Erica Daly, a Kinesiology sophomore, took home the title of the Epsilon Chi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha’s Miss Black and Gold 2016-17 Monday night in Memorial Hall.

“I hope to really set a positive example to students across campus,” Daly said. “I want to be a positive role model, doing that through service and various other acts.”

The Miss Black and Gold pageant included events such as contestant introductions, career goals, swim wear, talent, and formal question and answers.

According to the pageant’s program, Daly’s sponsor for the competition was her mother, who adopted Daly and her siblings. Daly recited an original poem about how adoption affected her life during the talent portion of the pageant.

“She is truly the epitome of everything I want to be. I love that woman more than words can express,” Daly said about her mother.

Daly competed against three other contestants: integrated strategic communications and community leadership development freshman Carley Fort, psychology freshman Queen-Ayanna Sullivan and kinesiology sophomore Victoria Martin. Martin won second runner-up and Fort won the Miss Gold title.

“I’m so glad I got to do (the pageant) with girls who are so uplifting, so encouraging,” Daly said. “I wouldn’t change this for anything.”

According to broadcast journalism senior and Alpha Phi Alpha’s corresponding secretary and events chair Rashad Bigham, the Miss Black and Gold pageant is a contest to find “a representation of Alpha Phi Alpha, but a female version.”

“Hopefully, she can really impact the campus in a major way and be a major influence on the young ladies of this campus,” Bigham said.

According to Bigham, Miss Black and Gold and Miss Gold must create charity events with Alpha Phi Alpha.

Boys in the chapter’s mentoring program Alpha League were also in attendance. During the intermission, the boys danced for the audience, proclaimed their goals for their futures and recited quotes from famous African-American men in history, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X.

2014-15 Miss Black and Gold Miranda Turner did charity events with Alpha Phi Alpha during her term such as making chemotherapy care packages for Kentucky Children’s Hospital, building bikes for underprivileged youth and speaking at the Martin Luther King Unity Breakfast.

“I hope the next Miss Black and Gold is able to reach out to some communities at UK that are a little bit hard to connect with, and get community service started in those areas,” Turner said.