Photos by Fidel Bassier
Eight young women who participated in the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Digital University last year and are set to compete in the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant this year shared with The Scene how overjoyed they are for the opportunity to win a scholarship to pursue their desired studies and a little about themselves so readers can better know them.
Anasie Fredericks — The youngest of the contestants, Anasie is a 14-year-old attending the Bishops High School. This is the second pageant she is participating in, having competed at the Miss Junior Indigenous Pageant while she was attending the Lake Tapacoma Primary School, Essequibo Coast. An aspiring lawyer, the teen said she is inspired by heartrending situations she saw while growing up in Lake Tapacoma like sexual assault and teenage pregnancy where the victims do not have the necessary representation. This, she said, is her motivation to become a lawyer. In her free time, Anasie loves playing chess.
Jordana Adams – Seventeen-year-old Jordana who recently sat the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examinations at Brickdam Secondary School said it was never her intention to participate in any pageant. The teen said further that she was never fascinated by pageantry. It was the scholarship fund and how invested the pageant committee was in the contestants that captured her attention. With mental health not being considered a priority in Guyana as it should be, Jordana thinks it is most fitting that she works towards becoming a psychiatrist. When she is not caught up with school activities, Jordana likes to sing, sleep and read fiction.
Kayla King – Kayla who turned 19 on Monday is the oldest of the bunch. She has always liked the idea of being her own boss and as such, she is currently preparing to establish her own business. Reflecting on participating in the Digital University, Kayla said the programme had not only equipped her with the necessary public speaking skills for the pageant, but has also prepared her for the world of work. In her free time, she loves singing, writing, dancing, painting and reading. Most of her reading is not done the traditional way but with the internet at her fingertips, she reads stories from new writers on Wattpad.
Kristie Kissoon – Sixteen-year-old Kristie attends Covent Garden Secondary School. This aspiring cardiologist hopes to save lives someday. She shared that when she tells people she wants to become a cardiologist, they often try to discourage her but she said this only drives her to show them that she can. “Being a part of this pageant has taught me to be more confident, to love myself, and to give back. I’ve grown so much with all that I’ve learnt and I’ve made some really incredible memories that I will take with me for the rest of my life,” Kristie said. In her free time, she likes to sing, play the guitar, dance and dabble in painting.
Kriston Smith – Last year, Kriston did exceptionally well at the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Digital University, ranking the highest among the teens. Asked whether she thought attaining that gave her an edge over the other girls, she replied, “I don’t think so. I think the pageant is a completely different ball game than the digital university and it showcases our strengths in the different areas.” Kriston recently sat the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exams at the Bishops’ High. The 17-year-old who is an aspiring lawyer and hails from Byderabo, a community situated on the outskirts of Bartica, shared that she has seen girls become victims of abuse and have never gotten justice. As such she wants to be an advocate against such atrocities and fight for justice.
Sephora Persaud – Parfait Harmonie teen Sephora, who recalled her experience at the digital university last year, shared that during that time, she was sitting her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams. The 18-year-old said that at first she was worried about managing the two but said that the time management course taught at the Digital University helped her to undertake both commitments. “I’m ecstatic about the pageant finally being here. With COVID, I thought we won’t be having a pageant because it kept being postponed but when I learnt recently there was a plan to go through with it, I could have never been happier,” Sephora said.
At present, she and the other contestants are working on assignments based on the COVID-19 pandemic which is due in the coming week. In her spare time she reads, dances and walks her two dogs.
Shequana Holder – A past student of the Anna Regina Multilateral School, Shequana hails from Queenstown, Essequibo Coast but now lives in Georgetown. The 17-year-old has her heart set on someday becoming an entrepreneur or engineer or both. No stranger to pageantry, Shequana is a past Miss Anna Regina Multilateral School, and is the reigning Miss African Essequibo 2019. She placed second at the Miss G-Division Pageant 2019 where she represented the police youth group of Essequibo Coast. In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing and modelling.
Teija Edwards – This young woman recently secured a place at E R Burrowes School of Art where she hopes to major in painting and minor in drawing. Teija loves painting landscapes and anything that portrays Guyana’s art and culture. The 18-year-old shared that through the digital university she met her fellow contestants whom she said are some of the most incredible people she has met and looks forward to this new venture with them. The teen added that she has been waiting a long time for the pageant to be hosted and is very excited that it is finally here.
The digital university was designed as a substitute for the teen scholarship pageant. Of the 41 teens who applied, 16 were shortlisted for the programme. All of the participants engaged in the two-month programme via the digital platforms Zoom, Google Classroom, and WhatsApp. Candidates participated in 16 webinars in three modules: Self-awareness and Value, Professionalism and Etiquette, and Human Rights and Social Development. Twelve of the sixteen girls qualified to move on to the final of the pageant. However, only eight of them will be competing.
Currently the contestants have already begun competing in the preliminaries. All of the categories will be captured on camera and replayed at a later date and also on coronation night. The preliminaries and the coronation night will be broadcast on the National Communication Network (NCN) and on the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship and The Imperial House Facebook pages.
The date for the finale is likely to be in September.
The Imperial House took the opportunity to acknowledge its sponsors KFC, Branderz Guyana, 55 Photography, Reminiscent, Ultra Care Medical Centre, John Lewis Styles, and Dundas Construction.
