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Know anyone that wants to be the next Miss Belize? The Miss Universe Belize organization is having a casting call.

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The most important pageant in the country is back ! The official Miss Belize pageant (presented by the Miss Universe Belize Organization) is looking for our next ambassador of beauty .The winner will represent Belize in international pageants including Miss Universe.

Miss San Pedro Grace Brown, 6 Others Head To Miss Belize Pageant

The Miss Belize Universe organization has announced that sеvеn соntеѕtаntѕ аrе vуіng tо bе thе title of Miss Belize Universe 2022. One of those contestants is the reigning Miss San Pedro, Grace Brown, who will be passing on her title to the next island queen on Friday, June 24, 2022.

Here are the seven contestants.



Grace Brown

Age: 20

District: San Pedro, Belize
Job: Florist
Schooling: High School diploma; currently pursuing Cosmetology Degree

At the tender age of 11, Grace's parents sent her to modeling classes in Chetumal, Mexico to overcome her shyness and lack of confidence. This was due to her facing bullying, especially body shaming. Since then, Grace has gained full self-confidence. She challenged herself in 2021 and competed in the Miss San Pedro Pageant and won. The reigning Miss San Pedro has participated in several fashion shows and fashion photoshoots. She would love to work with young people to empower them and teach them the value of self-love.

Fun Fact: Following her mother's footsteps, she is Currently taking singing lessons with a Cuban vocal coach.

Hobbies: Modeling and playing the guitar

Quote: "I believe that the next Miss Universe Belize should be a woman who is ready to handle the responsibilities of nurturing her community's betterment, this woman should continuously look for solutions to assist and advocate for a better and greater Belize, but most importantly this representative should be ready to be the ultimate epitome of a role model who feeds others with love and compassion. I have spent the past 20 years crystallizing my experiences in order to be that woman."



Ashley Lightburn

Age: 25
District: Belize City, Belize
Job: Project Manager Officer at a Bank and adjunct lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Belize

Schooling: Bachelor's in Pure Mathematics; currently pursuing a master's degree in International Business Administration

Ashley believes she is a mercy woman at heart. Hence, since 2015 she has been volunteering at her alma mater Saint Catherine Academy as a cheerleading coach, passing the ever-beautiful SCA cheer spirit to other generations and the principle of sisterhood, confidence, and community. She is also a strong advocate for women in STEM, especially mathematics. Ashley hosted and has participated in the University of Belize's annual mathematics symposium since graduating in 2019.

Fun Fact: She is a really good crafter who loves decorating and making gift baskets, ornaments and more

Hobbies: Engaging in Social Outreach initiatives

Quote: "This pageant, to me, is not only about displaying external beauty but also about inner beauty. I aim to show young girls that you can have all beauty and brains, and you should use it to inspire others and build your country. "



Samantha Singh

Age: 27
District: Belize City now Placencia, Stann Creek District
Job: Writer

Schooling: Bachelor of Arts in English from Loyola New Orleans + Culinary Arts Degree from The New School of Cooking

Samantha is a working writer and a supporter of the arts, living in Placencia, Stann Creek District. Originally from Belize City, she was part of the founding-team behind Bent Pin Press, a literary journal publishing Belizean writers. She sees Miss Universe Belize as an opportunity to share her passion for Belizean literature and the importance of the arts in Belize with a broader audience.

Fun Fact: She is also a classically trained chef, appearing as both a guest chef and a judge on The National Channel's Glazed Out.

Hobbies: Enjoys reading and travelling both internationally and throughout Belize, hiking, swimming and camping. She's interested in sustainability and is refurbishing a vintage Volkswagen van in her free time, experiences which she vlogs about on her social media accounts.

Quote: "I know that advocacy is a huge part of the title, and that part is what I am most interested in. To have a place of privilege to speak from in support of both literacy and the arts in Belize, two places I believe deserve much more attention locally both for their cultural importance and the opportunities they provide for young Belizeans to transcend circumstance - that's exciting to me."



Sigourney Usher

Age: 22
District: San Ignacio, Cayo
Job: Nurse

Schooling: Pursuing a Bachelors in Nursing

Sigourney is currently studying in Guatemala. This experience has taught her many things, especially how to be an independent person at her very young age. As a frontline worker, she has the opportunity to impact many lives. She was born and raised in San Ignacio and believes that wherever life takes her, she will forever be connected to her beautiful country.

Fun Fact: She has competed in Pageantry since primary school, and won the title of Srta. Flor de la Feria in 2015.

Hobbies: Enjoys exploring Belize, spending time with her family, dancing, singing and doing her makeup

Quote: "If I were to become Miss Universe Belize, I would use the platform to talk about the impact poverty has in my country, especially with older generations. I want to show that I can be confidently beautiful, but also have the ability to help our generation in need."



Kenia Tejada

Age: 27
District: Spanish Lookout, Cayo
Job: Tutor

Schooling: High-school Diploma with an interest to Major in Psychology

Kenia considers herself an easy going and adventurous person who never gets bored. She teaches some of the Children in her Village English as a second language. A few years before her father passed, he started a small organization called Hope Help Health (HHH) that provided food, clothing, and education for children and she would like to continue in his footsteps as she loves giving back. She considers herself an advocate for children and helps several of them in her village.

