AREN’T pageants exciting! Particularly when someone you know, or close to you, is in the running?
This year has seen its fair share of beauty pageants, from Miss Talented Teen, to Miss African Heritage; Miss Amerindian Heritage; Miss Guyana India; you name it.
It’s Miss Guyana Universe’s turn, now into its third consecutive year under the aegis of Mr. Odinga Lumumba, and still going strong.
Thus far, this year’s contest has attracted some 27 entrants, and the beauty about it [no pun intended], is that the girls are drawn from all across the country, thanks to the relentless effort of the franchise holder and his recruitment team to have the widest possible participation.
So, beginning this week, we will be bringing you pen pictures of who’s in the line-up this year. Enjoy!
&#I love designing buildings! That’s the field I’m gonna take up! I want to become an architect!” declares 19-year-old Moleeva Stanley, a second-year student at the Cyril Potter College of Education.
The baby of the family, this West Coast Berbice lass says her reason for entering the Miss Guyana Universe pageant is because she just cannot resist a challenge.
&#I love challenges! And I know there’s gonna be a lot of criticism; but I know that at the end of it all, I’m going to be a stronger individual,” she says.
Strong words for someone a mere 5’ 3”, you might say, but our Moleeva has proven she is equal to this type of challenge since she has successively placed second and first runner-up at the Miss New Amsterdam Multilateral and Miss West Coast Berbice contests in 1999 and 2000 respectively.
The daughter of Chronicle Berbice correspondent, Clifford Stanley, Moleeva has her sights set on eventually going for her doctorate in her chosen field of study.
&#After college, I’m definitely going to start university….I wanna move right up to a PhD. I want to have a doctorate in front of my name, and I’m gonna work hard for it. And I’m not getting married until I do,” Moleeva said.
For hobbies, she lists making friends high on her agenda. “I make friends very easily,” she said. “I love to meet new people; going out and socialising with friends. I also enjoy modelling and swimming, even though I’m not much of a swimmer.” And, had it not been architecture, then it would have definitely had to be art, because that’s where her talent really lies. “I have been drawing ever-since I can remember; since I was in Prep ‘A’. She also plays a mean game of cricket and come sports day at College this year, she will be participating in the three-legged race.
For her platform, she has chosen to speak on gender equality, because it is a topic she feels very strongly about. “I believe that women can do just as good as men at managing and organising and we have proven this over the years. We have helped build society and we deserve to be acknowledged for this.” Born under the sign of Libra, she finds affinity with Arians and Gemini.
Melissa Ann Harris is 18, stands 5’ 4” tall and boasts vital statistics of 31-25-36. A past pupil of St. Joseph High, she now pursues studies at the College of Accountancy, Business and Science Studies and hopes to one day become a manager or an accountant. But this does not mean she has given up entirely on becoming a gynaecologist, which has always been her childhood dream.
Her hobbies are reading, particularly romance novels, watching television and eating. She has no favourite writer. “As long as I can get my hands on a book, I read it,” she says.
The eldest of four, she entered the pageant just for the heck of it. “I’m just out to have fun; get more experience; and learn about my country,” the Geminian said.
Of African, Chinese, and East Indian extract, she lists among her favourite dishes Chinese Fried Rice. She’s also a sucker for chicken. “Any dish that has chicken, I love it,” Melissa says.
The first thing that strikes you about Fonseca Peters is her incredible height. Though she is not the tallest of the lot, she stands at 163 cm, tips the scale at 110lbs and boasts an interesting 33-27-38 figure.
She also has a beautiful name. It’s Portuguese, she said. A friend of her mother’s gave it to her. She’s still working at finding out what it means. She does not buy it that it’s just a name. “It has to mean something,” the 21-year-old Virgoan said, “and I intend to find out what.”
