Sophomore Meenakshi Kavya Natesan stood with nervous eyes and a humbled smile as she and fellow contestant Amy Vuong held hands on stage. They waited patiently under a single spotlight when host, Joseph Shepard, screamed Natesan’s name as the winner of the 2015 Miss Black and Gold pageant. 

Natesan started to cry. 

“I was not anticipating it,” she said. “I thought I could have done better in some of the aspects, so I thought I wasn’t going to get it.” 

But, she did. 

“I was elated, I was ecstatic. I was looking for my mom and she was crying. I was looking for Joseph and he was crying … everyone was crying. It was a great moment.” 

Natesan was the sole winner of nine women who competed in the 8th annual Miss Black and Gold pageant, hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., on Thursday. The scholarship pageant highlighted the connection between success and young women and featured various categories including swimwear, evening gown, talent and question-and-answer. 

The theme of the pageant was “Women Empowered,” and each contestant articulated a philosophy for which they each stand. 

Natesan’s philosophy included a quote by Sir Winston Churchill, stating, “Success is not final, and failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” 

What counts to her, she said, is the extent to which one chooses to persevere. She is a sophomore majoring in biology with a biomedical concentration and a pre-medical emphasis, and minoring in chemistry and philosophy. Persevere she will. 

“My education empowers me, my family themselves empower me … and the opportunities presented to me through Miss Black and Gold are what empower me, as well,” she said.   

Natesan won ‘Miss Interview’ during the competition, articulating a response as to why the actions of a police officer flipping a student out of a desk were unwarranted and unjust. 

Audience member Wilma Foster said she thoroughly enjoyed her first experience at the pageant and had Natesan as her choice to win. 

“Her interview was awesome,” Foster said. “I loved how she wore her bathing suit … She was feeling good about it in her own skin. That to me, it took strength.” 

The new Miss Black and Gold said she was happy to represent the Delta Mu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha at the district level against the University of Kansas and Kansas State.

Compared to other notable pageants such as Miss Kansas, Miss Black and Gold stands as a representation of Alpha Phi Alpha. 

“When you look at Miss Black and Gold, you think, ‘Who is going to represent this family next?” she said. 

The strong background of the fraternity and its brotherhood emanates through the pageant, Natesan said, and is personified through the love, strength and bonding of the fraternity. 

“The crowd was exceptional,” she said. “They were encouraging, and I think it was that sense of community and bonding that made the pageant what it was.”