Nine students vie for Miss Heritage crown

05.JUNE.09

by Omesha Spence

The nine contestants in the Vincy Homecoming Secondary Schools Miss Heritage Pageant 2009 are now better prepared to grace the stage come this October. The girls, along with their chaperones, attended a special meeting on Saturday, May 30th, 2009, at the Kingstown Methodist Church Hall.{{more}}

The meeting, organized by members of the Vincy Homecoming Miss Heritage Pageant committee, saw the girls perform the talent they chose for the show. Impromptu speeches and interview sessions were also conducted in front of judges. Feedback was given at the end of the performances and interviews, on the areas in which the girls need improvement.

The nine girls are: Miss Campden Park Secondary School – Jemisha Delplesche; Miss George Stephens Sr. Secondary School – Tishorn Smart; Miss Thomas Saunders Secondary School – Shanique Browne; Miss Georgetown Secondary School – Raneasha Lorraine; Miss Bishop’s College Kingstown – Rickiesha Marshall; Miss St. Joseph’s Convent Marriaqua – Ackelia Cornwall; Miss North Union Secondary – Tish McCoy; Miss Sandy Bay Secondary School – Shelly-Ann Ballantyne and Miss Girls High School – Elizabeth Rickards.

The young ladies had an opportunity to speak to the media and shared how excited they are about being in a beauty pageant, some of them for their first time. “It feels really good, but it is challenging at the same time,” Ackelia Cornwall, Miss St. Joseph’s Convent Marriaqua said. The youngest contestant 13-year-old Tishorn Small of the George Stephens Sr. Secondary School, who admitted that the sometimes things get “a little scary and nervous,” but added that everything else was “basically great!”

The girls, who all share similar hobbies such as singing, dancing and interacting with friends, also have some interesting career goals. The Girls’ High School contestant Elizabeth Rickards has a passion to become a Cosmetic Surgeon, a profession she says not only caters for rich celebrities but for persons who may feel insecure about a certain part of their body. “It (cosmetic surgery) can help persons with birth defects and can make their lives so much easier,” she said.

Other contestants such as Miss Sandy Bay Secondary, Shelly-Ann Ballantyne, and Miss North Union Secondary, Tish McCoy, expressed their passion to become teachers, as they say they share a love for children, while Miss Camden Park Secondary Jemisha Delplesche hopes to become a lawyer to help poor persons who are not well represented.

All nine girls were given constructive feedback and commentary from a panel of judges. The girls were told to think carefully before they answer a question, so that they would not lose their train of thought and resort to using “um” and having long pauses. The girls were also urged to fine tune their talent performances to make them more relevant and more vibrant. They were shown samples of good and bad ambassadorial speeches, and each contestant presented DVDs in which they urged a Vincentian living abroad to return home for Vincy Homecoming 2009. The DVDs will be used as part of the promotion for Vincy Homecoming 2009.

At the end of the day, the Girls’ High School contestant Elizabeth Rickards was awarded prizes for Best Interview and Best Impromptu speech while Miss Bishop’s College Kingstown received the prize for Best Talent. The girls were also officially sashed by Miss Heritage 2008 Tizziana Browne. The show is hosted by the St. Vincent Girls’ High School and is set for October 23rd 2009 at the Victoria Park.