 "Photo: Greg Barrette ~ Courtesy Photo")
With a wry smile, Greg Barrette, a junior and president of Pi Kappa Alpha, made his way across the Granite State Room in the MUB. Scanning the room, he found Donna Parker, Director of Development for the New Hampshire Make a Wish foundation. Suddenly the wry smile became a huge grin, and with good reason. On this night, Greg and the rest of the brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha had a lot to smile about.
Monday, April 23 marked the 3rd annual Pi Kappa Alpha Dream Girl pageant, and it was marked in a big way. Nearly 400 students packed the Granite State Room to watch the night's festivities, win raffle prizes, and help to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate -- a $3,263 difference, to be exact.
Nearly doubling the total raised at last year's Dream Girl event, Barrette couldn't have been more thrilled. "We were really excited with the turnout this year," he said. "This is one of the most successful philanthropy events at Pi Kappa Alpha in many years."
The night began with a heartfelt address from UNH freshman Ally Smith, whose dream of traveling to Hawaii was made possible by the Make a Wish Foundation. "The whole process was so scary," stated Smith, a survivor of ovarian cancer. "The Make a Wish foundation was absolutely amazing to me. They did so much. To be able to put a smile on the faces of so many children is awesome. I can't thank them enough."
Following Smith, Pi Kappa Alpha brother and MC of the night Bob Osgood took the stage and the ladies of the pageant were introduced with escorts in tow. The contestants represented six UNH sororities: Marisa Imon, Chi Omega; Cassie Dresser, Kappa Delta; Ashley Baldwin, Alpha Phi; Sarah Veilleux, Alpha Chi Omega; Andressa Martins, Delta Xi Phi; and Sally-Ruth Rosa, Alpha Xi Delta.
The competition began with the talent show, and each contestant brought something different to the stage. Marisa Imon impressed both the judges and crowd playing and singing a melody of songs on the guitar.
Next, Cassie Dresser performed "We're Young and Beautiful" by Carrie Underwood.
Ashley Baldwin then took to the stage with a dance number, even throwing in a double back flip for good measure.
Sarah Veilleux followed, wowing the crowed with some "Guitar Hero" skills, achieving star power status not once, but twice, racking up an impressive score of 62,233.
Andressa Martins performed a lip-sync and dance number to Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean."
In what was easily the most original addition to the talent portion of the evening, Sally-Ruth Rosa, donning Red Sox gear, played a rousing rendition of the classic "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" with nothing more than her armpit. Unfortunately for Rosa, her take on an old classic did not fall well on all ears, as a stunned Osgood joked, "That was absolutely appalling."
The contestants changed into their swimwear for the next event of the evening, which was followed by the formal wear portion of the contest. Donning their evening best, the contestants answered Osgood's questions one by one.
Questions ranged from "Who is your hero?" and "What would your one wish be?" to "How has your involvement in the Greek system impacted your life?" The most fitting question of the night went to Martins, who was asked, "Why is it important for college organizations to hold philanthropy events?" Martins quickly surveyed the room, smiled, and answered. "Events like these really help to bring both the Greek community and school community together. With philanthropy events we can show everyone how much we care by giving back to those who need it."
Judges then deliberated for several minutes deciding on a winner, while the brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha gave a little more, sponsoring a raffle with all proceeds again going to the Make a Wish foundation.
"We owe a lot of people thanks for the raffle prizes," remarked event co-chair Matt Camuso. "So many local businesses donated to the raffle, as well as families of brothers. We got some great prizes."
Prizes included gift certificates to local restaurants such as Wings Your Way and Stats Place, Coach sunglasses and a hockey stick signed by the entire Boston Bruins team. The grand daddies of them all were two separate ticket packages to Boston Red Sox games, a four pack of tickets and a set of three tickets, as Osgood joked, "for those of you who want to take your boyfriend or girlfriend and that always awkward third wheel."
With the prizes distributed, it was time for the moment of truth. "It was a very strong competition this year," remarked judge Steve Pappajohn. And the winner is . . . Andressa Martins!
"I'm just really humbled by the whole thing," said Martins afterwards. "I was so nervous, but I had so much fun. All of the girls were great, and all my sisters were amazing, supporting me through the whole thing. I just really want to thank the Pi Kappa Alpha boys. They did an amazing job."
"We're so happy with how things turned out," said event co-chair Josh Francis. "We worked on this event for over three months. It was great to see it all come together." And it came together in a big way. "Wishes can cost anywhere up to $20,000," stated Parker, "every little bit helps out so much."
This past year, New Hampshire Make a Wish granted 65 wishes to children across the state. Always looking to help as much as possible, the organization has stretched the goal to 72 wishes for 2007. "We are the hope, strength, and joy of so many children across this state," said Parker, "From the bottom of our hearts and on behalf of all the children, thank you."
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