The Mr. UNH pageant was held just a few weeks ago. This week we got the chance to sit down with the new crown holder, Brennan Young. We got to know all about his UNH favs and his involvment on campus! Check it out!
Age: 21
Year: Senior, 2017
Major: Health Management and Policy
Hometown: Lee, NH
Hoco or Philly? Hoco
Homecoming or Cinco? Cinco
Dimond or Paul? Paul School
DHOP, Dominos, or Papa Johns? DHOP
Football or hockey? Hockey
Hut or Coffee Craving? The Hut
How was your experience competing in Mr.UNH?
I think the energy that is behind Mr. UNH is amazing. To go up and embarrass yourself in front of a large audience that doesn’t you, there must be a lot of pre-show excitement. The girls from Chi O who run the event do a fantastic job of keeping the contestants excited and that’s why the experience was so great.
How did you prepare for the big night? How long did you spend rehearsing that dance?
Almost exactly four years ago to date, I was a contestant for my high school’s “Mr. Bobcat” competition. At the time, I had cooked up this weird idea that if I completed the Single Ladies dance flawlessly, the crowd would be in shock. So I watched the video, over and over again. Obviously, I waited until the night before to practice the actual dance and called my friend Morgan to help me out. We spent one hour before deciding I was going wing the entire thing. So I went on stage, I strutted my stuff, but it wasn’t enough… The crowd was in roar, but I took second place. Every time attended a party after that evening and hit the bottle, I always somehow ended up taking over the iPod to render my dance to the drunken crowd. Four years and one injury later, a pulled groin, I was ready to take back the night. This time I’d follow the same routine, practicing just the night before, but making sure the hype for the final show was there.
What would be your advice to those who want to compete in this type of male beauty pageant?
Put every drop of dignity on the line because there’s only two things that could possibly happen in an audience of unknown viewers… They find you to be awful and you realize not much changes in your life or you take the crowd by storm, becoming that guy who danced to Single Ladies in a leotard and made some new friends doing it.
What is your involvement with Project Sunshine and could you tell us more about that club?
Currently, I’m the President of Project Sunshine at UNH. “PSUN” as we like to call it is doing amazing work in local children’s hospitals with the help of student volunteers. Our mission is to “Bring sunshine to a cloudy day.” Many of the children we visit at Boston Children’s, Franciscan’s, CHaD, and Shriner’s Hospital spend weeks or even months recovering from an illness. Our club has the unique opportunity to bring programs and activities into the hospitals to provide a sense of normalcy and remove the children from the typical hospital environment. Our ultimate mission is to be a source of joy that for children that battle unfortunate circumstances out of their control. Fundraised money has also gone towards “Red Carpet Events,” where patients can dress up for an evening and be the star of the night. Much of our work also includes removing parents from the stressful hospital environment to enjoy activities with their children.
What was your favorite moment of Mr. UNH (besides winning)?
I had an all-around awesome partner, Sam Fuller, from Chi Omega. Never having met before, she took my ridiculous ideas and ran the marathon with me. She was upbeat, excited, and just fun to be around. Planning before the event and having her help me out on stage was my favorite moment.
Now that you’ve won Mr.UNH, what are you going to do next?
I promised I take my grandma out for ice cream, so you can bet that’s happening. Otherwise, I think the next step for Mr. Sunshine is to run the Boston Marathon and go to nursing scchool.