A celebration of African culture at the ASA Fall Ball, a photo essay

African Student Association E-Board members entering the Grand Ballroom (Mauriah Allen/ The Black Explosion).

The University of Maryland, College Park’s African Student Association held its annual Fall Ball in the Stamp Student Union’s Grand Ballroom on Dec. 3. 

The crowd cheered as Victor Chongwa, a sophomore public-health science major, and Zainab Bah, a junior mechanical engineering major, were crowned Mister and Miss ASA at the 10th annual Fall Ball. 

There were 6 contestants in this year's Fall Ball. The theme for this year was "On the Run," and attendees dressed in formal and traditional African attire. There were four aspects to the event: introductions, culture, Q&A, and talent. 

“I was most excited to see the uniqueness of every contestant's performances. I also wanted to learn more about the platforms they were running on”, said Kayla Benjamin, a criminology and criminal justice major at the university. 

1st contestant Mojoroolwa Dehinbo, a freshman at the university from the country of Nigeria (Mauriah Allen/ The Black Explosion)

2nd contestant Simone Dike, a freshman at the university from the country Nigeria (Mauriah Allen/The Black Explosion)

3rd contestant Victor Chongwa, a sophomore at the university from the country Cameroon (Mauriah Allen/The Black Explosion).

4th contestant Sharon Idowu, a sophomore at the university from the country of Nigeria (Mauriah Allen/The Black Explosion).

5th contestant Cullen Kweti, a junior at the university from the country Cameroon (Mauriah Allen/The Black Explosion)

6th contestant Zainab Bah, a junior at the university. Bah is from Bowie, Md., but her family’s origins are in Sierra Leone and Guinea (Mauriah Allen/ The Black Explosion.

The Star Strutters, the university band dancing team, gave performances. Following an engaging dance performance, the audience was left cheering by the African dance pair Afrochique and Diazporic. 

Star Strutters dancing to afrobeats and at the opening of the ASA Fall Ball (Mauriah Allen/The Black Explosion).

Since 1981, the UMCP African Student Association has been a campus organization dedicated to sharing Africa's wealth and greatness with the campus community, according to the UMCP African Student Association website. 

“Being part of ASA is definitely a good experience because it’s an opportunity to connect with people of the same descent and culture. It’s needed especially because we attend a PWI”, said senior Leaynol Tiede, a family science major at the university. 

Victor and Zainab intend to use their platform to carry out their objectives for the 23–24 academic year after the event.

Victor intends to raise awareness of health literacy, while Zainab wants to raise awareness and shed light on the prevention of gun violence. 

“As your Mister ASA, I will maintain the relationship with international organizations by not only collaborating with them but having events such as, the annual health day that I plan to have with the health gala at night ”, said Victor, the new Mister ASA.