At 7:30 p.m., tonight, in Morehouse College’s King’s Chapel five Spelmanites will be competing to Make America Black Again and be bestowed with the title of Miss Maroon & White.Representing the color Yellow is Kennedy Edwards, the color Blue is Darian Penn, the color Red is Taylor Stewart, the color Green is Chantalle Cannicle, and the color Purple is Kalin Tate.
When you think of a queen you think of a woman who is poised, well educated, passionate, and firm. Our 2017-2018 contestant Purple is all of those things and more.
(All photos provided by Kalin Tate)
Contestant Purple, Kalin Tate, is a Junior English major at Spelman College. Hailing from Columbus, Georgia, this Purple Queen was born to Reign.
Kalin prides herself in being active on and off campus. Currently, she serves as a Bonner Community Service Scholar, an Atlanta Hawks College Ambassador, and she is also a volunteer at the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Upon obtaining her degree from Spelman, Kalin intends to pursue a career as a Sports and Entertainment Broadcast Journalist.
If selected as the 2017-2018 Miss Maroon & White, Kalin intends to place a crown on every K.I.N.G.’s head. Her platform, K.I.N.G. (Knowledge, Intelligence, Networking, and Guidance), intends to be a mentoring program for the students of Morehouse College.
“K.I.N.G. is designed to make a sustainable impact on each and every student by showing the young men of Morehouse College that they have the Knowledge and Intelligence to Network themselves and Guide others to success”, said Kalin.
The K.I.N.G. Leadership and Development Mentoring program will be split into three sessions.
Session 1: Knowledge and Intelligence (Speech and Presentation Skills)
Throughout the session, you cannot use slang. This includes ya’ll, ain’t, finna, gonna, ‘bout to, etc. Every time it is used, you receive a strike. Whoever has the least amount of strikes (or no strikes), will receive an incentive. We will have an open discussion on the importance of maintaining professionalism through speech and how it can negatively affect your future. Finally, we will conduct elevator speeches. This includes speaking on your positions and accomplishments in less than 15 seconds.
Session 2: Networking and Guidance
We will begin with having an open discussion on how networking and mentorship makes a difference. When is it appropriate to network? How do you ask someone to become your mentor? What can I get out of mentorship? There would be ice-breaking and bonding activities for the mentors and students to network and help guide the students on their road through college.
Session 3: Success (putting all the attributes into effect)
In this session we will use the skills that they have learned from the previous sessions. We will help them build the perfect resume. They will bring in applications that they may have for part-time jobs, E-Board applications for organizations, or internships and we will work on them in this session either on an individual basis, or group setting. We would also assist them with any assignments that they have to help them better educationally. If they do not have an application, they will be provided with a mock application.
Kalin’s intention to win the crown tonight is heavily based on her upbringing, the relationships she has nurtured with Morehouse students over the past three years, and her desire to see Morehouse and it’s students thrive and flourish.
“I was not fortunate enough to have an older brother. I always had the desire to have a male figure to look up to, and to inspire me to be who I desired. Luckily, I was able to become the person that I am, but I wished I had more guidance from someone who crossed the same paths as me, and who was not judgmental”, began Kalin.
“With us living in a world that is does not favor black people, we need to have each other’s back NOW more than ever. As Miss Maroon & White I would not just be a part of history, I would make sure to MAKE history amongst the student body. I plan to be a sister before I am a Queen”, continued Kalin.
“I want to be Miss Maroon & White so I can make a difference in the lives of my Morehouse brothers the same way that they have done to me. I want to be there live laugh and love, and be a guiding light on their journey to success”.