MORRISBURG – South Dundas’ Olivia Wright recently returned from competing in the Miss World Canada Pageant, in British Columbia, and although she didn’t win, she gained much through the experience.
Wright was one of 41 contestants between the ages of 18-24 vying for the title that was won May 11, by Annora Bourgeault of Regina, Saskatchewan.
Asked what she thought of the winner, Wright says, “She was amazing. She would have been my pick. I voted for her for Miss Congeniality. She was the first person I met when I got off the plane. She is the sweetest person. She deserved to win. She is definitely special.”
Bourgeault will go on to represent Canada in the Miss World Pageant in London, England later this year, in September.
Wright, back home in South Dundas, is so glad that she had the opportunity to participate in the competition.
Wright applied to Miss World Canada on a whim, and successfully made it through the interview process to be selected as a delegate to compete in the pageant in May.
“It was something so out of the blue that I did, and it has been so life changing for me,” said Wright.
Wright had never before participated in a pageant.
She said the group of contestants was made up of a mix of girls like her who were new to the pageant scene and others who had pageant and modelling experience. “My roommate was a professional cheerleader from B.C.,” she said.
The whole process was a very busy one, as the group filled their days with practices, preliminary competitions and public appearances.
“The day we arrived, I got off the plane, and it was basically into a bikini and onto the runway for the preliminary bikini competition,” said Wright.
The days started at 7 a.m. and ended at 11 p.m.
While the scenery and venue were breathtaking – “Seeing the Rocky Mountains from the plane was super awesome,” she said – most of the highlights for Wright were about the people she had the opportunity to meet.
“We had a really nice group of girls,” said Wright. “Everyone was so kind and so supportive of each other. It was really more of a supportive environment than a competitive one.”
“It didn’t really seem like it was about winning. It was more about connecting,” said Wright. “What this experience gave me was the opportunity to meet a great group of strong young women, who are successful, confident and driven,” said Wright. She knows that the people she met will remain a part of her life long into the future.
“The confidence you get from an experience like this is amazing. It just shows you how important it is to be comfortable with yourself,” she says adding that she hopes to continue to share that message and to be a positive role model.
The lead up to the pageant provided Wright the opportunity to get to know a lot of people in the community she may never have met otherwise. “People would just come up to me because they had seen me in the paper,” said Wright. “They would wish me luck. It felt really good.”
“The support I received from my community was overwhelming in the best possible way,” said Wright.
Wright very much enjoyed the charity aspect of the experience and sees herself staying involved with charity work going forward.
For now, her main priorities are her education and spending time with her family.
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