BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) ––– The annual Miss LSU-USA Pageant by the LSU chapter of Delta Zeta is back in the Student Union Theater this Sunday to crown the next titleholder.

The pageant is about much more than a prize. The VP of Philanthropy for the LSU chapter of Delta Zeta, Cayden Cameron, said, “this really is a special pageant that has a deeper cause than just vanity and getting the title.”

Proceeds from ticket sales go towards the local and national charities that Delta Zeta supports. Miss LSU-USA raised nearly $100,000 with last year’s pageant, making it the largest Greek philanthropic fundraiser on campus. 

But it’s not a hands-off approach. “Delta Zeta tries to make our philanthropies more than just sending off a check, and that really takes place with our local philanthropies. We get to go work hands-on with the kids at St. Lillian Academy here in Baton Rouge and The Emerge Center, which is a speech therapy clinic,” said Cameron.

She adds that their reach goes beyond state lines. “We have larger organizations nationally, the Starkey Hearing Foundation, which helps give people hearing aids… and the American Society for Deaf Children.”

There’s no prior experience necessary to compete; the pageant is open to any LSU student with a 2.5 GPA or greater. “Miss LSU specifically is really special because it is kind of an opener for a lot of girls, and we really take time to teach our contestants how to do their hair for a pageant, or how to interview well, and we really try and prep them,” said Executive Director Megan Rojas.

The contestants have been preparing for this moment for weeks. “They’ve practiced for about eight weeks at this point with the opening number, it’s a little dance, and then learning how to walk for swimsuit, or evening gown, and then there’ll be an on-stage question and then we’ll crown our winner,” said Rojas.

With her year coming to an end, current reigning Miss LSU-USA, Hannah Fontenot said, “I am soaking in every single moment of this last week of being Miss LSU USA.” Fontenot said Miss LSU-USA allows you to do as much as you want with it. In her time, she worked closely with the Office of Admissions and created a Women’s Conference on campus. 

Fontenot said she is not done with pageants yet, “I think I’ve been bitten by the stage bug, I guess some people call it, so I do plan on competing in Miss Louisiana USA 2023… Hopefully, God willing, if it’s my time, to one day win the crown.”

Her advice for the competitors in this weekend’s pageant, enjoy the moment because the day goes by quickly. 

The Miss LSU-USA pageant is in the LSU Student Union Theater on Sunday, March 27, at 5:00 pm. 

LSU Student Union Theater

Union Theater, Tower Dr 

Baton Rouge, LA 70803

You can find more information and purchase tickets here.