The Miss Lindenwood pageant took place on Apr. 12 at the Lindenwood University Cultural Center.
The men of Phi Lamba Chi fraternity put together the event to fundraise for their philanthropy: The Backstoppers, an organization that provides financial support for families of fallen first responders based in Missouri and Illinois.
“I get the privilege to host Miss Lindenwood and it’s so humbling to see all the women in their element,” Phi Lambda Chi’s president Spencer Barr said. “They’ve been working on their talents and answers for so long and it’s so empowering to see all the turnout and support they get!”
The evening consisted of three sections: a round of “get to know the participants” where the contestants wore formal clothes while they got questions from their presentation slides. Then, a round of “Talents” where the contestants showcased their talents and the majority of them sang, but the audience also got entertained with a monolog, tap dancing, snare drum playing, and a reenacting of Hannah Montana’s “Hoedown Throwdown.”
Finally, the last section of the night was “Questions” where the contestants wore their “Gala dresses” and the host asked them “What is an issue that we have at Lindenwood and how would you fix it?”
The contestants also got different individual questions and they also had to answer, “What defines you as Miss Lindenwood?” After this final section, the winners were announced.
A total of eight women, most of them representing their sororities, were on the run to be crowned Miss Lindenwood:
- Greta Kehres
- Rachel Grossman
- Katie Zucco
- Delilah Ricci
- Sydney Schaeffer
- Addy Trammell
- Kendall Iwanski
- Bailey Fischer
The winner of the evening was Sydney Schaefer, she was crowned Miss Lindenwood after being on the run for three years.
“It truly was an outstanding group of women, and I cannot express in words how lucky I feel to have been chosen as our new Miss Lindenwood,” Junior Sydney Schaefer said. “If you are given the opportunity to compete in this event in the future I highly urge you to push yourself and do so! Thank you to everyone behind the scenes and everyone who came to support this incredible event!”
During her “Questions” section, Schaefer mentioned that perseverance was one of her strongest qualities.
“2024 was my third year participating in this amazing Philanthropic event and the group of women who I was surrounded by really made the experience whole,” Schaefer said. “I’ve personally put countless hours into memorizing the “Barbie” monologue by America Ferrera and know the other women who stood on that stage did the same for their talents.”
Schaefer’s interpretation of the monologue left the audience reflecting on women’s empowerment and truly made her stand out.
“Miss Lindenwood started as a way to empower the great women of Lindenwood’s campus. Lindenwood started as an all-girl school, and feminism and empowerment are what this university was based on,” Barr said. “It’s an honor to be able to welcome and encourage women today to continue that legacy.”
Entry was free for the event, but attendees could purchase raffle tickets and sign up for the silent auctions. Winners were announced during one of the intermissions of the event.
Over $500 worth of prizes were awarded during the ceremony, including coupons for “Salt and Smoke” and “Grandma’s Cookies.”
“A lot of the items were donated from local businesses on the St. Charles mains street,” Barr said.
The fraternity had a successful outcome after the evening, raising $1,387 for “The Backstoppers.” They confirmed that the Lions will be seeing “Miss Lindenwood” again in 2025.
