Pictured are Madison Johnson (Miss Cover Girl, left) and Kayla Wiley (Miss April). (Photo by De'Vante Martin).
The 54th Annual Miss Calendar Girl Scholarship Pageant was held March 19 in the T.H. Harris Auditorium. The theme for the pageant was “Grambling’s Prized Investment.”
This year’s Calendar Girl contestants were Ariel Box from Denver; RaiJuan Box from Denver Laila Brown from Chicago; Jasmine Butler from Monroe; Czaria Cole from Memphis, Tennessee.; Myla Feaster from Chicago; Gaja Ford from Dallas; Aa’Sialynn Fuller from Lake Charles; Kyndall Hardiman from Little Rock, Arkansas; Ka’Le Hogue from East St. Louis, Illinois; Macee Howard; Sydney Jackson from Atlanta; Alexa Johnson from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.; Jemauri Johnson-Cole from Columbus, Ohio; Ajia Joseph from Olive Branch, Mississippi; Asia Knight from Opelousas.; Shelby Luellen from Minneapolis.; Ashley Marshall from Mansfield; Adriana McGhee from Monroe; Alexis Mendenhall from Springhill; Michaela Morris from News Orleans; Tori Nelson from LaPlace; A’mond O’Steen from Jonesville.; Jailah Reed from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Skylar Ross from Chicago; Ananda Sidney from Houston, Texas; Ashlyn Simmons from Dallas; Aniyah Tate from Chicago; Timera Tidwell from Chicago; Diedra White from Little Elm, Texas; Kayla Wiley from Grambling; Jamia Woods from Chicago; and Andreanna Wright from Madison, Wisconsin.
The calendar girl winners included Tori Nelson (Miss September), Ashlyn Simmons (Miss October), Asia Knight (Miss November), Gaja Ford (Miss December), Ananda Sidney (Miss January), Adriana McGhee (Miss February), Skylar Ross (Miss March), Kayla Wiley (Miss April), Ajia Joseph (Miss May), Aa’Sialynn Fuller (Miss June), Aniyah Tate (Miss July), and Jamia Woods (Miss August).
Wiley, a marketing major, says she had good time management to be able to balance practice for the pageant and classes.
“Growing up in Grambling, I knew I could do it because of practice and hard work,” Wiley said.
This year’s Cover Girl contestants were Aliyah Armstrong from Fort Wayne, Indiana; Trejai Baudoin from Abbeville; Moneesha Gay from Maywood, Illinois; Jordan Harris from Shreveport; Madison Johnson from Terrell, Texas; and Laila Sims from Farmerville.
The event saw Miss Sophomore Madison Johnson crowned as Grambling’s 2022-23 Miss Cover Girl.
“It’s really surreal, I really thank God because he got me through this entire thing,” Johnson said. “I really truly believed, and like I say through my platform, empowerment through encouragement. ”
Johnson said her main goal is to spread God’s love and help others grow.
The runners-up for Miss Cover Girl were sophomore Aliyah Armstrong and junior Moneesha Gay. “I was very excited and relieved when I found out I got third place,” Gay said. “I was not sure if I was going to win anything or not. Everyone was good and had a shot. When they said my name, It was just exciting because I have never done a pageant before. Everything I did on that stage, that was the first time for everything.”
The first Calendar Girl Pageant was presented on March 24, 1969, at Grambling State University. Since its initial staging, the pageant has grown to give the winners scholarships.