As a 12-year-old girl flicking through channels on television Niketa Barker stumbled across a Miss Universe Pageant and from that moment, became enamoured with beauty contests; she also began to receive encouragement from those around her.
Even at that age Niketa had the look of a model—tall and slim—and people began noticing her height and encouraging her to pursue modelling. “As I got older, more and more people told me I looked like a model. But back then I thought never in a million years will I have the courage to ever be able to take any stage or runway for that matter,” she reminisced.
So she enjoyed watching fashion shows and local pageants from the side lines. But “I knew part of me always dreamed of being in the spotlight,” she said. In that dream, the Miss Universe pageant was her aim.
She finally gave in to the urgings to take the stage in 2009, making her debut on the runway of Guyana Fashion Weekend and was an instant success. After that she was much sought after and by the end of 2009 she had a ‘career’ in modelling.
But she never forgot her dream and decided to participate in other pageants for the experience. In 2010, she competed in the Miss Guyana Jamzone where she was awarded Miss Photogenic. In 2011 she represented Guyana in Elite Model Look Caribbean and Caribbean Hibiscus where she was a finalist. In 2012 she entered Miss Guyana Universe and was the first runner-up; Ruqayyah Boyer took the title that year. But Niketa was awarded the Best Smile and Best Body prizes.
This loss did not defeat her. She entered the Miss Guyana Universe again this year. “…Because I am not the type to just give up, especially on my dreams. So with experience, resilience and focus I was successful this time around.”
On the night of October 26 at the Pegasus Hotel the competition began with an opening dance; that was the first opportunity to be seen by the audience and Niketa enjoyed every moment of it. The audience were very receptive and she felt their support and this really motivated her.
“On the night of the competition I was calm, focused, a tiny bit excited; not nervous because I knew that I needed to stay focused so I tried to not be distracted by anyone,” she said.
The swimsuit segment soon followed which gave Niketa and the other contestants the chance to show a bit of personality and sass.
For the evening gown competition she wore a Randy Madray ivory fishtail gown hand-embellished with over three thousand crystals. This piece was inspired by Barker herself and was tailored to fit her very personality and style. “I felt like a million dollars in it and judging from the reaction of the audience I think they loved it as much as I did,” she said.
Niketa remained calm throughout the competition and when it came to the final question she was remarkably unflustered. “For the final question so I took a deep breath and spoke from the heart…,” The rest was history.
Niketa identifies herself with persons who achieve exceptional success despite having faced numerous challenges early on in life. If she were to meet one celebrity living or dead, it would be her idol and role model the late Maya Angelou whom she described as, “A pillar of strength, wisdom, inspiration and positivity.”
She finds her words an inspiration which motivates her to challenge myself and push for greater heights. She takes this motivation into her platform, ‘The Importance of Child Mentoring’ which she chose because of her involvement in the Big Brothers Big Sisters programme for the past two years. “It is said that it takes a community to raise a child and that I believe with all my heart. Children today need extra encouragement and direction since there are many more challenges faced in this the twenty-first century.”
Niketa believes that adults should take the responsibility of moulding the minds of young people. “They are the future and that is everybody’s business! It is my hope to soon with the help of the relevant authorities establish after-school mentoring programmes in various communities where children can benefit from the interaction with wise, knowledgeable and responsible adults.”
Niketa is currently in Florida, where the Miss Universe Pageant will be held on January 25.
At the time of this interview, she had just returned to Guyana after a training session with pageant and runway coach Lu Sierra in New York. She is the first Guyanese title holder to have benefited from such training. In Guyana, she had been training in interview skills, gym, walk and stage performances. Her preparation team included pageant doyen Pamela Dillon, designer Derek Moore and a few others.
Asked about her approach to the international pageant, as compared to her predecessors, she responded, “I believe that all of my predecessors performed to the best of their abilities at the international competition and have been doing an excellent job thus far. This particular pageant requires someone who is real, passionate and self-motivated and that is what I intend to take to Miss Universe.”
This is going to be Niketa’s final pageant as she intends to return to her medical studies, which she deemed “tough enough.”
Miss Guyana Universe 2014 was born in Georgetown on July 9, 24 years ago. She grew up in the small town of New Amsterdam, where life was quite run-of-the-mill. She said that being a small town the environment was serene and tranquil and continues to be a very peaceful one where everyone looks out for each other. Growing up, she was surrounded by a large extended family so there was never a dull moment. This taught her how to be a team player as well as the value of being considerate and compassionate. She is the youngest of three and the only girl.
After attaining 12 passes at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate regional examinations and six at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exams, she entered the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery programme at the University of Guyana.
Niketa’s plan is to specialize in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and establish her own clinic.
