Senior Andrew Capello showcased he was more than “just Ken” as he was declared the
next Iris Icon during Delta Phi Epsilon’s (DPhiE) annual fundraising event for the Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation.
Eight contestants, including Capello, took the Mabel Brown Room stage to compete for the
title on Saturday, Nov. 4. Other contestants included seniors James Ronning and Equinox
Social Media Director Zachary Murphy, junior Iz Falcetti and sophomores Evan Parker,
Emma Miller, Joshua O’Neill and Jason Mowbray.
“Iris Icon is our gender-inclusive sweetheart pageant,” said DPhiE’s Vice President of
Programming Lilliana Riopel.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is one of two philanthropies DPhiE supports. The Iris Icon
event brought in over 3,000 dollars for charity, according to DPhiE President Killian Barry.
70,000 people are affected by cystic fibrosis annually, Barry said.
“This has probably been our biggest year for Iris Icon or maybe even our philanthropies
in general.”
In addition to winning the trivia portion of the event, Capello won the judges over with
his performance of “I’m Just Ken” from the 2023 Barbie movie, as he lip-synced the song
while being inside a pink Barbie box costume.
Capello said being crowned the next Iris Icon felt, “Incredible, it was a genuine shock and
I was not prepared for it but I’m happy that I’m Iris Icon and that it was a great time and I
can’t wait to see where things go from here.”
The event consisted of an introduction for each contestant, a live quiz given to the
contestants on DPhiE history and a talent round. The title of Iris Icon was determined by
a panel of judges including: Barry herself, junior and former Iris Icon Ethan Davis, DPhiE
alumni Hannah Prince, Chapter Advisor Sasha Watt and junior member Mykenzie Rives.
O’Neill performed a rap to Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” during the talent portion of the
show. Even though he did not win, O’Neill felt as though the event created a supportive
environment.
“I had lots of fun, I’m so glad I got to experience the competition,” O’Neill said. “Everybody
was a good sport and it was just a lot of fun.”
DPhiE will have another fundraiser event for their other philanthropy, the National
Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) during the spring
semester.
Nicole Dumont can be contacted at
ndumont@kscequinox.com
In the Nov. 9 issue of The Equinox, in an article titled “New Iris Icon
announced,” Emma Miller was written as Emma Hunter. The Equinox apologizes for these errors.
