A crown in camouflage Posted Thursday, July 22, 2021 @ 12:48 PM Trading in her standard issue boots for high heels, this Housing Ambassador is more than just a tour guide. Kayla McEwan graduated in the top third of her flight at ROTC Field Training and won the Miss Black and Gold Pageant – each happening within a week of one another. Graduating the top third of her flight is a big deal, due to the accumulation of training scores, peer evaluation and her final cadre member evaluation (the officer who is assigned to oversee the flight throughout field training). Field Training is a two-week boot camp for ROTC that entails 16-hour days of marching, team building, academic and physical training. Because these trainees have gone through this specific field training along with their 4 years of collegiate ROTC, they will not have to go to boot camp when commissioned in the Air Force. Instead, they will simply start tech school – the succedent of boot camp. After field training, Kayla came straight back home to Orlando to continue training for the Miss Black and Gold Pageant. The pageant is put on each year by the brothers of the Xi Iota Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and is a prestigious event to the African American UCF community. “[Miss Black and Gold] is one of the best pageants in my opinion. Everything the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. do, they do it with prestige,” Kayla said. The pageant consists of various rounds beginning with an intro dance, onto formal introductions, then the swimsuit section, talent, formal walk with a brother of the fraternity, question and answer then finally crowning. Now that Kayla holds the title of Miss Black and Gold, and fan favorite, she can implement her platform from the pageant – social media and its effect on mental health. Along with her royal court (2nd and 3rd place winners), Kayla will hold various informational forums, panels and interactive critical thinking games in the fall semester, carrying out the duties of her title. Follow @ucf_alphas on Instagram for updates. “I learned how to be confident, and I learned how to go for what I want despite what may be thrown at me,” Kayla reflects. This leader is far from finished with her contributions to the UCF community, looking forward to a follow up pageant in October, Kayla hopes to keep winning more titles and impacting people with her platform. All while giving orders on Air Force ROTC Wing Staff (ROTC executive board) as Recruiting Group Commander. Back