Carli Pendleton of Tonkawa was named Miss Northern Oklahoma College Tonkawa 2020 at the dual Miss NOC Tonkawa-Miss NOC Enid Scholarship Competition at NOC Tonkawa Oct.
29.
Upon hearing the winning announcement, the 18-year-old freshman first thought the right number had not been called. “I had to process the information,” she said. “Being named Miss NOC Tonkawa gives me the empowerment to have more confidence and a new way to be a role model for young girls.”
Crowned by Miss NOC Tonkawa 2019 Karli Lovelace of Stillwater, Miss Pendleton received a $1000 scholarship expense award, Miss America crown and pin, sash and a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses. She will advance to the Miss Oklahoma Scholarship Competition in Tulsa next June, according to Shannon Varner, executive director of the Miss NOC Competition.
First runner-up Chandler Brown of Ponca City received a $600 scholarship expense award and second runner-up Karah McCleary, Blackwell, received a $400 scholarship expense award.
Others vying for the title were Brittney Edwards, Stillwater; Collyn Combs, Bartlesville; Aerin Rhea, Medford; Savannah Dolezal, Perry; and Mariah Moberly, Oklahoma City. Each received a $250 tuition waiver participation award. Candidates were judged in on-stage question, artistic expression, and presence and poise in evening wear during which they presented their social impact statements. Earlier in the day they were individually interviewed by the judges.
A music theatre major, the new Miss NOC Tonkawa plans to pursue a career as a professional performer or as a teacher of theatre. In the artistic expression portion of the competition she sang “The World Above” from the Broadway musical The Little Mermaid.
During her reign, she will promote her social impact initiative, “Keeping the Arts in Our School
Systems,” chosen because “without the arts I wouldn’t be the person I am. Art is one of the biggest forms of expression we have in our daily lives, but due to low funding and budget cuts, many people are losing the opportunity to learn about and participate in the arts.”
She plans to raise funds to support arts programs and to use social media to promote awareness of the importance of arts in schools. “Most small schools earn money through fundraising of donations by locals [to keep their arts programs alive.] The funding in smaller schools needs to increase for the arts so that even the smaller schools have the funds to let kids express themselves through the arts.
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