A student floats across The Wright Center stage, an airplane in the night sky like a shooting star, held aloft by the power of brotherhood. Another student performs daring acts of scientific experimentation before the audience’s very eyes, while yet another brandishes a Kermit the Frog puppet as he beseeches fate to answer the age-old question, “Am I a man, or am I a Muppet?”
What do all of these men have in common? A love for Samford and the desire to raise awareness for breast cancer.
On March 25, Samford University’s chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha hosteds their annual philanthropy event, Mr. Samford, a special pageant featuring male candidates who represent every Greek Life affiliated organization on campus. This year, 13 young men competed in four different categories (group dance, lip sync, talent and interview) to raise money for charity and to vie for the coveted Mr. Samford crown.
This year, 12 Greek organizations from across campus elected or nominated a student to represent them at the Mr. Samford pageant. The six College Panhellenic sororities nominated seven students, one for each sorority with Zeta having two representatives. Five fraternities from the Interfraternity Council elected five students, including Samford’s newest frat, Beta Theta Pi. The candidate for Alpha Kappa Alpha represented the Non Pan-Hellenic Council.
Senior journalism student Noah Griffith shared that he wanted to participate in Mr. Samford since he first saw the show. He had his idea of what he would do for the talent portion for months and was honored to be asked to represent Zeta in the show.
“I was definitely pumped [to be nominated]. I love Zeta,” Griffith said. “I was pumped the whole time. I like raising money for a good cause and I like being funny. It’s just all around a good thing for philanthropy.”
The young men had two weeks to train leading up to Mr. Samford. During this time, they had to perfect their lip-syncs, master their talents and learn how to boogie together on stage for the group dance. The group dance is choreographed by Zeta’s philanthropy committee, including the main choreographer, junior Emma Screws.
According to Zeta’s vice president of philanthropy Mackenzie McCravy, the two-weeks of practice served not only as a time for the acts to be approved by Zeta’s advisor, but also as an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other.
“This year’s show was truly just so fun. Everyone kept asking me who I thought was going to win during the practice weeks and I genuinely could not give them an answer,” McCravy said. “All the guys were awesome and gave it their all and I’m truly honored to know them better!”
After the group dance, each individual candidate is given the opportunity to shine in the lip-sync and talent portion.
Tony Bonilla, representing Beta Theta Pi, took the stage dressed as the character Biggie Cheese from the 2006 Nickelodeon film “Barnyard: The Movie” to lip-sync “Mr. Boombastic” by Shaggy, before stunning the crowd with his guitar skills.
Representing Chi Omega, Ethan Speights’ lip-sync was instantly recognizable as Freddy Mercury from his iconic 1985 Live Aid concert, and his dancing talent made the audience want to get to their feet.
Alpha Tau Omega’s candidate, Sam Gould, displayed his pitch-perfect command over music by having members of the crowd shout out random musical notes. He would sing the note aloud before the keyboardist played the note. He was right every time.
Noah Griffith wowed the crowd with a pottery skit parodying Patrick Swayzee from “Ghost” and stole the spotlight with his lip-sync to “Versace on the Floor” by Bruno Mars. As a child, Griffith always dreamed of owning a Versace robe, so when he started working his sophomore year, the robe was his first major purchase.
“The robe is real. I can confirm,” Griffith said. “It’s a real Versace robe and I love it. I wear it all the time.”
Despite the incredible talent displayed by all performers, only one could take home the crown. This year, Mr. Samford is none other than Alex Applefield. After delighting the audience with a mime routine and an entire week of raising money for the Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation, contestants agree that Applefield was the best choice.
“Applefield, if you’re reading this, you rocked it,” Griffith said.
All the proceeds from Mr. Samford go to the Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation. The Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation supports the fight against breast cancer through scholarships, educational awareness, and leadership development with partners such as the American Cancer Society, Bright Pink and the NFL.
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