»¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓmagic felt in Baltimore
By: DEJANE LAWRENCE
Mar 02, 2023
From Feb 21-25, »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓ students, administrators and alumni traveled to Baltimore for the CIAA basketball tournament to recruit, network and support the students participating in various competitions.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is an athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level. CIAA mostly consists of historically black colleges and universities.
For some students, 2023 was their first time attending the CIAA tournament, one of those being »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓfreshman Iyanna Pickens.
“For the most part, I enjoyed it. There were great opportunities especially at the career fair, a lot of networking and a fun experience overall.”
»¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓstudent athletes such as the men’s basketball team, the women’s basketball team and the »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓcheerleaders were in attendance as well.
»¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓcheerleader Ni’Ray Nelson said, “Being a member of DaCrUw is an experience I love profoundly. … It supports my creativity while also allowing me to make connections and friends.”
»¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓwas even represented in the CIAA Greek Step Show. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Gamma Nu Chapter had the pleasure of stepping on behalf of the school and their organization.
At the end the weekend, Mister »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓMendel Rivers and Miss »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓArteria Gibson were crowned the 2023 Mister and Miss CIAA. This is the third time a Miss »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓreceived the title and the first time a Mister »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓreceived the title. Each earned a $2,500 scholarship.
“When I heard them call out ‘and your new Miss CIAA is Miss »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓ,’ I was in complete shock. I had no idea I was going to win, especially since they had already named Mister »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓas the new Mister CIAA,” Gibson said.
“It is uncommon for the winners to come from the same school. I was just so happy that all of our hard work paid off and we were able to bring these titles home and put »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓeven higher on the map,” Gibson said.