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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 2000)
. .. , . . , vduidnne ivenaan tmeraia University psychology, journalism major and track team member, Endia Abrante will be competing in the preliminaries for the Miss USA Pageant on Nov. 26. Abrante poised for pageantry ■ umveibiiy junior IOOKS forward to showcasing her many talents at upcoming beauty pageant By Lisa Toth Oregon Daily Emerald Instead of her normal sweats and track gear six days a week, Endia Abrante will be slipping into a pur ple chiffon, sequined evening gown for a night in the spotlight. Abrante will complete in this year’s Millennium Pageant Nov. 26, the state preliminary for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The junior from Honolulu, Hawaii, grew up admiring the com posure, poise and intellect of previ ous winners on television, and she said those women sparked her in terest in entering the contest. Abrante said candidates will be judged on poise, athleticism, intel lect and personality. She said expe riences traveling abroad, modeling, acting and breaking records on the track make her a well-rounded can didate. “Of course I want to be first. I want to win, but I will be just as happy with second, third or fourth,” Abrante said. “Just to be in it is an accomplishment and a new challenge.” Abrante’s family moved from Hawaii to Eugene to support Abrante’s schooling and dreams of being an Olympic athlete. Abrante and her roommate live in the same apartment complex as her parents, which allows her parents to attend her track meets. Her mother, Eleanor, said Abrante was the first public school athlete in Hawaii to receive a Divi sion I track and field scholarship. Abrante’s mother, a colon and continued from page 1 posed to other meat turkeys, in cluding bronze and white turkeys, which are “more like dumb cows” and don’t make very good pets. Although several of Rose’s turkeys are raised for meat, he con siders the others his pets. “If you don’t eat them, they’re your pets,” he said. Rose said he’s less affectionate to ward the meat turkeys and would never change his mind about turn ing a pet into a meal. “If it’s going to be meat, it’s meat ovarian cancer survivor, said hei daughter supported her during re mission despite Abrante’s educa tional commitments and Olympic aspirations. “She truly inspires me. She is al ways on the go and always smil ing,” Eleanor Abrante said. Abrante is a double major in psy chology and journalism with a mi nor in Spanish. “It seems like I do a lot, but to me it is an everyday process, some thing I have to do,” Abrante said. This won’t be Abrante’s first shot at fame. She appeared in a Sprite commercial when she was 12, and recently appeared in Haunted His tory, a ghost story reenactment se ries on the History Channel. Abrante said she is confident her muscular body, which she has de veloped from rigorous athletic training, will be reflected in the swimsuit portion of the competi tion. Abrante runs the 400-meter dash for the Oregon track and field team. During the swimsuit portion of the contest, Abrante will be model ing a bright, exotic orange swimsuit donated by one of her many sponsors, Pineapple Kiss. Preparing for the pageant, Abrante has enjoyed being pam pered in make-up sessions, nail, pedicure and teeth whitening ap pointments and learning how to wax her eyebrows. Abrante said she hopes viewers see her feminini ty through what she described as her tombovish appearance. Lately she said she has been practicing not falling in her four inch heels. “Poise isn’t something you al ways get to see on the track,” Abrante said, adding that she’s “usually in that aggressive mode competing.” from the beginning,” he said. Owning turkeys hasn't turned ei ther Rose or Bush off of eating the meat. Turkey meat and a pet turkey are completely different, Bush said. He plans to have a traditional Thanks giving dinner, but when it comes to Tina, Bush said, “I would never eat her.” Bush and Rose agree that to own ing a turkey requires a lot of space for it to wander. “I think the most important thing would be that they have enough room to move,” Rose said. “Turkeys do roarti,” Bush said. Maurice Greene, a family friend, is on Abrante’s list of sponsors. Green is the 2000 Olympic champi on gold medalist and world record holder in the 100 meters and the 4xl00-meter relay.Abrante said contests, such as the Miss USA Pageant, don’t perpetuate negative stereotypes toward women. She said the women answer intense questions about society today. “To say that the pageant exploits women is not true, because they have you show your poise and an swer questions,” Abrante said. The pageant “really showcases women’s intellect.” Shanelle Rose, a junior journal ism major and Abrante’s roommate, is confident Abrante is the best can didate to represent the University and Oregon at state and national levels. “She has an inner strength and a confidence that most people don’t have,” Rose said. “When she wants something, she goes out and gets it.” Rose said she thinks Abrante is one of the prettier contestants, aside from being smart and athletic. “There is a poise necessary for anyone putting themselves on dis play, and she has that poise,” Rose said. Lizabeth Nold, director of North west Pageants, Inc. in Oregon and Washington, said the pageant has offered young women the opportu nity to launch careers in broadcast ing, acting and modeling while re ceiving guidance in runway presentation, poise and speech since it began in 1952. This year’s state preliminary pag eant will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Portland. The na tional Miss USA Pageant airs Feb. 4 on GBS. And they do fly as well, which is why Rose recommends raising a turkey in a rural area. Turkeys are not forbidden in residential areas in Eugene, as long as they are restrict ed by a cage and do not exceed two per residence, according to the city code. Bush said as long as they’re well behaved, turkeys make good pets. In tact, he has even considered get ting a new one. But for now, he’s coping with the loss of his latest pet. “She was kind of nice to have around,” Bush said. "We sure miss her.” Eugene's Specialty Snowboard Shop 245 Blair Blvd. 349-0087 10% OFF with this ad! 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