The CAMROSE BOOSTER, May 6, 2014 – Page 24
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Braim shoots for Miss Universe
Miss Universe Canada pageant contestant Ashley Braim. By Murray Green
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Former New Norway area resident Ashley Braim is vying for the title of Miss Universe Canada. Ashley is competing in the pageant this May in Toronto. “I wanted to gain more confidence, improve communicating with others and I want to give back to the community,” explained Ashley on her reasons for entering the event. “We pick a charity of our choice and raise money for the charity. It’s not about how much we raise or how little we raise, but its how you raise the money and awareness. I’m working with Operation Smile.” The downtown Edmonton hair stylist likes helping Operation Smile because it helps children. “It provides surgery for children that might have a cleft lip or any other facial deformities. Usually, these are in third world countries where they don’t receive a lot of medical attention they need,” she said. Operation Smile provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children around the globe. “Someone mentioned to me that I should run for Miss Universe. I never really thought about pageants before. I took ballet dancing, so I am used to performing. I entered online and forgot about it. Two months later they phoned me and said they liked my application,” said the 23-year-old Grant MacEwan University graduate. “I will be representing Alberta. There will be about 10 of us from Alberta that will go to Ontario to compete in the preliminaries. There will be 68 of us from across Canada that will take part in the swimsuit, evening gown and interview categories in the preliminaries. They select the top 20 to be in the finals.” On May 22, the preliminaries will be held and then
the finals will be held on May 24. Ashley only had four and a half months to prepare for the event. “You have to work on your fitness for sure. I have a personal trainer to help me three or four times a week. I also try to keep on top of current events around the world and form an opinion on them,” she said. “I also work on my presentation, walking and public speaking.” The contestants from Alberta visit a public speaking coach in Calgary once a month. “We also work on walking, posing and our interviewing skills,” shared Ashley. “My parents were pretty surprised that I entered this pageant. They are behind me now but at first they were surprised and told me to be cautious.” Ashley aspires to one day pursue a career in broadcasting and is currently taking part time courses in writing and on-camera presentation. She hopes to apply for a full time program in the fall and continue her education in that direction. She believes that education and having goals is very important and that a person should never stop learning about the world. On May 11 and 12, the proceeds from her salon (The Boardroom) will be donated to her charity of her choice. You can watch the pageant online at missuniversecanada.ca and also vote for Ashley for the People’s Choice Award. “I think that Miss Universe Canada is a wonderful opportunity for young women to have a voice and become a role model for others,” said Ashley. “I hope to promote healthy self-image and that beauty is more than skin deep, it radiates from the inside out.” The winner of Miss Universe Canada moves on to compete in Donald Trump’s Miss Universe pageant.