Strong College’s Julie Matta is Miss Greensboro, February 1998

One of Ours Wears Crown for Miss Greensboro

[Strong College student Julie Matta is crowned Miss Greensboro]

By Q. Yolanda McRae

The Carolinian, 3 February 1998

Julie Matta, a 19-year-old sophomore at UNCG, recently won the Miss Greensboro 1998 pageant, held January 24 at Western Guilford High School.

Julie is a voice performance music major, and would like to be a professional opera singer one day.

Julie is the daughter of Jim and Pat Matta, and has two older brothers.

She is from Augusta, Georgia, and competed against 12 other contestants in several pageant categories. The pageant scoring included an interview which was 40%, talent which was 30%, swimsuit which was 15%, and evening gown and onstage interview which counted 15% as well.

Julie said she prepared for the Miss Greensboro pageant for six months, and when asked what she considered the hardest part of the performance, she replied, “Staying focused on my goal, and not worrying about the glamour and attention that goes along with pageantry.”

She said she really enjoyed the personal interview because it gave her a one-on-one connection with the judges.

Julie is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Academic Honor Society and Mu Phi Epsilon Music Honor Fraternity.

She is currently enrolled in the University Music Honors Program and was the 1997 National Association of Teachers of Singing State Champion. Julie is also the recipient of the Alysse S. Cooper Voice Scholarship, and has been in the last two UNCG opera productions.

For her talent in the pageant, Julie sang an Italian aria titled, “O mio babbino caro,” and she admits that she was nervous during this honorable event, but after getting on stage, her nervousness ceased. Julie said she formed many new friendships, and the first runner-up, Adrienne Perry, is also a UNCG student.

Julie will now go on to compete in the Miss North Carolina Pageant, which will be held in Raleigh, NC, on June 27, 1998, and will be televised.

Her present platform is “Arts in Child Development: Emphasizing the Benefits of a Musical Education.” Julie will work with several community organizations to get her platform underway, as well as speak and sing at different school board and community functions.

Congratulations, Julie, and we wish you much success!