Sven Alskog
News Editor
Chastity Lee was named the Ultimate Bengal challenge winnter on April 23 inside Reed Gym after 70 finalists had been named from over 180,000 entries.
The 13,000 scholarship package includes one year of in-state tuition, on-campus housing, a one-year meal plan and $1,000 to the university bookstore.
Along with those items, Lee will also receive a reserved parking pass, an iPad, a gift card to the Student Union Game Center and plenty of ISU gear.
It was a surreal experience for Lee to hear her name called during the announcement, she said.
“They played a video clip and when they announced it and said my name I was like, ‘Did they really just say my name?’ I was excited to have won. I was in shock,” said Lee.
Lee, a member of the Navajo Reservation originally from Teesto, Arizona, is a pre-nursing student currently getting through the prerequisites to become a student in the program.
The scholarship will be especially beneficial for Lee.
“It will help a lot,” said Lee. “My first year here I was going full time, then I went part time this year in the fall and spring. I can finally go back to full time now with this scholarship.”
Her motivation to get into nursing has existed for quite some time.
“In high school I took some CNA courses and ever since I was little I have wanted to help people,” she said. “When I am done, I want to go back and help the Native American people.”
Currently, Lee is Miss Native ISU. She takes part in both ISU and community events, along with conferences.
Lee, the oldest of four sisters, is also the first member of her family to attend college.
She found out about the challenge through a poster she saw at the local Albertsons.
“I started the challenge two weeks later and liked all the stuff and kept sharing it every day,” said Lee. “After they announced the first 10 finalists, I thought I was done, so I quit. But then I got an email saying I was one of the 70. Now, every time I go somewhere, everyone is congratulating me.”
A donkey basketball game preceded the announcement of Lee as the Ultimate Bengal.
Stuart Summers, the director of marketing and recruitment for ISU’s College of Techology, said prior to the revealing that the announcement would be made using video in spirit of the social media theme.
All 70 finalists had their photos featured on the video, with text flashing on the screen throughout as well.
Summers announced Lee as the Ultimate Bengal at the end of the video, which culminated with Benny sprinting into Reed Gym carrying the winner’s name.
The impact from the Ultimate Bengal challenge has been seen across campus Programs have become more involved in their social media usage.
“This is not the end of competitions and giveaways on ISU social media,” said Summers. “We will continue to ramp up our social media with a lot more of these kind of giveaways throughout the rest of the school year and into next year.”
The challenge led to impressive increases in interaction among all of the ISU social media outlets.
“This challenge has attracted interest from all over the world, literally,” said Summers.
According to Summers, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram followers all increased by over 50 percent, with Instagram seeing the largest increase at 78.4 percent.
