It became clear the Mr. Engineer competition was not a typical beauty pageant when the eight contestants arrived on stage modeling suspenders, hard hats and trails of toilet paper.
The competition was held Monday night by the Society of Women Engineers in HUB Alumni Hall and raised $892.94 for the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Council Dance Marathon. Half of the proceeds were donated in the name of the Society of Women Engineers while the other half was donated in the name of winner Steve Bates' respective organization, the engineering house.
Bates (freshman-mechanical engineering) was among those who made use of the toilet paper trail as part of the "Engineering Wear" portion of the competition, which awarded the most nerdy ensemble. Fellow contestant Luke Hagen (junior-mechanical engineering) modeled socks and sandals along with thick, taped glasses.
The men were evaluated in other areas including most photogenic, most talented, and best business wear.
Camilo Arenas (sophomore-mechanical engineering), who later took home the award for "Most Photogenic," kicked off the talent portion by performing a Spanish-inspired dance.
Steve Brown (senior-mechanical engineering) took a different approach, strutting on stage in a blonde wig and plaid skirt. He then proceeded to dance an Irish jig, surprising the audience by pulling pink ribbons from under his skirt and incorporating them into his dance.
There was a fair balance between serious and comedic acts, including a karate demonstration and a Joe Paterno look-a-like performing the worm across the stage. However, the most unorthodox performance was that of Alex Giovanelli (senior-industrial engineering) and his global positioning system, TomTom.
The two discussed Giovanelli's love life, with TomTom providing advice.
"It says on Facebook that you're single, looking for random play. You need a girlfriend," TomTom said, suggesting the pickup line, "Hey there, sweet thang. Daddy is hungry for some of that."
After the contestants made one more trip across the stage dressed in suits and ties, the judges narrowed the competition down to four finalists, finally crowning Bates as Mr. Engineer 2009.
"Being a rookie never bothered me," Bates said about being the only freshman in the competition. "I'd done pageants like this in high school so this was not new, but it was a great experience."
