Students celebrate culture and community at African Student Association annual fall ball
From left to right, Keturah Hallee, Samantha Rose Balaba, Adunifeoluwa Olawale, Daniel Oyebola, were crowed mister and miss ASA. (Samantha Rose Balaba/Instagram)
The African Student Association at the University of Maryland celebrated African cultures and crowned Mister and Miss ASA during its 11th Annual Fall Ball in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union Grand Ballroom on Nov. 24.
The annual Fall Ball is a cultural event that allows individuals from all ethnic groups and diverse backgrounds to come together to embody the spirit of togetherness through a night of entertainment. The event appreciated and represented various African cultures, including contestants competing to be crowned Mister and Miss. ASA.
The night began with lively jazz music and food entrees, including Jollof rice, peppered chicken, rasta pasta, etc. Traditional, colorful African attire was on full display, allowing members to embrace the beauty of African culture. Afterward, students and families gathered together to showcase their support for the candidates.
The theme for this year was “the final bid,” and the competition had four parts: introductions, culture, Q&A and talent. There were five contestants in this year's ball: Samantha Rose Balaba, a sophomore representing Uganda; Bernard Arday, a freshman representing Ghana; Chinwe Kalu, a sophomore representing Nigeria; Adunifeoluwa Olawale, a freshman from Nigeria; and Naomi-Marie Atogho, a junior from Cameroon.
The night’s first performers, the Star Strutters, set the atmosphere – with the African Dance Pair Afrochique and Diasporic following with performances that had the audience standing out of their seats as they danced to the rhythm of the music.
Starting with the introductions, the contestants uniquely showcased their talent. Arday displayed his creativity by appearing as a boxer. Kalu emerged in a Barbie box and was lifted into the air. Balaba emerged from a handcrafted jewel as a Ghanaian pearl. Olawale energized the crowd by dancing to afrobeats.
For the culture portion, contestants represented a country through meaningful performances with a symbolic story behind them. This was expressed through different cultural attire.
The talent portion showcased electrifying performances with an aesthetic representing the contestant’s originality. The question and answer portion gave the contestants the opportunity to articulate their ambitious goals to the judges and the crowd.
“Coming to events like these allows me to feel more connected to predominantly Black individuals,” Haddy Sowe, a Gambian student and at UMD a sophomore majoring in neuroscience said. “Also events like this are very fun to go to and it's interesting to see the different cultures”.
The judges took an immense amount of time choosing the winners, as all the candidates did an exemplary job. After long deliberations, Balaba was crowned Miss ASA and Olawale was crowned Mister ASA.
Balaba plans to educate her community and raise awareness of Menstrual care through her platform. She intends to accomplish this through donation events, interactive workshops, and care package drives.
“Honestly, I'm ecstatic to be Ms. ASA. I know the job doesn’t end here. I want to make sure I continue my endeavors in making menstrual health a less stigmatized topic,” Balaba said.
Olawale plans to bring awareness to certain issues and help improve the community through his program “Future of my Siblings Support System”, which is designed to support first generation students.
“I’m really passionate about my platform and the Future of my Sibling Support System, because I want to help people in the same exact situation my mom was in,” Olawale said.
CORRECTION: A previous version misattributed the mission Adunifeoluwa Olawale’s program “Future of Sibling Support System,” with the mission of another program intended to support students with disabilities. This story has been updated.