By: Megan Hartman
The Miss Gardner-Webb Pageant was scheduled to be held in February, but because of unforeseen weather challenges, it was pushed back to Sunday, April 17. Senior, and four-time competitor, Liv LuVisi, was crowned Miss Gardner-Webb at the end of the pageant.
LuVisi is from Kuna, Idaho and currently attending GWU with a full ride scholarship and double majoring in Broadcast Journalism and Writing. “I didn’t find Gardner-Webb,” she said, laughing. “Gardner-Webb found me.”
During the week leading up to the pageant, LuVisi faced multiple heath challenges resulting in a trip to the Emergency Room that lasted three days. “Everyone was checking on me,” she said. “It was so cool to see how many people genuinely cared and wanted to be there for me.”
Photo courtesy of GWU
LuVisi said she missed out on a lot during the week of the pageant because of her health and she was disappointed in herself for not being there like she wanted to be. However, that didn’t stop her from pursuing her goal to win Miss Gardner-Webb.
Photo by Hannah Covington
Participating in the pageant has been a yearly event for LuVisi. She won first runner up her freshman year, placed in the top five her sophomore year, won first runner up again her junior year and finally landed the title of Miss Gardner-Webb this year.
“It’s funny, I told my parents I would compete every year and win it my senior year and that actually happened,” she said.
LuVisi has competed in many pageants during her life, but said Miss Gardner-Webb is the most rewarding one she’s ever done. “[The judges] of Miss Gardner-Webb really want to know you for who you are, compared to the other pageants where they look for who they want you to be,” she explained.
Photo by Madison Weavil
According to LuVisi, all of the girls were so encouraging throughout the entire process and practices became a place to talk about their worries and insecurities. They even seemed to care and share their concerns when she couldn’t make it to the rehearsals. “The coolest moment of the entire pageant was not the crown, the roses or the sash,” she said. “It was being surrounded by all the girls after winning and just feeling so loved.”
After graduation, she plans on moving back home. “Gardner-Webb has given me a family, but I’ve really missed my biological family as well,” said LuVisi.
She also has landed a job as the promotional manager of four radio stations with The E.W. Scripps Company. “I am so fortunate to not only receive a college degree, but also start a career in my field,” she said.
Photo by Madison Weavil
During her four years at Gardner-Webb, LuVisi has been the only student from Idaho and she believes she can use that to her advantage when she returns home. She said, “I can represent GWU back home by embodying what we stand for in my every day life.”
LuVisi said she feels as if she’s left a legacy here on campus and hopes to be remembered. She is looking forward to showing off what Gardner-Webb has shaped her into in the workplace, in the church and through service. She believes that being Miss Gardner-Webb will give her a platform to do that.
