A young woman from Nanaimo is a Miss Canada pageant queen and will take her crown and sash into international competition.
Demitria Rounis, a 22-year-old Vancouver Island University student, recently won Royal International Miss Canada Role Model for Western Canada.
It was a return to the pageant spotlight for Rounis, who was . After some time away from competition to focus on her studies, she said she had considered trying for another pageant title in 2020, but COVID-19 ended up delaying those plans by a year. She was asked about what drew her back to pageant competition.
含羞草研究社淭he dress-up part of it is a fun aspect of it, but it含羞草研究社檚 mostly because of the volunteering. That含羞草研究社檚 always been something that I含羞草研究社檝e done and getting to gear it towards something that I could work on and was a fun project for me but would still benefit my community seemed like a pretty good win-win situation,含羞草研究社� Rounis said.
Her first-ever virtual pageant was something a little different. She recorded a video of her evening gown walk and also submitted an essay, and the final component was a Zoom interview with judges.
The evening gown walk allowed her to be creative, as there were some guidelines around music choices and walking pattern, but she was able to show her personality with her poses and expressions.
含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 trained as a dancer, so I含羞草研究社檓 very used to being on a stage and feeding off of the audience含羞草研究社檚 energy, so not having that was definitely something I wasn含羞草研究社檛 used to,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淏ut it was also kind of nice because I was able to do multiple takes and make sure that I was really happy with the submission before I sent it off.含羞草研究社�
Now that Rounis is a Miss Canada again, she looks forward to serving in that capacity. Her volunteering focus will be on literacy accessibility, she said, as she含羞草研究社檒l be part of a Volunteer Nanaimo initiative called the Hand in Hand Intergenerational Storytelling Project that helps seniors create memory books, and she also plans to do tutoring.
含羞草研究社淎 lot of people tend to think [literacy] comes naturally with the education system that we grew up with, especially here,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淏ut people have alternative learning styles [and] lifestyles and sometimes there含羞草研究社檚 ways that we can make more equitable opportunities for people to develop those valuable skills.含羞草研究社�
She expects COVID-19 will take away some opportunities for her to attend community events, but she hopes there will be a few on the calendar.
含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檇 be happy to come and lend a hand and give back to a community that I含羞草研究社檝e grown up in and has given so much to me,含羞草研究社� she said.
Rounis expects to graduate with a bachelor含羞草研究社檚 degree in tourism management this spring, and will then head off to the Royal International Miss pageant in Orlando, Fla. at the start of the summer.
含羞草研究社淭hat含羞草研究社檚 going to have delegates from all over the world,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 super excited to get to meet and connect with all of them there.含羞草研究社�
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