UMD ASA crowns the next Mister and Miss ASA

Guests lined up outside Stamp Student Union’s Grand Ballroom excited to witness the crowning of Mister and Miss African Student Association (ASA) at the annual ASA Fall Ball on Sunday.

“The moment when I was announced Ms. ASA I was so ecstatic! I knew all the struggle I was going through with the process and during the pageant was not for waste,” said Nanette Boateng. “It was God showing me that every road to success is bumpy, but the end is smooth.”

The crowd cheered as Andy Okhuereigbe and Nanette Boateng were announced as the new Mister and Miss African Student Association for the 2019-2020 school year.

This year’s theme was “A Family Affair,” guests dressed up in traditional African clothing, formal dresses, and suits.

Guests were greeted by local MC Legendary Mike after dinner was served. The crowd shouted with excitement when the lights dimmed down and the promotional video of the pageant contestant kicked off the show.

The first contestant, Uchenna Aduaka representing Nigeria, entered the ballroom dancing to Rema’s hit song “Dumebi”. Aduaka was accompanied by three girls dressed in all white dancing their way from the main doors to the ballroom stage during his introduction.

“I would have never seen myself dancing in front of so many people and speaking like that, but nonetheless I had so much fun performing,” said Aduaka, a junior information science and mathematics double major.

The second contestant, Frederique “Freddie” Wandji representing Cameroon, took over the stage with dancers dressed in all black with African print fabric wrapped around their waist. The crowd began to cheer when Wandji made her way to the front of the stage for her introduction speech.

Andy Okhuereigbe, the third contestant, entered the ballroom with a stepping performance and two girls dressed in African fabric around their waist walking behind him and clothed him in traditional Nigerian cloth and necklace.

Representing Ghana, the fourth contestant, Nanette Boateng walked in the ballroom in traditional Ghanian Kente as a fast-paced African drum beat song played in the background. The sophomore criminology and criminal justice major from Ghana sat and danced on the shoulders of two men as they carried her to the stage.

“It was to show off the beautiful cloth, and the dancing we did called Adowa,” Boateng said in regards to her entrance..

The contestants were judged in three categories, introduction, culture, and talent. In the culture segment, each contestant was required to showcase the culture of another country other than their own.

“My message was to educate the judges and the audience about the Mau-Mau Revolution in that happened in Kenya,” said Boateng. The Mau-Mau Revolution took place from 1952 to 1960 between Kenya and Britain.

There were many performances during the show by teams such as En’rage Models that modeled in long African gowns by designer Ashubra. African dance team Afrochique, and Diazporic also left the crowd cheering after an entertaining dance performance.

Each contestant showcased their personal talents in a variety of ways. Aduaka showed off his acting skills by doing a skit about an African father’s reaction to his daughter dating.

Wandji caught the crowds’ attention with her African dancing skills and her heels performance. Okhuereigbe, the third contestant, took the crowd to church as he sang American and African gospel songs.

Boateng continued the gospel flow when she performed a liturgical dance to we give you glory by Tasha Cobbs, then transitioned to African dance and ended with a cheer.

MC Legendary Mike kept the crowd hype as the DJ played popular afrobeats and rap songs as the judges finalized their scores.

As the newly crowned royalty to the ASA executive board, Okhuereigbe, and Boateng have many ideas they hope to implement during their reign including hosting a variety of seminars on campus and partnering with African embassies to execute their platforms.

“My platform is to limit corruption in African educational institutions through the awareness of sexual harassment and consent,” said Boateng. “I plan to do this by holding seminars or information sessions on the warning signs that young females may have when they are uncomfortable with something being done or said to them.”