Education is my priority, despite being a beauty queen-says Miss Queen Beauty University winner Abena Appiah
Abena Appiah at Baldwin University Foundation Fundraising
Anny Osabutey, The Christian Journal – When Abena Appiah, newly crowned Miss Queen Beauty University 2016, strolled into the conference room of Freeport Yacht Club in Long Island, venue for the Baldwin University Foundation Fundraising Dinner Dance, almost everything stopped, literally. People gasped, eyes turned, and, then, the applause followed. Dressed in a lovely long flowing outfit made with African print and the crown on her head, she smiled and waved to everyone. Then the photo opportunities started. Daughter of a former Ghanaian beauty pageant contestant, Miss Appiah won the crown in the Spanish town of Malaga, shrugging off several other contestants.
“I’m still processing,” she told the African Christian Network in an interview. She is the first Ghanaian to have won the crown, and was delighted about the feat: “I’m very grateful to God and everybody who supported me.”
Ms. Appiah is not a novice to beauty contests. She has participated in Miss Universe Ghana 2014,Top Model Ghana 2013 and Top Model of the World 2013. Throughout out the competition, she made sure she was nobody else, but herself-and that attitude did her a lot of good.
“I wasn’t trying to please anybody, I wasn’t trying to do anyone. I was just me.”
Though she speaks with American accent, Abena takes pride in her Ashanti roots, and did not shy away from giving everyone, including the judges of a taste of what that unique tradition looks like. It was a punchline that got everyone nodding in approval.
“I dressed in my shanti colours, beads, danced adowa and it was very pretty,” she said. “I represented Ghana in all her beauty.”
Abena is a student of Communications Studies from the State University of New York. Pageant of such nature requires excellent public speaking skills from the constants, and, unsurprisingly, she has the gift of speaking before people without looking down. She deployed that to good effect and everyone was sold. It turned out to be high scoring marks for her.
As part of her prize money, she will spend a year Spain as a humanitarian ambassador- working in the area of education and other related social projects.
She is supporting the Baldwin University Foundation as an ambassador to raise money to support hardworking but disadvantage children in Ghana to continue with their education. Coming from a home which prides in education, the beauty queen said supporting other children fulfil their dream is an innate passion-and will sure her ambassadorial role to ensure the dream of others come through.
But how does being a beauty queen impact on her education? She giggled before admitting it has not been easy, but she’s never allowed her passion get in the way of her education.
“It’s hard. I work and model but if you are not dedicated you will not be able to do it, she admitted. “School is my number one priority because it’s (beauty pageants) not going to live forever.”
Abena Appiah started modelling age 3 and soon as she turned 10, her mother started grooming her into what was long seen as a passion. She was therefore to walk, eat and even seat as a beauty queen, many years before she could taste her first assignment in the business.
Her long term goals include setting up a modelling agency in Ghana and the United States, to train potential models for the world.
