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Michael Babin • THE SETONIAN
Senior Lauren Mosca was crowned the 2005 Pirate Queen at last Thursday’s annual Phi Kappa Theta event. | The 17th annual Pirate Queen event ended with a touchdown for one contestant.
Senior Lauren Mosca, who represented Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, sashayed off the stage at the end of the night with the crown, after her football-themed contestant performance.
Mosca, an English major, was one of 12 contestants on Thursday who took part in Phi Kappa Theta fraternity’s annual competition, which was hosted in the Main Lounge. Portions of the proceeds were donated to the fraternity’s philanthropy, the Children’s Miracle Network.
During the final interview portion of the competition, Mosca was asked what one thing she would change to improve Seton Hall.
That answer is simple, she said.
“I would add a football team,” Mosca said, describing her experience visiting a friend at Miami University in Florida during the peak of the football season.
“I’ve never seen more school pride,” she said. “It made me realize (football is) something Seton Hall could use to have students bond with one another.”
She said her answer corresponded coincidentally to her previous performance during the talent portion. Mosca dressed up in a jersey and rallied the crowd by throwing miniature footballs out to them.
Many other contestants danced or performed skits for the talent portion of the contest.
Freshman Nicole Smith, who represented Boland Hall, recited a Maya Angelou poem, “Still I Rise.”
After the introductions and talent portions, the judges rounded out the top five and gave out awards.
The People’s Choice award went to contestant Jennifer Butrico, a senior representing Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. Second runner-up was junior Justine Hediger, who represented the Seton Hall cheerleaders.
Krista Poh, a senior representing Psi Sigma Phi multicultural fraternity, was first runner-up.
Mosca walked away with a $300 first-place prize. Poh and Hediger won $150 and $75, respectively.
But the real winner in all of this is the Children’s Miracle Network, said senior Scott Fitzgerald, a Phi Kap who organized the event.
“The proceeds go to a good cause,” he said. “The event itself is a lot of fun and a good way to get everyone to come together.”
The Pirate Queen event was hosted in front of a packed and lively audience with senior Bill Reilly, who is president of the fraternity, as master of ceremonies.
“What other opportunity do we have in the year to see 12 beautiful women on stage?” Reilly asked in his opening remarks.
Fitzgerald said Pirate Queen was very successful overall.
“The contestants did a terrific job,” he said. “We had a few hundred students show up and, most importantly, we were able to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network.”
This year’s Pirate Queen had three judges: Rosa Alves-Ferreira, assistant dean in the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and a former Pirate Queen contestant in 1993, along with Joseph Cicenia and Stephen Colantoni, co-creators of the original Pirate Queen pageant 17 years ago.
Kelly Kaysonepheth can be reached at kaysonke@shu.edu.
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