Five talented gentlemen took the stage and showed the audience what it took to be a “KlassiK” man at the first annual Mister AKA Scholarship Pageant last Wednesday night.

The show, hosted by the Theta Zeta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., awarded $500 worth of scholarship to the winner.

To the tune of “Classic Man” by rapper Jidenna, the contestants strutted down the runway and competed in formal wear, casual wear, on-stage question and talent.

The show was filled with unique talents, such as magic tricks and a compilation of hit dances from the 2000s.

The preparation and practice for the pageant was not easy, but Sarthak Neupane felt that the hard work and participation in the show would benefit him in the long-run.

The junior mathematics major chose to compete in the Mister AKA pageant, because he wanted to get to know the ladies of AKA better.

He saw AKA win several awards at the student awards banquet last semester and wanted to become more involved in their service projects ever since.

When he learned they were putting on a pageant, he jumped right into preparation for it.

He confidently said, “Why not, let’s get involved with them. I want to know this organization better and be their male counterpart at service events.”

Although Neupane didn’t win, he was proud of being awarded “Mr. Edukated”, an award given to the contestant with the highest GPA.

At the end of the night, the judges named exercise science graduate student Evan Sinclair as Mister Alpha Kappa Alpha 2017.

“I’m actually very surprised. I thought all of the contestants were great,” Sinclair said as he proudly held his Mister AKA trophy.

The beaming winner hoped to collaborate with AKA in future service projects and looked forward to becoming the male face of AKA in the near future.

The ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha were happy to finally have the opportunity to put on the pageant.

Sophomore Raven Smith, a member of AKA and a part of the pageant committee, said that the sorority wanted to put on a serious pageant for the men of ULM.

“We wanted something for the men that showcased their high scholarship, service and talent,” Smith said. “This is not the funny misster pageant. It’s something very different.”

According to Smith, the pageant was a great way for AKA to give back to the campus community and help male students in their academic endeavors.

AKA hopes to put on a bigger and better pageant next year, but for now, they are incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication they put in the show.