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Show ... !PAGE 8 UNIVERSITY JOURNAL CAMPUS NEWS MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2001 Miss SUU vies for Utah crown gin Olsen, senior dance and communication major at Southern Utah University, and Miss UU , will be one of the women vying for the Miss Utah title nen week at the Orem pageant. This is the econd time tho Roa evelt, Utah, native will compete in the Miss Utah pageant. A a result of her 1999 Miss Uintah Basin crown, Meagin was eligible for the 2000 Miss Utah pageant. Thi year, her Miss UU title make her eligible, a the university pageant is a franchise of the Mis America program. Mostly, Meagin has entered pageants for her elf, for the character-building, growth and scholarship suppon she receive through pageants. But, he's alway had many suppon~rs in her comer and thi year trnit circle expands to include a whole university. Meagin i one who has made the most of the aying "If at first you don't succeed, try, try .again," displaying determination, di cipline, fortitude and grace at all levels. he entered her first pageant when she wa 17 and a junior at Union High chool. She came in as first runner-up to the Miss Uintah B in title. (fhis pageant covers candidates from Duschesne and Uintah counties.) At 18, Meagin entered the pageant again and won U1e Mi CongeniaJry award. "For my talent," he explains regarding an aspect of competition in the Miss Uintah pageant, "I knew how to dance , but I wa n't the greatest"singer." Meagin grew up dancing and taught at me tars tudio in Roo evelt. he did some inging in high chool, but knew he could improve with training. o, that 's what she did. After she entered UU , she b gan voice les ans with D'El Beatty, direcror of the university's entertainment bureau. Beatty is al o the director of the premier ong-and· dance performance group "Acclamation," which Meagin auditioned for and was accepted to during her sophomore year at SUU, but, only after she adhered again to her "Try, try again" philosophy. "The fi.r t year l tried out for Acclamation, 1 didn't make it, n Meagin admits. When she was 20, Meagin went for the Miss Uintah Basin title a third time. "I told myself, Tm going to do it one more time. I .can ing now!'n Her de-termination, ambition and dedication paid off thi time. he met her elf-declared goal and was crowned Mi Uintah Ba in 1999. "Mea~in ' multiple trie at a couple of pageants has only allowed her to improve each time. he has maturity," Chad Hulet, producer of the Miss Utah pageant, says. An alum of UU, Hulet is the former director of the Mi SUU pageant. • In other tate pageants, the average age of the ' contestant is 21 or 22. In Utah it is 18. So, Meagin's age, too, is to her advantage. At a grand age of 22, Meagin's fellow Acclamation member lovingly call her "Grandma. " This past January, Meagin entered the Mis UU pageant with 18 other young women. The prize purse up for grabs contained the crown eligibility for Mis Utah, and possibly Mi America, pageants and full tuition for a year. The Miss SUU pageant, known as one of the most demanding preliminarie in the state circuit, consists of four categories: Talent, worm 40 percent; Interview, 30 percent; Evening Gown, 15 percent; and Swimsuit, 15 percent. Meagin says me interview was tbe cariest part for her. "They can ask you about anything from current events to your picture of the ideal date. " In most pageants, each candidate establi hes a platform which he would promote during her yearlong reign hould ·he be named the winner. Meagin's cause is alcoholism intervention, whi h, as oppo ed to prevention, Is based on communication about alcoholism. "For tlle people who are affected by someone's alcoholism," she explains, "it's learning to understand and accept that it is not their fault that the other person drinks excessively." o , on June 11-16, Meagin will once again facilitate herself toward achieving her goals-with the utmost assuredness and grace, no aoubt. For her talent, he will dance and sing, with ah earned and justified confidence. "I'm performing the ame character vocal I did for Miss SUU and at la t year's Miss Utah." Meagin will pJay the character "Velma Kelly" · inging "All That Jazz" from the musical Chicago. "Meagin is talented, of course, and has charisma," Hulet remark "but her stage presence i noticeably great." Looking back on her uphill pageant career, Meagin admits experiencing feeling · of failure and embarrassment, but now she knows tho e aren't true. "When I think about what may have been had I made other choices, I realize how much I have gained by these experiences. And, on the question of whether pageants exploit women, Meagin ay no, and holds that people who feel -rhat way don 't understand the program and are likely just jealous or re entful-maybe because they didn't go for it like he ha -. "You know, I've al ay loved co look my best, but it doesn't consume me, " she ays. But, just for the record, Meagin i lovely, having been compared to the look of actress beauty Catherine Zeta-Jones. he's one of those girls who look great, even when he' "bummin'. ~ And , Meagjn is genuinely talented. It ha been a treat to witne s the tremendou growth and development in Meagin's talent over the past three years," Beatty say , "not only has s he grown as a stage performer, but a a per on. As dance captain and head choreographer of Acclamation for the la t three seasons, she has brought the performance company to a new level. • Meagin executed the choreography of the innovative and contemporary Rent (adapted from the Broadway show) number in Acclamation's pring 2001 show. Meagin attributes much of her success to Acclamation and th,e broad experience it has given her. he has traveled to ix countries performing in the professional-level group. But she al o i indebted to her parent for the doors of opponunity they have alway held open for her, enthusiastically and with tlle needed funding . "My parents are very elfles people-not just to us kids, but to our neighbors oo." Beyond the pageant circuit and her time in n Acclamation (she has foregone membership in the group next year to devote more time to her studies, although she will continue to choreograph), Meagin has ·ocher high goals, too. "Let's see, I want to do a public relations internship in Washington, D.C. I want to take dance classes in New York City. And I wiU," she says emphati~aJJy, "perform in a show in New York. I don't care if it's as a singer or dancerthat's what I wanno do." Meagin says after that, she will be fulfilled owning her own dance studio and running around as a typical "soccer mom." What's that line.from the current Sandra Bulloch movie Miss Congenialty-"We're all winners"? Corny-sounding, maybe, but in Meagin's case, whether she wins the Miss Utah crown-thls time round-or not, het attitude in not giving up and going after what she wants truly does make her a winner. SUU, Cedar City, and surely her hometown, Roosevelt, wish her au the best in the upcoming Miss Utah pageant...and beyond. I |