Wiley sophomore Taylor R. Cooper has been crowned Miss National UNCF. Cooper won the title Saturday night during the Miss UNCF Pageant at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the 13th Wiley queen to win the Miss National UNCF title since 2000.
The pageant is an annual event that takes place during the UNCF Leadership Conference and features Miss UNCF campus queens from UNCF- member colleges. The campus queen who raises the most money is crowned Miss National UNCF. Miss Cooper and her competitor at Wiley, Miss Cecelia Salas, collectively raised over $35,000 to help fund scholarships for deserving students and provide supportive services to UNCF colleges.
In attendance at the pageant to support and cheer for Miss Cooper were members of the Wiley College Pre-Alumni Council. While in New Orleans, they, too, won an award- the UNCF Barbara Marshall Pre-Alumni Council of the Year award for the Southwestern Region. Wiley junior Essence Mendenhall was elected president of the National Pre-Alumni Council. Kylan Pew is the president of Wiley’s Pre-Alumni Council.