On Saturday, March 22, the Zeta Sigma chapter of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity at Grand Valley State University held its second annual Miss Phi Tau Pageant at the Cook-DeWitt Center. The show featured a celebrity theme, with costumes ranging from Tate McRae to Adam Sandler, and raised over $400 for the Serious Fun Children’s Network.
The event, which featured six of the University’s nine Panhellenic sororities, incorporated dancing, singing and lip-synching, stand-up comedy, magic tricks and more. Each participant flaunted their best runway walk before showing off their talent. Attendees could also buy event-specific T-shirts at the door.
The pageant included Bella Trevino of Alpha Sigma Alpha, who dressed as Adam Sandler and performed stand-up comedy. Brooke McKay of Phi Sigma Sigma performed a dance costumed as Pitbull. Sophie Clemens of Gamma Phi Beta dressed as Charli XCX and performed magic tricks. Dressed as Bruno Mars, Riley Diemert of Alpha Omicron Pi gave a dance routine. Ella Hopson of Phi Mu dressed as Ariana Grande and sang. Ella Soesbe of Alpha Sigma Tau exhibited a speed-painting, and dressed as Tate McRae.
“It (Bruno Mars) was a fun character,” Diemert said. “My specific talent is a dance with a partner. He’s (Diemert’s dance partner) a pledge here, and it was fun.”
While she hadn’t participated in a pageant-like performance since high school, Diemert figured she had nothing to lose when she saw found out about the event in her sorority’s GroupMe. Having known some of the brothers beforehand, and seeing the pageant as a chance to have fun, she signed up.
“(My favorite part of the event was) getting to know all the brothers (and) meeting the girls,” said Diemert. “It’s (the event) all for fun and charity.”
In the end, Soesbe went home with the crown after wowing the audience with her painting. As the winner, she was able to take home 12% of ticket sales to support Alpha Sigma Tau’s philanthropy, Women’s Wellness Initiative.
For the brothers of Phi Kappa Tau, the event’s key focus is on charity, even considering the entertaining show.
“It (the pageant) allows us to donate to our philanthropy, and it allows our guys to do something greater than themselves by all coming together to put on an amazing show,” said Benjamin Nader, the fraternity’s social chair.
As part of his role, Nader was responsible for establishing participants, as well as coordinating all of the performers’ practices. He also served as one of the three judges who awarded the Miss Phi Tau title.
Jonah Edgerton, the vice president of Alumni Relations for Phi Kappa Tau, stated the event had a big impact on the University’s Greek Life community.
“My favorite part is bringing the community together, and I think it (the pageant) raises money for a really good cause for Serious Fun,” Edgerton said. “We plan on continuing doing this for a couple more years. Everybody loves it.”
The pageant also serves to strengthen not just the fraternity’s community relations, but also their bond as brothers.
“Any time you have a big event like this, it brings the brotherhood closer together,” Edgerton said. “Everybody has their own tasks, like I brought the letters today. Getting to hold everyone accountable and working together as a group always brings people together.”
