Yesterday, ten talented engineering students fought a battle of wits in the ARCH auditorium in an attempt to win the coveted title of Mr. or Ms. SEAS.
The event was organized by the Engineering Student Activity Council and consisted of a walk-off, a talent show, a question-and-answer section and a date auction for the five male and five female contestants.
During the talent portion of the contest, the competitors displayed a wide variety of skills like dancing, singing, rapping and archery.
Each participant was then asked three engineering-related questions such as what is the best engineering pick-up line and how does Mary Poppins fit a house into her bag. Engineering junior Ben Guarino answered the latter question with, "Love."
During the date auction, the main event of this year's Mr. and Ms. SEAS, audience members bid on contestants for a chance to win a meal at a Steven Starr restaurant. The winners of the contest were determined by which contestants raised the most money through the bidding process.
Monica Thomas, an Engineering junior, was crowned Ms. SEAS when she raised the most money by being auctioned off for a date.
In her talent section, Thomas danced ballet while a robot that she built herself followed her every move. Thomas learned to build robots from working at iRobot for the past two summers. She also danced ballet for 12 years prior to coming to Penn.
"It's a little overwhelming," Thomas said of winning the competition.
Guarino claimed the title of Mr. SEAS. For his talent, Guarino sang a Scottish drinking song that a high school teacher had taught him on a camping trip.
When asked about winning the title of Mr. SEAS, Guarino said, "I would like to thank sweet baby Jesus."
According to Engineering junior and event chairwoman Karen Au Yeung, Mr. and Ms. SEAS was traditionally only a pageant competition. However, the date auction was added to this year's event in order to increase the amount of money raised.
All proceeds went to the American Cancer Society in memory of Bioengineering professor Leif Finkel, who past away last semester from cancer. Yeung said that as well as raising money for a good cause, the goal of Mr. and Ms. SEAS was "to unite the engineering school together."
