LAST time we gave you Moleeva Stanley; Michelle Harris; Fonseca Peters and Zina Edwards.
Today, we bring you Michelle Armstrong, Ashwini Dusrajh, Serjean Elias, Michelle Playter and Tricia Chee-foon.
Feast your eyes.
ENTERING a beauty pageant is something Michelle Armstrong 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. Besides being a part of her job, 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.
She has the face of a pixie, and the sweet temperament associated with this mythical character. She was told that her name means ‘the brightest part of the moon’. She is Ashwini Dusrajh, the second eldest of seven, and the oldest girl.
She is from Good Hope, on the Essequibo Coast. That’s the little village where the speedboats usually berth at the end of a hair-raising ride from Parika across the mighty Essequibo River; the one they mistakenly call Supenaam. ??tually, Supenaam is in the creek,” says the diminutive 21-year-old, who measures 5’ 3” in height, and tips the scale at 98lbs.
No stranger to challenges of this nature, she contested the recent Miss Guyana India pageant, placing second. She did not, however, have such a successful run at the Miss Guyana World contest in 2001, which saw Olive Gopaul taking the title that year. Now she’s after that of Miss Guyana Universe.
Indefatigable?
Actually - to use a favourite word of hers - it was franchise holder, Odinga Lumumba, who encouraged her to take on this one. As a matter of fact, she was not even aware of its imminence until he came in search of her one day during rehearsals for the Miss Guyana India pageant.
She promised that after the pageant, she would speak to her parents, then get back to him. She obviously got their blessing because she is now one of 20-odd young women vying this year for the coveted Miss Guyana Universe title.
An aspiring businesswoman, preferably in the line of cosmetology, she is now pursuing studies in computer science and accounts at the Business School and the Guyana Technical Institute {GTI) respectively. She already has five CXCs under her belt, among them Integrated Science, Social Studies and Agricultural Science. Her hobbies are modelling and dancing. It matters not the genre of music. “I just like dancing,” Ashwini says. She also likes meeting people.
Since entering the Miss Guyana World pageant, and moreso since her recent showing at the Miss Guyana India pageant, she is the toast of not only her tiny community, but the entire Essequibo Coast.
&#From the time I land in Supenaam, everybody just shouting Ashwini! Ashwini,” she said. They see her as a sort of heroine, she says. They are also very supportive. And this is largely because not since Pamela Lord has an Essequibian come this close to winning a beauty contest.
For her platform, she plans addressing the issue of violence against women. She wants her fellow womenfolk to know that there are laws against such abuses and how they could best use them to their advantage.
Twenty-year-old Serjean Elias almost didn’t make it into the contest this year.
What with her hectic schedule as a Customer Service Agent with the regional carrier, British West Indies Airways (BWIA), which often takes her away from home for long spells, she barely got into the country the day before the deadline; just in time to submit her name to the selection committee.
The converse happened a few weeks ago when the University of Guyana held its 40th annual graduation ceremony. Hardly had she received her certificate than she had to go haring off to work.
Her forte is in the exacting field of accountancy. She wants to be an economic adviser to Third World countries like Guyana. “When I look at Guyana,” Searjean said, “I see a beautiful country. But the sad thing is, it doesn’t have proper management to make its economy flourish. I want to help change that. I want to be knowledgeable on how we can do better with the resources that we have.” To better do this, she has her sights set on the United Nations (UN). “That is, if they would accept me,” she says.
A graduate of St. Roses High, Serjean comes from a long line of achievers, starting with sister, Alicia, who was Best Graduating Law student in her year and is now with CARICOM (Caribbean Community). Brother, Gentle, now a practising city lawyer, also graduated the same year as Alicia and was Best Graduating Student both here and at Hugh Wooding. An older brother is a Customs Officer and a younger sister just started university.
She herself has some 10 CXCs, one GCE and now a Degree in Accounts with distinction. She was Best Graduating Student in 1999 when she left High School to pursue studies at the tertiary level.
