By: Diana Nambo
Prajita Bhetwal practices colour guarding as she prepares for Saturday’s competition.
Bellarmine’s Office of Identity and Inclusion will hold the university’s first multicultural pageant Feb. 4 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Cralle Theater.
Abby Caudill, Prajita Bhetwal and Divya Joseph will compete in the pageant, representing their cultures and highlighting their talents and campus involvement.
Robinson said, “I’ve done a pageant in the past as an undergraduate student, and it was a very transformative experience not only for myself but also the young ladies that were competing with me.”
Robinson said the pageant is a way to invite BU students of color to highlight their talents and leadership.
Looking to make the scholarship-based pageant an ongoing tradition for Bellarmine, Robinson said she has been working with Dr. Patricia Carver to reach out to the BU and Louisville communities and gauge the interest of the pageant.
“We serve a lot of the underrepresented students on campus and teach diversity, equality, and inclusion across campus, so our sponsors are supporting the very things that we do and the students that we support,” she said.
Caudill heard about the pageant through the OII.
“I thought it would be really interesting and really intriguing to do,” she said.
Caudill said she use to compete in pageants when she was younger.
Bhetwal said having a pageant that spotlights diversity is important.
“Going to a predominantly white institution you always feel like you are feeling left out, but with the OII, you feel like a part of your home is in there. With the help of the pageant that gives me financial aid and also gives me a time to shine about my culture, I think it’s a great way to just feel included and just have fun at it as well,” she said.
The pageant is open to the public, and admission is free.
The grand prize is a $500 scholarship.
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