"Mister and Miss EVIT" - Tradition Continues, Helping Raise School Spirit and Money for Mesa United Way
February 10, 2010
The East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) continued a tradition by holding the third annual Mister and Miss EVIT competition as a fundraiser for the United Way. The competition kicked off right after the holidays and culminated in the winners being crowned at EVIT's Tech Fest January 30, 2010.
As a career and technical school, EVIT does not have athletic teams, but it most definitely has school spirit and pride. Students become very involved in their programs at EVIT, as they spend half of their school day preparing for future careers doing what they love to do. The Mister and Miss EVIT competition gives students an opportunity to show their spirit and have fun, while contributing to the community and helping others.
The contestants are EVIT students, nominated by their peers. They are required to be exemplary students who will represent the school and their program well. "This contest demonstrates everything that is positive about EVIT," stated one of the candidates for Mister EVIT, "It is a fair representation of the quality of students who go to school here." Students in the running were from a variety of different classes at EVIT. There were nominees from EVIT's Health programs, Cosmetology, Fashion Merchandising, 3D Animation, and Massage Therapy, among others.
The voting for Mister and Miss EVIT was by donation to the United Way. There were assemblies and announcements so that the student body could get to know the candidates, and jars were available in the main lobby of EVIT for students, staff, and parents to make donations on behalf of their favorite candidate. The Mister and Miss EVIT who raised the most were crowned the winners. All in all, the contest raised over $1600 for the United Way to support charitable organizations in our community.
Fourteen EVIT students competed in the Mister and Miss EVIT competition. The finalists were nominated by EVIT students, teachers and staff members and then narrowed down by a selection committee. Candidates were required to have at least a 2.5 GPA, grades of "C" or better, no discipline issues, and a minimal number of tardies and absences.
The four winning students are L to R: Monica Leftwich (a senior at Red Mountain High School) and Cruz Olguin (a senior at Hamilton High School) in the afternoon programs and Marc Reidhead (a junior at Mountain View High School) and Charity Fuller (a senior at Westwood High School) in the morning programs.
Students were able to "vote" for their favorite candidates by donating money into each candidate's jar. The students who collected the most money were crowned the winners. All together, the competition raised about $1,000 for the Mesa United Way. The winning students were crowned and recognized at Tech Fest, and they also each received a $100 Westcor giftcard. They will represent the EVIT student body in a variety of ways, including by leading their classes into the completion ceremony at the end of the school year.
The East Valley Institute of Technology is a joint technical education district, and is currently honored as an A+ school in Arizona. EVIT provides over 40 occupation specific tuition-free programs for high school students in the East Valley. Classes are also open to adult students at competitive tuition rates. EVIT is located at 1601 West Main Street in Mesa. For more information about programs offered, please call (480) 461-4000.
