- Posted in All University
- Category: Students
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY — After winning the 2010 Miss Black Philadelphia Pageant, Lincoln University senior Donielle Turner will now be competing in the 2011 Miss Black America Pageant.
Thirteen women from Philadelphia competed for the Miss Black Philadelphia title, which was held on May 29, 2010. Out of the three portions of the contest, Donielle won two, which included the swimsuit and projection sections.
“I used to do pageants as a child between the ages of 4-13, but as soon as my preteen years began, I stopped,” Turner said. “I entered the Miss Black Philadelphia Pageant because it was a great opportunity to get back into the world of pageantry. Since I won, I was automatically entered in the Miss Black America competition.”
The Miss Black America Pageant, which started in 1968, is one of the biggest national competitions for African-American women. The 2011 pageant will be held next summer and has a contestant from every state. Donielle will represent the state of Pennsylvania.
Turner states that the most challenging endeavor while competing was the time schedule. The training took place from mid-April to the end of May, as Turner was finishing up her junior year.
“With my Miss Black Philadelphia title, I plan to do so much for my community. I am very focused on the education of children. I want them to stay on the right path even when hardships arise. I am extremely interested in creative arts therapy, which provides children, who have been labeled with special needs, the access to dance, music, theatre and other art forms,” Turner said.
Turner is from West Philadelphia and went to the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. She will graduate in 2011 from Lincoln University with a dual degree in Psychology and Religion. Her cumulative GPA is a 3.51. She serves on the board of the Psychology Club and was recently inducted into the Psi Chi Psychology Honors Society.
She prides herself on becoming the new captain of the Crush Groove Dance Line, which is part of the Lincoln University Orange Crush Marching Band. Turner tutors for Religion; is a member of the French Club; and will be a Resident Advisor for the female dormitory Cresson Hall.
In preparing for the Miss Black America Pageant, Turner states, “I will continue to stay in shape. I will prepare for this pageant as I did for the Miss Black Philadelphia Pageant, but on a much higher level, while staying abreast of current events.”
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Lincoln University – founded in 1854 as the nation’s first Historically Black University – combines the best elements of a liberal arts and sciences-based undergraduate core curriculum and selected graduate programs to meet the needs of those living in a highly technological and global society. The University enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students.
Internationally recognized for preparing learners and producing world-class leaders in their fields, Lincoln has created five academic Centers of Excellence-programs of distinctions. They are: Lincoln-Barnes Visual Arts, Grand Research Educational Awareness and Training (GREAT) for Minority Health, Mass Communications, Teacher Education and Urban Pedagogy and Business and Information Technology.