Raquel Phillpotts, Miss Loshushan Supermarket.
The Gleaner continues to profile the contestants in the 2006 Miss Jamaica
Universe pageant. The finals will be held on Sunday, March 26, at the Hilton Kingston hotel, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Name: Raquel Phillpotts
Age: 22
Height: 5' 2''
Vital statistics: 32-24-36
Occupation: Event coordinator,
Butterfly Kidz.
Sponsor: Miss Loshushan
Supermarket.
DG: Why did you decide to enter the competition?
RP: I'd love to be the young woman to represent my country internationally and locally, and also to become a spokesperson on issues I'm passionate about, mainly the medical sector and the rights and protection of children.
DG: What is your definition of a beauty queen?
RP: She definitely has to be a young woman that carries herself in high regard, also a role model for other young women. She has to be the overall package in terms of beauty and intelligence.
DG: What do you expect to achieve by entering the competition?
RP: I expect to achieve, definitely by meeting, as I have, 21 other young ladies and establishing great friendships. Also, being able to have a platform which I'm passionate about and also being able to express those issues and also having the exposure. Coming out of a beauty pageant, it's not just about the prim and proper part of it, but also all the other attributes that come along with the pageant.
DG: What is your best asset?
RP: My best asset is my height. I adore being 5'2''. I feel quite comfortable in the skin that I'm in and I feel quite comfortable being 5'2''.
DG: How would you sell Jamaica to a foreigner in light of the high crime rate?
RP: Anywhere in the world that you go you will encounter crime. Unfortunately, at the current time Jamaica is rated the highest in the world where crime is concerned. But at the same time, we are well known for a lot of other factors our music, our culture, which incorporates fashion and food. There is so much that Jamaica has to offer. There's the country itself in terms of natural resources and so on.
DG: What do you love the most about Jamaica?
RP: What I love the most about Jamaica is our culture. Everything involving our culture. I love the fact that our people are so warm, I love our food, I love the fact that we are able to go out in the night, and get pan chicken at 4 o'clock in the morning, 7 o'clock in the night, to be able to get up and go to the beach. There are so many people all over the world who have to plan vacations to go just to have a little sun, a little sea, a little sand. We have that at our fingertips.
DG: If you could meet one person, who would it be, and why?
RP: If I could meet one person, I would definitely say it would have to be Oprah Winfrey. Why? Because I think she is a strong and positive role model for women all around, and she has made her life. Basically, she has made the betterment for her life. She went through hardship and she never let it get her down. She overcame and she became a well-known person.
DG: If you win, what sector of the society would you work with?
RP: If I win MJU 2006, what sector I'd work with definitely would have to be children, in enlightening the rights of children and the protection of children.
DG: If you were the Prime Minister what changes would you make and how?
RP: Definitely, changes I would make would be heightening or establishing a better educational system. I'd have to start with education, because at the ground root or the grassroot of every problem in Jamaica is lack of education. So I would definitely enhance our education system for the betterment of our youth and for the betterment of our country.
DG: What do you hope to achieve in five years?
RP: In five years I hope to become a successful businesswoman, and I hope to be embarking on my aspiration to became a child psychologist.
