‘Making Jamaica proud was my mission’

Perseverance has always featured heavily in her life. Indeed, she says she does not know how to quit or give up, which is why days after Hurricane Melissa almost left her homeless, she was on a plane headed to Tokyo to represent her country in the Miss International competition.

Being a country girl from Montpelier, rural St. James, she was in the direct path of the hurricane. “I was scared. During the storm, my yard started filling up, and it was by the grace of God that the debris that piled up at my gate prevented my house from flooding. My neighbours were not as lucky, and I watched their entire house go down before my eyes.”

Her community of Blue Hole is situated right beside a river, so the water level rose and covered the entire road. Death also visited the community as a man died trying to save a child.

“I couldn’t get in contact with anybody from the pageant team. Eventually, my mom went to help someone check on their house, and while there, the lady recognised me as a pageant winner and offered me the use of her Starlink services. The first call I made was to Aunty Dahlia [Harris] and she screamed when she heard my voice. It was good to know that I was loved and people at the other end of the island were worried about me.”

Compounding the issue of no electricity, road or water, was the fact that she still had classes as she is pursuing her bachelors in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Commonwealth Caribbean. So, she would walk about 35 minutes to get Starlink at someone’s house to attend class or complete assignments.

However, school and everyday challenges would soon take a back seat to the more pressing priority of an upcoming international pageant. “When I got through to Aunty Dahlia, they sorted out how I was getting to Kingston, and it was all done in a day. It was a little overwhelming, but they were firmly supporting me and I had a clear-cut mission to do something to make Jamaica smile. I didn’t have a choice. I was going to make Jamaica proud, no matter what.”

And the 24-year-old did just that. Out of the more than 80 finalists, she made the top eight for swimwear, speech and evening gown and placed fifth for swimsuit and speech. Overall, she achieved a top 20 placement.

“My motivation has always been the need to make my mother proud. To be honest, it’s just me, my mom and my grandma, as my father died when I was eight. It’s been a struggle for her, and I just want to repay her with that glory,” she said.

As a queen, she hopes she is remembered for being “down to earth and easy to talk to”.

“My message to young girls out there is to never give up. I have been doing pageantry since I was 17.”

And her advice to the new queen, Asia Wright? “Listen to Dahlia. She knows what she is doing. The flash in the pan people will come at you out of nowhere, offering you everything under the sun. Block them out. Focus on improving yourself, and you will succeed.”

nicola.cunningham@gleanerjm.com