Local woman prepares for Miss World Canada competition with STEM-based platform

A Cold Lake woman is looking to make national waves at the Miss World Canada pageant.

Natasha Parkinson, Miss Northeastern Alberta World 2019, had no prior pageant experience before seeing the advertisement pop up in her social media feed.

She thought, “Why not give it a shot?”

“I had heard of Miss World before. It’s a great pageant system. It’s not just about the looks. All the representatives have to have a very good cause that they stand behind and it’s a great platform for women to get out there and talk,” said Parkinson.

Parkinson was chosen as one of the Alberta delegates after her showing at the provincial competition in Calgary earlier this year.

She will try to bring her flair to the judges, while speaking about her platform of STEM education, at Miss World Canada in Toronto this July.

“There’s different stages you’re scored on per se. There’s one, how photogenic you are so you have to submit a headshot. It doesn’t have to be professional, they just want to see if you can get in front of a camera and take a picture.

“The other portion is the traditional swimwear. But in the Miss World system, they aren’t looking for the stick figure model, they’re looking for body confidence more than anything. Then there’s the gown…and the final portion is the interview and they ask you questions from educational background to questions with deeper meaning. Most influential person in history alive or dead? You have to think of these answers on the spot and give some insight into your personality,” said Parkinson.

The national competition adds two fashion shows. If a contestant makes the top 20, they’ll be judged and interviewed on stage.

“It even increases tenfold when it increases into the national level as well. It’s kind of nice to see if you don’t make it past the provincial level or the national level, all these women making an impact in their communities,” said Parkinson.

The Miss World Canada pageant looks to give back to charities and empowering children to be the best they can be – that’s where the beauty with a purpose platform comes into play.

With Parkinson’s education in science, she chose STEM.

“We have to spend our year promoting our platform as well as we have to develop a project. When we go on stage, we have to present our project of if we won this $10,000 grant, what we would do in our community with our platform.

“My project is still in the early stages, but my hope is if I get the $10,000 grant to pair up with the Telus World of Science and bring some workshops into the local schools,” said Parkinson.

Although she felt a little guarding heading into her first pageant, Parkinson said the Miss World Canada competition has led to friendships.

“All of us girls going to nationals and representing Alberta, we are all friends on Facebook and we chat weekly if not daily. Then all these girls from Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec and BC, we’re all adding each other on Facebook beforehand and it’s really nice that it’s becoming more about friendship than the actual competition.”

The week-long competition begins on July 21.