After a night of gowns, swimsuits and performances, sophomore Sarah Bourisk was named winner of the third annual SigSuit Thursday, Nov. 13.
(Photo by Chariot Yearbook)
SigSuit, Sigma Chi Fraternity’s annual philanthropy event, is a beauty pageant where the women of the University of New Haven campus compete in four different rounds to be crowned winner. Each contestant was required to raise a minimum of $100 to participate in the contest, and all proceeds went to Sigma Chi’s philanthropy, the Children’s Miracle Network.
Contestants raise money before the competition and then compete in a series of rounds for the winning crown. This year’s top fundraiser was Natalie Collins, a member of Delta Phi Epsilon, who raised more than $450.
This year’s contestants raised more than $3,700 combined for the Children’s Miracle Network, a thousand more than last year’s contestants raised.
The proceeds of this event benefit the Children’s Miracle Network. The Children’s Miracle Network is a children’s charity organization that raises funds for children’s hospitals, medical research and community awareness of children’s health issues. The Children’s Miracle Network has been Sigma Chi’s philanthropy since 1986.
The theme of this year’s SigSuit was Back in Time, where each contestant represented a different decade.
Yen & Friends, the side project of Boys II Yen, performed under the direction of Colby Thammavongsa and Vince Yau. Boys II Yen, created last year by Sigma Chi alum Dean Bandong, is a group of brothers of Asian descent that lip sync and dance to current music. This year, the group expanded its membership and changed names.
“This year, we didn’t want to exclude brothers who were not of Asian descent,” said Thammavongsa.
The brothers of LAU strolled for the audience, and the 5-6-7-8 Dance Team performed as well.
The winner of the 2014 event was Sarah Bourisk, a sophomore sorority sister of Delta Phi Epsilon. Bourisk described winning as “easily one of the top five indescribable moments” of her life. Bourisk said she is extremely grateful to her sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon.
“The amount of money that was raised is just so amazing because it’s going to some amazing young children,” she added.
“Judging SigSuit was an absolute joy. It was great to see all of the support for the Children’s Miracle Network,” said David Janovsky, a Sigma Chi alum and an event judge.
In regards to the pageant’s success, Matthew Carroll, one of the event’s coordinators and a Sigma Chi brother, wanted to thank the co-sponsors, and all of the contestants who participated in SigSuit.
