Tag: Black Cultural Center

Ebony Ball: Our Shades of Beauty

Ebony Ball: Our Shades of Beauty

This year’s Ebony Ball was held at Regents Hall in the Lewis Towers.
Photo by: Antoinette Isama

One of the last events for Loyola University Chicago‘s Black History Month celebrations was Ebony Ball.

On Friday, Feb. 22, the Black Cultural Center hosted this formal for the first time at Regents Hall in the Lewis Towers on our campus downtown.

As vice president, I had to oversee the planning and facilitate tasks to prepare for this fun night!

With the theme “Our Shades of Beauty,” we sought to show the beauty of diversity by shedding light on how one should not be ashamed of the color of their skin.

Our social chair, Marlena Ortiz, had the great idea of embossing images on to pieces of wood that are examples of our different shades of beauty.

With the help of our other executive board members, each centerpiece and accent piece were crafted and painted by hand.

There was great music from a student DJ from Northwestern University and I would also consider this year’s Ebony Ball as the most successful – especially with how diverse the turnout came to be.

The students that attended had a great time! I hope that with events like these, my organization can bring the Loyola community closer together.

Flashing Lights: Black Cultural Center Fashion Show

Flashing Lights: Black Cultural Center Fashion Show

On March 31, 2012, I had the joy of participating in the Loyola University Chicago Black Cultural Center‘s fifth annual fashion show. This is my second year participating as a model. It is always a great opportunity to be involved in a collaborative effort like this, because along with the hard work, I get to meet new people, especially first year students.

In preparation for the fashion show, we work with a consulting company. They help us find local designers to wear clothes for the show, and they train us to walk and pose like professional models. It is always nerve wracking in the beginning, especially for me, because I can be shy. But the confidence does come out eventually, and practicing for the show ends up being a lot of fun.

This year, we were able to wear clothes from Plato’s Closet, Enstrumental (photographed above), That Girl Boutique and many more. We even featured a swim suit fashion line for the first time.

The staging and lighting were great, and the audience enjoyed the show as well. This is an event that I definitely look forward to at Loyola every year.