Fun fact: Was adopted by Mennonites

Hobbies: loves playing volleyball, driving ATV's and exploring the forest.

Quote: "I want to instill respect, love, justice and kindness into children's lives. I know I can do that now, but I think as Miss Universe Belize, I can make a greater impact."



Alina Scott

Age: 27
District: Cayo
Job: PhD Candidate and Littlefield Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin

Schooling: Bachelors and Master's Degree in History; currently a Doctoral Candidate (PhD) in History

Alina is passionate about educational equity and accessibility. She has volunteered in a number of social and educational associations and organizations, including the Native American and Indigenous Peoples Association, Multicultural Students Organization, and others.

Fun Fact: She's a volleyball player who represented Belize in several volleyball events including the CODICADER games in El Salvador and Costa Rica, the U-18 team in Costa Rica, and the Women's National Volleyball team in Curacao.

Hobbies: swimming, reading, and any opportunity to see a new part of Belize.

Quote: "As Miss Belize, I want to give back to those very communities [intellectual and cultural communities] and reiterate to the youth of Belize that education is just a stepping stone for you to realize the fullest version of yourself."



Kaira Nuñez

Age: 19
District: Orange Walk
Job: Sales clerk; aspires to work at an Environmental Conservation Organization

Schooling: Associate's degree in Science with a concentration in Natural Resource Management

Kaira takes pleasure in being productive because she believes that efficiency is the key to success. Being open-minded has helped her learn something new in every life experience she has had. She considers herself to be a very lively and outgoing person which helps her get along well with others. This is her first pageant and is excited to step outside her comfort zone by competing.

Fun fact: She enjoys watching true crime documentaries and animal planet.

Hobbies: Reading, writing, painting and makeup artistry

Quote: "I want to be the next Miss Belize because I want to utilize the title as a platform to raise awareness and take action on animal cruelty in Belize. I also believe that winning this pageant will strengthen my will and confidence in my ability to accomplish anything I set my mind to."

Miss Universe Belize Pageant to be Held on August 13th

Today, National Director of the Miss Universe Belize Organization revealed to News Five that the pageant date has been set for August thirteenth. This announcement comes four days after the new group of delegates competing for the title was revealed over the weekend. Romeo Escobar says that the pageant returns to the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts with a bang, after two years of the COVID pandemic. News Five's Duane Moody reports.  

Duane Moody, Reporting

Following the buzz over the announcement of a new cohort of delegates vying for the 2022 Miss Universe Belize title, national director of the organization, Romeo Escobar told News Five today that the pageant date has been set.

Romeo Escobar, National Director, Miss Universe Belize Organization

"The Miss Belize Pageant will be held on August thirteenth in Belize City at the Bliss Center. We will be revealing more information as far as ticket sales goes pretty soon, but that is the date of the pageant final, August thirteenth. We are excited to be back to having a pageant in person. Because of COVID-19, we weren't able to host a pageant since 2019. For 2020, we had to do everything virtual. We were unable to send someone so now coming back with a bang with this strong group of young ladies - all of them very capable of representing Belize at Miss Universe."

Seven delegates: Kaira Nunez, Alina Scott, Kenya Tejada, Sigourney Usher, Samantha Singh, Ashley Lightburn and Grace Brown.  Escobar breaks down the process of selecting the Class of 2022 for Miss Universe Belize.

Romeo Escobar

"We have all ages, all ethnicity, a lot of different districts, different occupations, different education levels. So I think everyone is bringing something different to the pageant this year. The application process was online. Everyone sent in their applications; why they felt they should be the next Miss Belize. And then the committee along with myself interviewed them via zoom, like we did now. We had about twenty-five applications and it came down to these seven. So I think that this group of young ladies is very strong and they met all the requirements that Miss Universe in New York gives us to be able to participate in our pageant."

Many are of the opinion that Belize has recently had strong representation on the international pageant stage. With the country being noticed, is Belize on its way of getting a placement?

Romeo Escobar

"That's what's been happening in the last couple of years. We have not placed at Miss Universe as yet, but I have no doubt that that placement is coming. I think that the entire world is noticing Belize, is noticing our girls, is noticing the effort that we are putting forth to be on that stage. And I think moving forward as you can see 2018 to now, our representatives that have been at Miss Universe are strong, are causing attention; countries are speaking about Belize, are noticing our sash, so I think it is only a matter of time before we place. And I think it is important to continue that momentum because now we have people from around the world going to our social media pages to see who are the contestants for Belize, who's going to be the queen. So there is definitely excitement there; there's definitely attention being brought to the country. It costs thousands of American dollars just to send a contestant to compete at Miss Universe so anyone who is interested in sponsoring the young lady, interesting in being a sponsor for the pageant can send us an email at missbelizeinfo@gmail.com ."

Channel 5

Which one won this contest?

Elise-Gayonne Vernon was crowned Miss Belize 2022.