She credits her and her siblings’ academic successes to the steadfastness of their mother, whom she describes as “a stay-at-home-mom,” and the loyalty of their dad, John, whom she says “has never, never not supported us” even though their parents are no longer together.
Asked about her hobbies, the 5’ 5” beauty said that though she lives a very full life, she still finds the time to indulge a few, among which is exercising. “I like to exercise, because I think being healthy is one of the things you should always ensure,” she says. “With health, you can have anything else because no matter what you have, if you don’t have health to support you, it’s not worth anything. So I exercise a lot….I do a lot of aerobics, weight training, and dance.” She says dance is so erotic, it makes one aware of one’s femininity.
She’s been a health buff for as long as she can remember. She doesn’t eat any red meat. She’s what you call a lacto-vegetarian, she says. She is, however, partial to fish. “I can eat fish every day; especially red snapper.” She also likes heaps of vegetables.
As to what she thinks of her chances now that she’s sized up the competition, Serjean says: “I think I can win. I’m very confident that I can win. I don’t think I lack anything to be the next Miss Guyana Universe. I think I will be a very good role model. I think I have what it takes….and more.”
Her platform?
The effect of HIV/AIDS on Guyanese youths. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in,” she says. “I’d like to volunteer my time [towards this cause] once it’s there.”
It has not been a good year at all for 24-year-old Michelle Playter.
First she lost a sister. That was in May.
Then her dad died under rather tragic circumstances. He was the sailor who went missing at sea a few weeks ago. The last time she can remember seeing him she was four.
On the surface, she appears calm; but her pewter grey eyes tell a different story.
Hailed from the Kamuni Creek, on the Demerara River, she owes her sultry good looks to her Dutch, Portuguese, Indian and African lineage.
Currently into professional modelling, this 5’ 7” beauty hopes one day soon to open an academy of sorts, where people of a certain bent can go to have their talent enhanced.
She already has everything worked out, she says. It’s now just a matter of finding the necessary financing to get things off the ground.
She lists among her hobbies listening to music, modelling, dancing, singing, meeting interesting people, and playing cricket. “That’s the tom-boy in me” she says. She also writes her own songs.
For her platform, she plans motivating young people here to become more involved in educational projects. She does not know yet how she’s going to go about it. “I’m still working on it,” she says.
Should Tricia Chee-Foon take the Miss Guyana Universe title this year, it would be thanks to younger brother, Stephen, who has always been behind her to enter a contest of this nature.
Like most of the other contestants, this is a first for her, too. The third of five children, she is currently an accounts clerk with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA). Her goal, however, is to become a finance comptroller. She already has a Diploma in Computer Science and will be commencing studies pursuant to a Degree in Accounting come January.
She enjoys reading, and listening to any other music but metal. “I hate metal music,” Tricia said rather passionately. She also likes anything to do with sports, whether as a spectator or a participant. She often participated in 100m or 200m events while at school, and tried out for nationals once.
A past pupil of both St. Joseph High and Mahaicony Secondary, Tricia, who turned 21 in September, gets her oriental looks from her father’s side of the family. Her great-grandfather was from China, she said. He married a woman of African descent. His son, on the other hand, married a woman of Indian descent. Her mother is also of mixed race. She, Tricia, is the darkest in her family, but the prettiest, in young Stephen’s book.
He’s all excited about his sister’s being in the Miss Guyana Universe pageant. “He’s really excited,” Tricia said. “He thinks I’ll win…he gives me the inspiration…the courage… and everything.”
Her platform has to do with the impact of modernisation on Third World countries. She chose this topic, she says, because she feels that countries like Guyana will always be at a disadvantage due to the inhibitive cost of keeping abreast with the changes in technology.
She feels these countries would stand a better chance if some sort of strategic link can be developed between themselves and a developed country so that both parties can benefit from the fruits of development.