Greg Jones' talent for the Mr. Engineering Pageant is a cross between cycling and impecable balance. Click on the photo for a slideshow of the pageant. (Photo by Ashley Kesweder)The Miss America Pageant may have some new competition now, in the form of lab coats and calculators. The first annual Mr. Engineering Pageant, organized by ASU's Society of Women Engineers and the Engineering Student Council, kicked off in Murdock Hall on Friday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. in a hilarious and entertaining fashion.
Fourteen of ASU engineering's finest men, representing different engineering organizations on campus, competed in five categories in order to captivate the four judges, which included members of the Ira A. Fulton Engineering faculty, and the audience with their pageantry, engineering style. The competition began with the "Individual Talent" contest. Contestants showed off their unique skills, from juggling to interpretive ribbon dancing and even a poetic rendition of Lil' Wayne's "Lollipop" played on the piano.
After a few contestants serenaded the audience and performed a "Transformers" themed Harlem Shake, the judges deliberated on who would be continuing on in the competition. Ten contestants remained after the first round of cuts as the competition moved on to the next contest. Forget formal wear; an engineering pageant would not be complete without the "Nerd Wear" contest. The contestants donned suspenders, lab coats, hard hats, spandex and even an actual Nerds candy box.
The next contest of the night allowed for audience participation. The "Engineering Pick-Up Lines" contest had the audience laughing and the judges shaking their heads. The contestants enchanted some ladies from the audience with their engineering themed pick-up lines. Some of the memorable pick-up lines included the heartfelt, "Babe, you complete my circuit," from engineering management junior Bryce Muzzy, soldering a wire-heart, to the more provocative, "Hey babe, that's a nice skirt, but it would look even better accelerating towards my floor at 9.8 meters per second squared."
After the contestants presented themselves in their finest beach wear in the "Swimsuit Contest", only five engineering men remained, as it was time for the difficult and nerve-wracking Q&A; section of the competition. At one point of the Q&A;, the host asked one contestant a tough philosophical question, "If you were a elemental compound which one would you be and why?" and the bio-medical engineering junior Francis Eusebio, responded "Sodium-Chloride. Because it's tasty."
The five contestants, along with all the competitors, stood dressed in their formal wear, waiting for the judges to reach their final decision on who would be crowned Mr. Engineering 2013. The runner ups included aerospace engineering sophomore Tony McCourt and Eusebio. Muzzy took home Mr. Congeniality and finally the winner and Mr. Engineering of 2013 was awarded to mechanical engineering junior Josh Chavez.
The State Press caught up with Mr. Engineering 2013 and Mr. Congeniality after the competition to ask them about their achievements.
"I feel ecstatic. I am really glad I could help our club (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) and help the Society of Woman Engineers in their event," Chavez said.
"You know it feels good," Muzzy said about winning Mr. Congeniality. "Getting out there and being able to represent all the people back home that were rooting for me. Hopefully, next year, I will be Mr. Engineering, but I am proud to be Mr. Congeniality."
As the 2013 Mr. Engineering Pageant came to a close, the audience and contestants were left with a gratifying, unforgettable experience. As the contestants packed up their nerd attire they not only left with the hope for next years competition but maybe even a few promising phone numbers.
A full slideshow of the event can be found here.
Reach the reporter at hdiiullo@asu.edu or follow on Twitter @HaleighD_SP.
