Twenty-one-year-old Odessa Phillips became famous in the pageant arena when she copped the title of Miss Guyana World 2002 and her status attracted increased attention when the news broke of the rivalry with her predecessor, Olive Gopaul.
Phillips who has completed the local law programme is set to attend the University of the West Indies' Cave Hill Campus in Barbados next September to finish reading for a degree in the field. With the belief that we only have one live to life, Phillips said, she intends to live it well, hence her participation in the pageant.
Phillips said that at the moment her calling is being the best possible ambassador to represent Guyana at the upcoming Miss Universe pageant. She recalled that while at the recent pageant contested by reigning queen, Leanna Damond she saw several of the girls with whom she had competed against at Miss World. This motivated her and she feels she can get it right this time around.
According to her, things can change in the wink of an eye so she leads a humble life.
Phillips sees the pageant as a forum for self-expression and she intends do just that. Admitting that her experience makes it easier to face the challenge, she pointed out that it does not give her an edge.
Commenting on her relationship with Gopaul the beauty said there was friendship in the beginning which later turned into animosity, a jolting reality which she has learned to live with.
Twenty-year-old Romona Halls could easily be taken for a beauty queen with her slender and stately figure. An ardent lover of novels this Danielle Steel enthusiast said she believes in being unique and would usually strive to set herself apart.
A postal worker with ambitions of growing in the field, Halls said she sees the pageant as an avenue for meeting interesting people and doing exciting things. The Caneville beauty spends time volunteering since it is her belief that everyone needs to know that someone cares. Halls said that volunteering is more than helping out for free; the real pleasure lies in bringing happiness to another.
Halls who described herself as direct and loving said the pageant is a wonderful experience. If given a chance to do it all over again she would not hesitate.
Sergean Elias is the girl next door though at a first glance one would think otherwise, taking her striking good looks into consideration. This 21-year-old Eccles beauty said she loves to chat and would usually initiate conversations when in the company of strangers.
Elias graduated with a distinction after completing a degree in accounting and is currently working as a customer service representative attached to BWIA. She said that her ability to interact well comes from growing up in a close-knit family. Elias said her family moulded her into the person that she is today, confident and strong willed.
She admitted that her perception of pageants changed after she decided to take up the challenge and added that it's no simple task. With a cheery outlook on life, Elias, who loves to read is hoping to stand out.
Twenty-five-year-old Michelle Armstrong paints the picture of a woman of strength. A driving force in environmental health in her hometown of Den Amstel, Armstrong sees the pageant as a forum to express herself.
So obsessed is she with nature that the young beauty has made it her life's mission. An environmental health assistant working under the Ministry of Health in Region Two, Armstrong's ambition is to one day be an environmentalist.
With the motto that everyone needs to know where they are going Armstrong said she remains focused in her endeavours. A member of an all-female gospel band, the beauty 'makes a joyful noise onto the lord' in the confines of the church or whenever she has time on her hands.