June 18, 2008 — Five young women from St. Thomas will vie for $20,000 in scholarship money Saturday night, as well as an opportunity to represent the territory in the annual Miss America pageant to be held in Las Vegas in January.
Abigail Hyndman, Taiesa Lashley, Al'Lima de Lugo, Rachael McCoy, and Shamika Thomas will compete for the title of Miss Virgin Islands 2008 during a two-hour competition beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Prior-Jollek Hall on the Antilles School campus.
The Miss Virgin Islands Scholarship Organization solicited candidates from all three islands, but all applicants were from St. Thomas, said Cynthia Jerry, president of the organization, which sponsors the pageant on behalf of the Miss America contest.
Several criteria qualify candidates for entrance in the contest, Jerry said.
"First thing an applicant has to have is a commitment to higher education, because all awards are given in scholarship funds," she said. "They must be 17 to 24, a U.S. citizen and they must be a resident of the Virgin Islands … for a minimum of six months."
In addition, they can never have been married or given birth.
The contestants will compete Friday in an interview competition, and on Saturday they will compete in talent, swimwear/physical fitness and evening-gown competitions. The winner will receive a $10,000 scholarship to a college or university of her choice, and an additional $10,000 gets distributed among the finalists, all of it raised locally.
Tickets to Saturday's competition can be purchased at V.I. Bridal & Tuxedo, Modern Music, Home Again, Draughting Shaft, the Caribbean Marketplace at Yacht Haven Grande and Connections on St. John.
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
