Proud parents, family members, and friends packed the Scottish Rite Cathedral to kick off Circle City Classic by witnessing the 2013 Miss Circle City Classic Coronation.
Kambria Moncrief was the winner of this year’s coronation event.
This year’s participants were top notch. Twelve of them have traveled abroad, eight are athletes, 13 were involved in school government, and 11 participate in choir. While each participant did an amazing job, Moncrief took the crown.
“It was a very difficult decision, but we judged the girls on their communication skills, academics, their thoughtfulness in their answers, and extracurricular involvement,” said Leroy Woodard, who served as a judge for the coronation.
Moncrief is a senior at Ben Davis High School and has a great passion for music. She participates in Musical Theater, Mixed Show Choir, Women’s Show Choir, and Concert Show Choir. Her love for music doesn’t end there; Moncrief plans to attend Spelman College to major in music performance or vocal performance.
With a strong background in performance you would think taking the stage at the Miss Circle City Classic Coronation would be a breeze.
“Performing in front of a crowd and speaking in front of a big crowd is a big difference,” said Moncrief. “I was very nervous.”
Public speaking was not the only challenge Moncrief had to overcome. Her father suffered two strokes within the two weeks leading up to the coronation.
“It was very difficult when my father suffered a stroke. My mother had to take time from work to take care of him and help me prepare for the coronation,” said the new Classic queen.
Through it all, she remained resilient throughout the competition.
“I got everything together in the end,” she said.
Preparation for the coronation competition is not easy. The participants sacrifice a lot of their time by dedicating every weekend and personal time throughout the week to prepare. Initially, Moncrief had a difficult time balancing her extracurricular activities with coronation responsibilities.
“I had cheerleading, show choir and a job. I had to miss a show because I was unable to attend rehearsals for show choir,” said Moncrief.
The time spent preparing for the competition did not go to waste. Preparation was more than learning how to stand in heels hours at a time or learning how to elegantly grace the stage. The participants also attended workshops that focused on building relationships, etiquette, self-defense, communication skills and more.
“I learned how to build relationships with people,” said the queen. “I also learned how to build a better relationship with my parents,” she said.
For 28 years the Circle City Classic Coronation has upheld a rich tradition of recognizing young African-American girls who are excelling in their schools and communities.
“This year was very exciting, the coronation committee put in a lot of work behind the scenes,” said Tanya Bell, president and chief executive officer of Indiana Black Expo.
“We want Miss Circle City Classic to represent the community very well,” said Bell.
Kambria plans to do just that.
“I want to make the city proud. I want to be a role model for younger African-American girls,” said Moncrief.
