On March 28, 2012, the Student Activities Council at West Chester University held the fifth annual Mr. WCU at Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall. Mr. WCU is a competition in which male students compete to be WCU’s Prince Charming and to win the coveted title and crown.
Mr. WCU is decided by a combination of a panel of judges and voting by audience members. The judges included Dick Yoder, Mayor Emeritus of West Chester, Patricia Enger, Theater Director from Avon Grove High School, Maria Sciorillo, Miss Philadelphia 2011, and Todd Marcocci, President and CEO of Under the Sun Production, Inc.
The competition began with an opening dance number. The theme of the competition was Disney, so the opening number started slowly with the competitors dancing with their female escorts to one of Disney’s slower songs, but the music abruptly changed to a faster song from the Lion King, which got the crowd laughing. The boys continued in an impressively choreographed dance number that even included the hosts, Natalie Walden as Snow White and Rachel Stolz as Belle, singing “Someday My Prince Will Come.”
“I was really impressed with the opening dance number. I didn’t know boys could move like that!” audience member, Nadia Thomas said. “It was really entertaining.”
After the dance number, the fifteen contestants introduced themselves: Christian Conaway, Quentin Horton II, Caleb Duffy, Chris Grimm, Breckin DeWane, Daniel Love Colon, Geoffrey Quinn, Stephén Hood, Matthew Guerron, Kyle VanHart, Justin Sochovka, Adam Cerretani, Matt Hummel, Zakkary Zabower, and Brendan Fitzpatrick. After the contestants introduced themselves, they identified their platforms, which ranged anywhere from To Write Love on Her Arms to Big Brothers, Big Sisters to Relay for Life.
The next part of the competition was the casual wear portion in which each contestant answered the question, “If your princess was in danger, what would you do to help save her?” The answers were very clever, spanning from climbing the tallest mountain, having “all the force of a great typhoon,” and, probably the answer that got the biggest reaction from the audience: calling Public Safety.
The talent section followed, which included singing, dancing, stand-up comedy, cinematography, and even an act that included rifle spinning.
“I thought that the talent portion was both hilarious and creative,” audience-member Shannon Nolan said. “Who knew we had such talent at WCU?”
An intermission came next, during which audience members used their tickets to vote for the contestant that they believed should be Mr. WCU 2012.
After the intermission, contestants processed onto the stage in their finest formalwear with their beautiful escorts on their arms. Each contestant drew a random question from a bowl for Belle to ask them. Some of the questions were, “If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?” as well as “If you were granted three wishes, what would they be?” and “What is your favorite part of being a WCU student?”
After the formalwear/questioning portion, the 2011 Mr. WCU, Isaih Robinson, entertained the audience by reenacting his performance that won him last year’s crown. He sang Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” while wearing a dress, a wig, and high heels.
After Robinson’s riveting performance, Belle and Snow White announced the top three contenders in no particular order: Justin Sochovka, Chris Grimm, and Geoff Quinn. The top three then answered a question about how they would raise awareness on campus for their platform.
Justin, Chris, and Geoff all had great ideas for promoting awareness for their causes, which were Legal Aid of Southeastern Pa., Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, respectively.
“I thought all of the contestants were great and I would have been happy if any of them won,” audience-member Leah Coan said. “But I was really rooting for Chris [Grimm]. We know each other because we both used to be RAs and we’ve been friends ever since.”
As the judges deliberated in making their final decision, the previous winners of the past four Mr. WCU competitions took the stage to announce the winners of the superlative awards. Most Dedicated, chosen by the SAC, went to Zakkary Zabower; Ladies’ Choice, chosen by the female escorts, was Quentin Horton II; the People’s Choice Award went to the contestant who received the most votes from the audience, Matt Hummel; Most Photogenic was awarded to Stephén Hood; and Mr. Congeniality, which was chosen by fellow candidates, went to Adam Cerretani.
“When I found out I had received the People’s Choice Award,” contestant Matt Hummel explained, “the feeling of gratitude I had far outweighed the excitement. The credit really needs to go to the people who cared enough about me to come support me. That meant a lot to me, because that will have a longer lasting impact than any title I can win
.”
Before they announced the winner, the contestants did a final dance number in which they promised to “pop, lock, and booty drop.” The dance included previous winners and featured the contestants as individual dancers.
Finally, the time came to announce the winner. Second runner-up was Geoffrey Quinn and first runner-up was Justin Sochovka, which left Chris Grimm to be crowned the 2012 Mr. WCU.
“The hardest part of preparing for the competition was definitely learning and practicing my talent…a ballroom dancing medley. Focusing was definitely tough because there is just so much anticipation and nervous take over,” Mr. WCU 2012, Chris Grimm said. “After I realized I won, I just remember looking out into the audience at my parents and seeing how happy and proud they were of me. I want to thank all of the men who competed; every one of us is a true representation of West Chester University and are deserving the title of Mr. WCU. Thank you for all of the memories and the new friendships I have made!”
Clare Haggerty is a first-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at CH757342@wcupa.edu.