The eldest of seven, Fonseca’s ultimate career goal is to become a lawyer. To this end, she has begun pursuing studies at the International University of Guyana while holding down a regular job as an accounts clerk at the Guyana Teachers Union. She hasn’t decided yet on what aspect of Law she wants to specialise in. “The Law so interests me, I haven’t decided as yet which area I’m going to be in,” she said.
Something tells us here at the Sunday Chronicle it will be somewhere in the area of international law as she already has under her belt a certificate in International Relations and another in Language and Communications, both from the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE).
Another product of St. Joseph High, Fonseca said she entered this pageant because close friends and relatives have always felt she has what it takes to be in such a contest.
As to how she sees herself performing on the ‘big night’, billed for December 27 this year, in spite of the stiff competition she acknowledges she is up against, Fonseca says: “I’ve always had confidence in myself and regardless of what is being said around me, I will not lose my composure; I will continue to remain calm.”
She is still to decide on a platform, as there are a myriad things she feels strongly about – like literacy among youths; truancy; the lesser fortunate; just to name a few.
Confidence just oozes out of 18-year-old Zina Edwards.
&#I don’t need much make-up; I’m pretty enough without it,” this gap-toothed beauty was overheard telling the make-up artist between shoots one day last week.
It’s not that she’s arrogant; just plain impish.
And don’t be fooled by that air of nonchalance, either; there’s a wealth of intelligence behind it. Very outspoken on issues she feels strongly about, Zina, who placed second at last year’s Miss Talented Teen contest, stole the hearts of many on the night of the pageant when she spoke passionately on the role of pre-vocational studies in Community High Schools.
Herself a product of this type of institution, Kingston Community High to be specific, she obtained four CXCs at one sitting while there and now attends Critchlow Labour College, where she is pursuing a diploma in Industrial Relations and Sociology.
A peer educator with the local group, Volunteer Youth Corps (VYC), she lists motivational speaking as another of her special interests. She does this on a regular basis at the Mahaica Children’s Home which she and Miss Talented Teen 2002, Shammane Davis have adopted as their favourite charity as of last year.
At 139lbs, she what one might call ‘a bit on the heavy side’, but see if Zina cares. She struts around, proud as a peacock, as though she knows the crown is already hers.
For this pageant, she’s chosen as her platform the thorny issue of HIV/AIDS. “I’m doing HIV/AIDS because it is a fact that I know people who are affected, and infected, by HIV/AIDS. “Just last week,” she said, “I read in the newspapers that every 14 seconds, a young person between the ages of 14 and 25 is infected with HIV/AIDS. Now that is scary!”
Her reason for entering this particular pageant, she says: “Since I’m interested in HIV/AIDS…I see Miss Guyana Universe as the forum for…what you believe in and getting the attention that you need. Not that you won’t get attention in any other pageant but I think it’s much easier when you’re in such a prestigious pageant.”
Entering a beauty pageant is something Michelle Thompson has been contemplating for quite a while. She’ll be 26 when that day does finally come around, since her birthday falls on December 18. This makes her Sagittarian.
At 5’ 10”, she towers above most of her fellow contestants. She takes her height, she says, from her father, Alan, who now resides in the United States. And though most might consider 135 lbs overweight, she looks anything but. She’s as solid as they come.
She likes to sing. It’s one of her hobbies, she says. She also likes to read a lot. A country girl at heart, she was born at Leonora on the West Coast of Demerara but was raised in neighbouring Den Amstel where she still lives.
An Environmental Health Assistant by profession, small wonder it is that she’s chosen as her platform the issue of solid waste management. She says, “I find that we as Guyanese people …don’t take care of our environment properly. There’s a lot more we can do to ensure that the place is preserved for the next generation.”
Surprisingly, it was not to the science stream that she gravitated while at school, but business. But jobs being what they are these days, she had no alternative but to take what was available. She’s now been at it for five years and liking it more with each passing day. And now her career goal is “to go as high as I can in the environmental field because I find it very interesting.”
A far cry from the air hostess she’d always dreamt of becoming as a child. But who knows, she says. “I might very well give it a shot later on.”