and I think it’s something that definitely needs to continue year after year.”
“We definitely plan to keep this going, and in the [National Council of Negro Women] tradition,” Dabbs said.
Contestants included Alex Raus, JaQuan Howard, Cameron Casey, Varrecke Johnson, Terry Rice, Isiah King, Casey Pickett, DeMarc Thomas, Josh Gray, Peyton Falkenburg and David Tubbs.
