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February 3,1982
Ronda Russell CrownedAAiss Gaston
By Gary Leonheart
Gaslight Co-Editor
After weeks of exhausting practice and
preparation the night finally arrived. The
audiance was tense — the contestants stood in
hne on the stage, awaiting the judges decision.
The slip of paper was passed to the Master of
Ceremonies. The moment had come....and
Miss Gaston College 1982 is — Ronda RusseU.
Ronda, the nineteen year old daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. J. Dennis Russell was crowned
as the most beautiful girl on campus.
The Miss Gaston College pageant took place
on January 23, Ronda edged out some very
stiff competition to take not only top honors,
but the most talented award, as well.
Ronda is a Music major here at Gaston
College with four years of piano, one year of
voice and three years in tap dancing to her
credit.
She has hazel eyes, dark drown hair and is
5’7” tall. Ronda, a 1980 graduate from Hunter
Huss, was also the first runner up in the 1980
Miss Hunter Huss Pageant.
Her other activities include the “All County
Chorus” and the Mars Hill Choral Clinic.
Ronda was also presented a scholarship from
the Gaston Music Education Foundation to
attend Gaston.
Ronda’s hobbies include cross-stitching,
shopping, dancing, reading and she loves the
mountains and making new friends. Ronda
hopes to continue her music future along with
settUng down and raising a family.
Along with Ronda was the first runner-up,
Donna Pickelsimer and second runner up,
Rebecca Taylor. Jacqueline Owensby was
selected “Miss Congeniality” by her lovely
competitors.
The pageant, which -was sponsoring by the
S.G.A., was a tremendous success. About 300
spectators viewed and enjoyed the
competition which was held in the Myers
Center Auditorium.
Fred Story, the famed disc jocky from
WBCY in Charlotte, was the Master of
Ceremonies for the occasion.
Fred’s light hearted antics proved to be the
icing on the cake as the night wore on.
Jamie Tomlinson and pageant director Jay
Rogers made everyone swoon with their
singing, while the Pat Wall Dancers
entertained with an outstanding performance.
The theme for the pageant, “Broadway
Magic” was introduced by the contestants and
got the evening off to a quick pace — that
never let up until the final moment — when the
queen was crowned.
The scenery, created with countless hours of
work by the SGA student stage team, gave the
Continued on Page Three
Miss Gaston College Ronda Russell is
shown here being crowned by former
Miss Gaston College Roselyn Crisson
Sellers
Financing Your Education:
Several Sources Available
By Charlene Jenkins
Gaslight Reporter
Now that you’ve started your college
education, are you having trouble financing
it? Perhaps federal budget cuts have caused a
change in your plans. Or maybe you have a
younger brother or sister who wishes to attend
college at a later date, but doesn’t know how
he or she will be able to afford it. Maybe you
have a friend who is having problems coming
up with enough funds.
If you fall into any of the above categories,
you will certainly be interested to know that
money for college is still available, despite
inflation and the present economy.
If you know where to look, funds may be
found in a number of places. Monies in the
form of grants, scholarships, and work-study
programs are frequently available to
students.
You don’t need an extremely high or low I.Q.
in order to qualify. Your personal income will
have more influence on your chances of
receiving funds than any other standard.
The staff of the Gaslight feels that anyone
should be able to get an education if he or she
is willing to work for it. Therefore, we have
tried to come up with viable sources of
educational financing.
Dealing with banks
As for banks, the policy for low-interest
student loans, payable after graduation, has
changed in the past few years throughout the
nation. Consequently, it may be near to
impossible to receive money from this source.
Recently, a new plan has been put together
by the Citizens Bank in Dallas, Georgia and
the Students’ Financial Services of Atlanta.
These banks now offer to the parents of future
college students a plan that will place the
money saved for the students education into a
Continued on Page Five
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