On Friday night, Jan. 31, junior English education major Eva Delatte was crowned Miss Southeastern 2025 at the Columbia Theatre. She will reign during the university’s centennial year.

“It is a dream come true. I feel like I fell in love with pageantry this year. It has opened up my eyes to what a well-rounded woman should be,” Delatte said. 

The organizers, the Officer for Student Engagement and the Campus Activities Board, invited previous Miss Southeastern winners, such as Miss Southeastern 1968 Cynthia Fellom Tricou, in honor of the centennial anniversary.

Junior music education major Miranda Sensat won first runner-up and senior CSD major Samantha Kapoulas won second runner-up. 

Alongside Delatte, Sensat and Kapoulas, seven other delegates competed in this year’s competition, including:

• Junior psychology major Makayla Wilson
• Junior nursing major Alexis Cavalier
• Junior finance major Alexis Hogan
• Sophomore strategic communication major Ragan Hoover
• Junior Spanish major Paige Bigelow
• General studies major Sara Cavalier
• Junior management major Sara Gil 

Communication and media studies professor and interim department head Dr. Joe Burns was master of ceremonies, and outgoing Miss Southeastern Shelby Bordelon performed multiple times throughout the evening.

The night began with each delegate introducing their community service initiatives. The topics ranged from mental health and education to language learning and arts.

Delatte’s platform, the DREAM Initiative, focuses on promoting performing arts and self-expression. 

“The DREAM initiative is a student-led initiative. I am the executive director and I recruited Southeastern students to come together and support implementing the performing arts into public education,” Delatte said. 

Following the introduction, the delegates participated in the health and fitness segment, where they could showcase their commitment to a healthy lifestyle. 

The next event was the talent show, which had a wide range of performances, including contemporary dances, singing, poetry, instrumental pieces and a comedic monologue. 

Delatte, who has been dancing since childhood, performed a contemporary solo. 

In connection with her preparation for the pageant, she said different areas needed varying levels of focus. 

“I’ve been dancing my whole life, so as practice, I just had to run it once a week. With the modeling part of the preparation, I had a couple of lessons on how to do it properly. What I practiced most was the interview, I had to shorten my answers,” said Delatte. 

A few delegates won several other awards, including:

• People’s Choice Award – Sarah Gil
• Legacy Scholarship Award – Ragan Hoover
• Miss Congeniality Award – Samantha Lapoulas
• Academic Award – Paige Bigelow
• Evening Gown Award – Miranda Sensat
• Talent Award – Eva Delatte

Delatte will represent Southeastern at the Miss Louisiana competition in Monroe in June.